Italian false friends: camera, parenti and the traps to avoid

In Italian, camera means room, not camera, and parenti means relatives, not parents. These are false friends: Italian words that look like English ones but mean something else. The lists below group the traps English speakers fall into most, from the merely confusing to the embarrassing, with the Italian word you actually wanted each time.

The ones that get a laugh

Start with these, because they are the mistakes that stop a conversation.

The food label that reads senza conservanti means "no preservatives." Asking a grocer for something senza preservativi will get you a look you will remember.

For excitement, the safest everyday phrase is Non vedo l'ora, literally "I can't see the hour," which is how Italians say they can't wait: Non vedo l'ora di partire, "I'm so excited to leave." Sono emozionato (or emozionata) works for the nervous, moved kind of excitement before a wedding or an exam.

Morbido is a compliment. A cuscino morbido is a soft pillow, and un asciugamano morbido is a soft towel, so do not use it for a dark joke or a gloomy film. That is morboso or macabro.

The pizza trap catches almost every American. Pizza ai peperoni comes topped with sweet peppers. If you want spicy salami, look on the menu for salamino piccante or a pizza called diavola. In the same spirit, ordering un latte at a bar gets you a glass of milk. And when a friend sighs Che casino! they mean "What a mess!" The gambling hall carries a stress mark on the last letter: casinò.

Everyday nouns that point the wrong way

Camera trips people up in hotels. Una camera doppia is a double room, and camera da letto is a bedroom. You will also see the word in politics: the Camera dei Deputati is the lower house of parliament. For the device, say macchina fotografica or fotocamera, and for a video camera, telecamera.

Parenti is the one that quietly changes the meaning of a whole story. Vado dai miei parenti means you are visiting aunts, uncles and cousins. Your mother and father are i miei genitori, or simply i miei in casual speech: Stasera ceno dai miei, "I'm having dinner at my parents' tonight."

Libreria and biblioteca are worth drilling as a pair. You buy books in a libreria, you borrow them from a biblioteca, and the shelf in your living room is also a libreria. At weddings, guests receive little bags of confetti, the sugared almonds. The paper bits thrown at Carnevale are coriandoli.

Adjectives that describe the wrong person

The pair annoiato and noioso causes a double mistake. Sono annoiato means "I'm bored," and sono noioso means "I'm boring." If the neighbors' party is keeping you awake, the party is rumorosa, and you are infastidito.

Calling someone bravo praises their skill: È un bravo cuoco, "He's a good cook." Nothing in it suggests courage. Educato is about manners, not schooling. A child who says please and thank you is educato, and maleducato means rude. Someone with a degree is istruito or laureato.

On a deli menu, crudo is the key word: prosciutto crudo is the cured, uncooked ham, and prosciutto cotto is the cooked one.

Verbs and adverbs that bend the sentence

Attualmente is the one that sneaks into fluent speech. Attualmente lavoro a Milano means "I currently work in Milan." If you want to correct yourself the way English speakers do with "actually," say in realtà: In realtà sono di Boston, non di New York.

Eventualmente also misleads, because it keeps a door open instead of closing it. Eventualmente ti chiamo means "I'll call you if need be," not "I'll call you in the end." For that, use alla fine or prima o poi (sooner or later).

Pretendere is stronger than most English speakers expect: Pretendo una risposta is "I demand an answer." A child pretending to be a pirate fa finta di essere un pirata. And if you hear that a friend è stato ricoverato, he was admitted to the hospital, which is the opposite of good news.

A partial false friend: realizzare

Realizzare traditionally means to make something real: realizzare un progetto, to carry out a project, or realizzare un sogno, to make a dream come true. For "I realized I'd left my keys," the standard choice is mi sono reso conto (or resa conto) di aver lasciato le chiavi. You will hear realizzare in the English sense, especially from younger speakers, but rendersi conto is the version nobody will question.

The fastest way to make these stick is to say them in the situations where they bite: asking for a double room, ordering at a pizzeria, telling someone about your family. Practicing those conversations out loud, with a tutor like Polly in PollyStop or with a patient friend, turns each correction into a habit you won't have to think about at the counter.

Frequently asked questions

Does camera ever mean camera in Italian?

No. On its own, camera means room or chamber. A camera for photos is a macchina fotografica or fotocamera, and a video camera is a telecamera.

How do I say parents in Italian?

Genitori. Parenti means relatives in general, such as aunts, uncles and cousins. In casual speech, i miei on its own often means my parents.

How do I say I'm excited in Italian without it sounding wrong?

Say non vedo l'ora, as in non vedo l'ora di vederti, or sono emozionato for a nervous, moved kind of excitement. Avoid sono eccitato, which most listeners hear sexually.

Is a library a libreria in Italian?

No. A libreria is a bookstore or a bookcase. A library where you borrow books is a biblioteca.