Ten Italian words you should not confuse or mispronounce

When you’re learning a new language, it’s pretty easy to make mistakes. And some of these mistakes can be pretty hilarious!
So, today I’d like to list some of the most confusing Italian words that you’d better not mispronounce.
Warning: some of these words are used in informal Italian, can be vulgar and can relate to sex.

1. Carne, Cane, Canne

Many people confuse the word carne with cane or canne, and the result can be exhilarating!

Ho mangiato la carne -> I ate meat
Ho mangiato il cane -> I ate the dog

Sono andato a passeggio con il cane -> I walked with my dog
Sono andato a passeggio con le canne -> I walked with some joints/reeds

2. Pane, Pene, Penne

Another word that can be easily confused with something very different is pane. People sometimes confuse pane with penne or pene (I read this one even on a restaurant menu!).

Ho mangiato pane e acqua -> I ate bread and water
Ho mangiato pene e acqua -> I ate penis and water

Ho mangiato penne al pomodoro -> I ate pasta with tomato sauce (penne is a type of pasta)
Ho mangiato pene al pomodoro-> I ate penis with tomato sauce

To avoid these mistakes, in addition to remembering the right word, be sure to pronounce each letter in the right way, and be sure to pronounce double consonants.

3. Pecorino, Pecorina

Sometimes Italian learners can’t remember the gender of a word. When you make this type of mistakes, sometimes, you can create funny sentences. An example is the difference between pecorino and pecorina.

Mi piace il pecorino -> I like Pecorino cheese
Mi piace la pecorina -> I like the doggy-style position

4. Papà – Papa

Another common mistake is putting the accent on the wrong syllable. In this way a word like papà can easily be confused with papa.

Vivo con la mamma e il papà -> I live with my mom and daddy
Vivo con la mamma e il papa -> I live with my mom and the Pope

5. Calzone – Cazzone

If you’ve decided to go in a pizzeria to eat a calzone, be sure to know how to pronounce that word – or at least to read it correctly from the menu.

Io prendo un calzone -> I take a calzone (an oven backed folded pizza)
Io prendo un cazzone -> I take a big dick

6. Tetti vs tette

If you visited Beaune, in France, and want to talk about the colorful roofs you saw there, be sure to pick the right Italian word.

Ci sono i tetti colorati -> There are coloreful roofs
Ci sono le tette colorate -> There are coloreful boobs

7. Scoraggiare – scoreggiare

Scoraggiare and scoreggiare are two other Italian words you should not confuse, here’s why:

Non scoraggiarti, ce la puoi fare! -> Don’t be discouraged, you can do it!
Non scoreggiare, ce la puoi fare! -> Don’t fart, you can do it!

8. Fico – Fica

These are two other words where the gender is super important.

Mi piace molto il fico -> I like the fig
Mi piace molto la fica -> I like the cunt

9. Sbornia – Sborra

Sbornia and sborra are two very different words with incredibly different meaning, so don’t mix these two up.

Devo smaltire la sbornia -> I need to get over the hangover
Devo smaltire la sborra -> I need to get over the cum (something no one would ever say because it really doesn’t make any sense!)

10. Sfida – Sfiga

Finally, the last two Italian words I’d like to add to this list are sfida and sfiga.

E’ una vera sfida! -> It’s a real challenge!
E’ una vera sfiga! -> it’s real badluck!

Have you ever made an exhilarating mistake when speaking Italian? What was it?

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Credits:

Original image by Greyerbaby