• Home
  • Start Here
  • About
  • Your Toolkit
    • Culture
      • Be Italian For A Month
      • Be Italian For A Year
      • Be Italian Deluxe Edition
    • Language
      • Chiacchieriamo
      • Ti aiuto io!
      • Italian On The Road
    • Travel Guide
      • Italy Your Own Way
  • Blog
  • Contact

Instantly Italy

Italian language, culture and travel tips

50 Italian idiomatic phrases that are related to food (part 1)

07/19/2017

In this post, you'll find a list of 50 Italian idiomatic phrases that have something to do with food. Since food is so important in our culture, we have a lot of food-related sayings and that's why I had to split the list in two. This is part 1.

I have prepared a pdf file with all the Italian idiomatic phrases you’ll find in this post. You can find it in Your Italian Toolbox, a section of Instantly Italy where you’ll find Italian learning materials. You can get access to it by subscribing here. 

What are the perks of knowing a native speaker, when it comes to learning a language? 

Well, there are quite a few, actually. You can obviously practice your speaking skills, get feedback on your mistakes, improve your pronunciation, and learn a lot of interesting and useful sayings.

Therefore, since I am your dear Italian friend, I decided to write a list of Italian idiomatic phrases for you, so that you will have a handful of sentences and words you can use when speaking Italian – and maybe impress your fellow students in your Italian class or your Italian friends in Italy.

Since there are a lot of Italian idiomatic phrases and sayings, I made a choice and selected only the ones that have something to do with food, mainly because I love food – but you know that already, right?

I have to admit that this was one of the posts I had the most fun writing, because – in order not to miss some important phrases or words – I asked my Facebook friends for help and they gave me a ton of suggestions.

We actually came up with 50 sayings, but they could have been more because I decided not to include a few of them as they were strictly regional or a bit off-topic.

This definitely shows the important role played by food in almost every aspect of Italian culture. 

You’ll find the list of food-related Italian sayings here below. For each of them, I listed both the literal meaning and the actual one. Since 50 of them would have made this post way too long, I decided to split the list in two. So don’t forget to come back next week and check the second part of the post. There’ll also be a surprise, so I wouldn’t miss the post if I were you.

But let’s focus on the phrases now!

C’entra come i cavoli a merenda!

Literal meaning: it is like cabbage as a mid-afternoon snack
Actual meaning: it has nothing to do with it, it doesn’t match something, it is off-topic

Salvare capra e cavoli.

Literal meaning: to save goat and cabbages
Actual meaning: to get out of a situation saving the interests of both parties involved

Farsi i cavoli propri

Literal meaning: to mind one’s own cabbages
Actual meaning: to mind one’s own business

Non m’importa un fico secco!

Literal meaning: I don’t care a dried fig
Actual meaning: I don’t give a damn

Essere come il prezzemolo.

Literal meaning: to be like parsley
Actual meaning: to be everywhere

Tutto fa brodo.

Literal meaning: everything makes broth
Actual meaning: everything could be useful, anything goes

Gallina vecchia fa buon brodo.

Literal meaning: old hen makes good broth
Actual meaning: it used to describe the positive aspect of a relationship with an older lady

Lascialo cuocere nel suo brodo!

Literal meaning: let him boil in his broth
Actual meaning: do not help him, let him fix things on his own

Se non è zuppa, è pan bagnato!

Literal meaning: if it is not soup, it is wet bread!
Actual meaning: used to describe two things or situations that are just the same

Essere buono come il pane.

Literal meaning: to be as good as bread
Actual meaning: to be a very good person

Essere un pezzo di pane.

Literal meaning: to be a piece of  bread
Actual meaning: to be a very good person

Trovare pane per i propri denti.

Literal meaning: to find bread for your own teeth
Actual meaning: to find someone who is as good as you at something

Rendere pan per focaccia.

Literal meaning: to give bread for focaccia (a type of bread)
Actual meaning: to repay someone who has done something bad to you in the same way

Dire pane al pane, vino al vino.

Literal meaning: to say bread to bread, wine to wine
Actual meaning: to be frank and open, to express your opinion openly

Chi ha il pane, non ha i denti.

Literal meaning: those who have bread have no teeth
Actual meaning: referred to people who possess something but don’t know how to use it or are not interested in using it

Tanto fumo e niente arrosto!

Literal meaning: a lot of smoke and no roast
Actual meaning: all talk and no action

Rompere le uova nel paniere.

Literal meaning: to break the eggs in the basket
Actual meaning:  to upset someone’s plans

Cercare il pelo nell’uovo.

Literal meaning: to look for hair in the egg
Actual meaning: to be very fussy

Ridi, ridi, che la mamma ha fatto i gnocchi.

Literal meaning: laugh, laugh, you mother has made gnocchi
Actual meaning: to be said to someone who laughs but does not realize that there is nothing to laugh about

O mangi la minestra o salti dalla finestra!

Literal meaning: eat the soup or jump out of the window
Actual meaning: you have to do something no matter what, there is no choice

Non c’è trippa per gatti.

Literal meaning: there is no tripe for cats
Actual meaning: there is no chance to do a certain thing

Non tutte le ciambelle escono con il buco.

Literal meaning: no all ring-shaped pies turn out with a hole
Actual meaning: not everything turns out as expected

Essere alla frutta

Literal meaning: to have reached the fruit (referring to the fact fruit comes at the end of the meal)
Actual meaning: to be exhausted, to be really tired, to be at the end of something with no possible solution

Non è farina del tuo sacco.

Literal meaning: that flour doesn’t come from your sack
Actual meaning: this is not your thought or your work (you copied it from somebody else)

Vestirsi a cipolla

Literal meaning: to dress like an onion
Actual meaning: to dress in layers

That’s all for today. Don’t forget to come back next week for the second part of this list of food-related Italian sayings! 

I have prepared a pdf file with all the Italian idiomatic phrases you’ll find in this post. You can find it in Your Italian Toolbox, a section of Instantly Italy where you’ll find Italian learning materials. You can get access to it by subscribing here. 


If you are interested in improving your Italian language skills, I’d suggest you check Chiacchieriamo, your way of chatting with an Italian without moving from home.

Chiacchieriamo is a Skype chat that helps you practice your Italian with a native speaker, gaining the confidence you need when speaking the language.

If you want to give it a try, you can request a 30-minute free chat, so that we can meet each other and see if you like the service.

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
«
»

Filed Under: Italian language Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Ciao!

My name is Cinzia and Italy is the place I call home.

Books feed my soul, music fills my days and travelling makes my life richer. I am a day dreamer, tireless walker and believer in the power of little things.

I’ve created Instantly Italy to take you to Italy with me and explore together this crazy but “oh so lovely” country. Read More…

Latest from the blog

In this post, I chat with Denisa Ivančinová, a Slovak lady who lives in Bologna and about life and work in Italy as an expat

Expats in Italy: Interviewing Denisa Ivančinová, a lovely lady from Slovakia who currently calls Bologna home

Casa degli Atellani has one of the best gardens in Milan, especially because it hosts Leonardo's vineyard, the vineyard who was gifted to Leonardo by Ludovico Il Moro.

[Hidden Italy] Leonardo’s Vineyard in Milan

Things I blog about

  • Books about Italy
  • Italian culture
  • Italian food
  • Italian language
  • Learning languages
  • Life in Italy
  • Places I Recommend
  • Visiting Italy

You can find me here

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS

Subscribe to know more about all things Italian

Copyright © 2019 · Instantly Italy - Cinzia Ferri · Vat #01658340094 · Site by Francesca Marano · Powered by WordPress and Genesis

Copyright © 2019 · Adorn Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Enter your name and email to join the Vespa ride!
If you sign up, you'll get updates and receive Be Italian For A Weekend, a three-day email crash course on Italian culture - your introduction to us, crazy Italians!
Your information will never be shared or sold to a 3rd party.