acqua

acqua

water

 

            When in Italy, I spend as much time as possible in, on and under water (in, sull’ e sott’ acqua).   But you don’t have to get wet (bagnarsi) to find yourself afloat in watery Italian words.

American kids cry out “hot” and “cold” when playing games like hide and seek; Italian youngsters yell “fuoco” (fire) and “acqua.”  “Acqua in bocca!”  (water in the mouth!) means “Keep it quiet” or  “Mum’s the word.” A wholesome beauty is described as acqua e sapone (like soap and water). Suggesting an obvious solution is as trite as scoprire l’acqua calda (discovering hot water, or stating what everyone already knows). That’s almost as bad as being all’acqua di rose (wishy-washy).

English speakers may find themselves in a tempest in a teapot; Italians, in una tempesta in un bicchier d’acqua (a tempest in a glass of water). If they have to navigare in cattive acque (sail bad or dangerous waters), they may soon avere l’acqua alla gola (have water at one’s throat, or be in trouble up to one’s neck). If they try to to lavorare sott’acqua (work underwater, or do something underhanded), they may end up a pane e acqua  (on bread and water, or imprisoned).

Acqua trickles into the Italian equivalent of many English proverbs. Two peas in a pod are as similar as due gocce d’acqua (two drops of water). Rather than crossing the bridge when they come to it, Italians say, “All’acqua ci scalzeremo.” (“At the water we’ll take off our shoes.”)  And they’d rather bide their time fino a che non si siano calmate le acque  (until the waters calm  down) than wait for the dust to settle.

“The past is past”  translates as“acqua passata non macina piu” (past water no longer grinds) while “portare acqua in mare” (carry water to the sea) expresses the same futility as  bringing coals to Newcastle.  Pestare l’acqua nel mortaio ( pounding the water in the mortar) is a waste of time and effort. Someone who backs down from a belligerent position puts acqua nel proprio vino  (water in one’s wine), while those who  draw l’acqua al proprio mulino (the water to one’s own mill) are looking out only for themselves. Keep an eye on someone who’s unusually reserved. You already know that still waters run deep but in Italy“l’acqua cheta rovina I ponti”  (quiet water damages bridges.)

Words and Expressions

acqua marina  -- sea water

acqua salsa -- salty, saline water (in a pond or river)

acqua viva, sorgiva, di fonte -- spring water

acqua sudicia  -- dirty water

acqua dura  -- hard water

acqua piovana  --  rain water

acqua potabile -- drinking water

acqua morta -- dead or still water

acqua santa -- holy water

acque termali -- spa waters

acqua di rubinetto -- tap water

acqua alta  -- high tide (in Venice)

To see a surfer take on l’acqua alta, click below:

Comments

[Dianne Hales]

Grazie mille, Danilo. I hope you find it molto divertente!

Diana

[Danilo]

I've just ordered your book (per eventuali lettori italiani: lo trovate anche qui Italia, anche presso librerie online, come www.libreriauniversitaria.it). I'm looking forward to reading it!

[Dianne Hales]

Ciao a tutti,

Thank you for the kind words. I'm so glad to hear from you. If you're interested, you can also read the first chapter of my book at www.becomingitalian.com.

Diana (si, Danilo, divento Diana in Italia!)

[Danilo]

You know what? Even if Italian is my mother tongue, here I'm learning some new expressions myself. For instance, I had never heard "all'acqua ci scalzeremo i piedi". It sounds very "Tuscan" to me -I'm from the north- but I like it! Grazie, Dianne. O meglio, Diana, visto che ti stai "naturalizzando"...

[Theresa]

Just found your blog....bookmarked it immediately! Thanks so much.