Carnival: Complimenting someone’s elaborate makeup or outfit

💬 There's no word for "you" here. The polite "you" uses the same verb as "he" or "she", so è alone does the job.

💬 Grazie mille literally means "a thousand thanks". It's a step warmer than plain grazie.

💬 Trucco means "makeup", but it also means "trick". Context almost always makes it clear which one is meant.

💬 Say it as (een-kreh-DEE-bee-leh), with the stress on di and a clearly spoken final e.

💬 Anche "also, too" goes before the word it's adding to, not at the end like English "too". For example, anche la maschera means "the mask too".

💬 L' is lo "it" shortened before ha, so it can't stand alone. Lei means the polite "you" here, and placing it at the end puts the stress on "you yourself".

💬 Ci ho messo plus a length of time means "it took me". Swap in another time: ci ho messo un'ora "it took me an hour".

💬 Complimenti means "well done" or "congratulations", not "compliments" in the English sense. You'll hear it after a good meal, an exam, or a great costume.

🇮🇹 Italians use complimenti freely. Praising the effort someone put in goes over especially well.

💬 Vestito means "dress", but it can also mean "suit" or just "outfit", depending on who's wearing it.

💬 Italian usually puts "the" before "my": la mia casa "my house". With a single family member, though, it's dropped, so you say mia nonna, not la mia nonna.

💬 Here the thing being talked about comes first, then l' "it" points back to it, and the person who did it comes last. This is a very natural way to highlight who did something. Cucito means "sewn", and invece means "though" or "instead".

💬 Brava ends in -a for a woman. Say bravo for a man, or bravi for a group.

💬 The -le at the end of farle is the polite "you", meaning "for you" or "of you". With a friend it would be farti.

🇮🇹 Costumed people at Carnival expect photo requests, but asking first is the courteous move. Many will strike a pose for you.

💬 Ecco means something like "there you go" or "here it is". It pairs with many words, for example ecco la foto "here's the photo".

🇮🇹 A cheerful send-off during Carnival season, said much like "happy holidays". Saying it back is the natural reply.

💬 Buon is buono "good" shortened before a masculine word. This gives you a ready pattern for other wishes: buon viaggio "have a good trip", buon appetito "enjoy your meal".

💬 Grazie a lei literally means "thanks to you". It's the polite way to return a thank-you, with a feel of "no, thank you".

🇮🇹 Use it when someone thanks you right back. With friends you'd say grazie a te.

🇮🇹 Buonasera is used to greet someone, while buona serata is said when parting, wishing them a nice evening ahead.