Italian Swear Words and Their Meanings (for Polite Society) - Daily Italian Words (2024)

Call me a killjoy, but swearing bothers me in any language. Whereas others might assail one another with flying f-words and references to bodily excrements, I am more partial to euphemisms. And let’s be honest – they are often far more entertaining and effective than swear words themselves!

In this article, you will find many of the most common politically-correct swear words in the language of love. If you were hoping to learn vulgar curse words in Italian, I would suggest you to lookelsewhere! 😛

Italian Swear Words and Their Meanings (for Polite Society) - Daily Italian Words (1)

Italian Curse Words: Surprise and Shock

In Italian, you are spoilt for choice when it comes to ways of expressing surprise. Conveniently, these words can be used for both negative surprises (discovering that your friend is in hospital) or positive surprises (receiving a lovely gift). Simply pick a handful of your favourites and use them until your heart’s content!

Caspita!

English meaning: Gosh!

Caspita, che bel regalo!

Gosh, what a nice gift!

Mamma mia!

English meaning: Oh my!

Mamma mia, quanto sei cresciuto!

My, how you’ve grown!

Oh mio Dio!

English meaning: Oh my God!
Note that some Christians might not appreciate this expression, as they may consider it blasphemous.

Oh mio Dio! Si è rotto il braccio!

Oh my God. He broke his arm!

Madonna Santa!

English meaning: Holy cow! (literally: Saint Mary!)
Note that some Christians might not appreciate this expression, as they may consider it blasphemous.

Madonna Santa, pesa un sacco!

Holy cow, it weights a ton!

Accipicchia!

English meaning: My goodness!

Accipicchia! Che paesaggio fantastico!

My goodness. What a fantastic view!

Accidenti!

English meaning: Wow!

Accidenti, che brutta partita!

Wow, what a bad game!

Perbacco!

English meaning: My word!

Perbacco, che festa!

My word, what aparty!

Mizzica!

English meaning: Holy cow!

Mizzica, che bella ricetta!

Holy cow, what a great recipe!

Italian Swear Words and Their Meanings (for Polite Society) - Daily Italian Words (2)

Italian Curse Words: Anger and Annoyance

You’re walking down the street when your faithful canine companion decides to take a quick bath in a conveniently placed muddy puddle. You walk into your bedroom to find that the same dog has ripped your new curtains to shreds. And your dish of homemade spaghetti? Well, you might as well just order a pizza at this point.

Now, as an upstanding member of polite Italian society, you know that harsh swear words simply aren’t the proper way to express your anger and annoyance. Enter these great Italian substitutes for swears! With these expressions, you will soon be able to express your anger and annoyance without the risk offare una brutta figura (making a bad impression). 😉

Mannaggia!

English meaning: Darn it!

Mannaggia, non riesco a smettere di fumare.

Darn it, I can’t stop smoking.

Accidenti!

English meaning: Darn!

Accidenti, ho perso il treno.

Darn, I missed the train.

Che barba!

English meaning: What a drag. (literally: What a beard.)

Che barba, non ho più soldi.

What a drag, I don’t have any money.

Che palle!

English meaning: What a pain! (literally: What balls!)

Che palle, non trovo il mio portafoglio.

What a pain, I can’t find my wallet.

Che rottura di scatole!

English meaning: What a pain. (literally: What a breakage of boxes.)

Che rottura di scatole. È cominciato a piovere.

What a pain. It’s starting to rain.

Cacchio!

English meaning: Darn! (literally: poo)

Cacchio, non ho finito i compiti!

Darn, I didn’t finish my homework!

Cristoforo Colombo!

English equivalent: Jesus Christ! (literally Christopher Columbus)
This Italian expression is a substitute for Cristo! or Cristo Santo! which can be considered blasphemous by Italian Christians.

Cristo…foro Colombo! Mi sono dato una martellata sul dito!

Jesus Christ! I hit my finger with the hammer!

Italian Swear Words and Their Meanings (for Polite Society) - Daily Italian Words (3)

How to tell someone to “get lost” in Italian

Just as there are harsh ways of saying “get lost” in English, so there are plenty in Italian. If you prefer to avoid swear words as I do, you will probably be in need of some useful substitutes! Here is a list that will surely tickle your fancy.

Va’ a fa’ ‘n bagno! / Vaffambagno!

Literal translation: Go take a bath!

Vai a quel paese!

Literal translation: Go to that country!

Vai dove devi andare! / Vai dove dico io!

Literal translation: Go where you have to go! / Go where I tell you! (the destination in this case refers to the paese of the previous expression)

Vai a cantare in un altro cortile!

Literal translation: Go and sing in another courtyard!

Levati dai piedi / dalle scatole!

Literal translation: Get off my feet / boxes!

Italian Swear Words and Their Meanings (for Polite Society) - Daily Italian Words (4)

Joey swears at Chandler on Friends

In this Friends episode, Joey tells his best friend Chandler to vaffanapoli, a euphemism for a much stronger expression in Italian which you would only use if you were truly irked at someone. Vaffanapoli (from Va’ fa Napoli = Go to Naples) was probably invented in New York by the Sicilian community of Italian Americans who used look down on the Neapolitan community. For this reason, many people of Neapolitan origin find this expression quite insulting. Note that in Italy itself, this expression isn’t used.

Using the word “porco” to express anger

For some unknown reason, Italians love to use the word porco / porca to express their annoyance, which literally means pork or swine. In fact, they will add just about any word onto the end of porco/a to turn it into a swear word. Of course, among the immense selection, there are nasty expressions and nice expressions. As you might have guessed, on this page, we are dealing solely with the least offensive! The meaning of porco/a + random word is similar to the English dash it, darn it, or oh bother.

Porca miseria!

Literal translation: Pork misery!

Porca paletta!

Literal translation: Pork shovel!

Porca vacca!

Literal translation: Pork cow!

Porco mondo!

Literal translation: Pork world!

Porco Giuda!

Literal translation: Pork Judas!

Zio porco!

Literal translation: Uncle pork!
Zio is a euphemism for Dio, which means God. As you can imagine, using Dio instead of Zio would sound very blasphemous, and many Italians would not appreciate it.

Porco cane!

Literal translation: Pork dog!

Porca puzzola!

Literal translation: Pork polecat!

Italian Swear Words and Their Meanings (for Polite Society) - Daily Italian Words (5)

Food as a replacement for cursing

While English people refer to bodily excrements and places of eternal damnation to curse and insult others, the Italians, not so surprisingly, often turn to food for inspiration. When you’re bored, you might say you’re having a pizza of a time, whereas the person who just got you in a fender bender probably has a head of a rapa. To see a full list of fun and family-friendly Italian swear words and insults using food, just look below!

Pizza

English meaning: Pizza

Che pizza!

What a bore! / Oh man…

Cavolo

English meaning: Cabbage

Non me ne frega un cavolo!

I don’t care one bit!

Zucca

English meaning: Pumpkin

Hai la zucca vuota!

You’re a blockhead!

Rapa

English meaning: Turnip

Sei proprio una testa di rapa!

You’re a real pinhead!

Capperi

English meaning: Capers

Ah capperi, non lo sapevo!

Gosh, I didn’t know!

Did you enjoy these Italian swear words for polite society? Why not share a few of your favourites in the comments section below!

Italian Swear Words and Their Meanings (for Polite Society) - Daily Italian Words (6)

Italian Swear Words and Their Meanings (for Polite Society) - Daily Italian Words (7)

Heather Broster

Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.

Italian Swear Words and Their Meanings (for Polite Society) - Daily Italian Words (2024)

FAQs

What is a famous Italian curse word? ›

Some of the most popular Italian swear words are "vaffanculo" (f***), "cazzo" (d***), "coglioni" (testicles), "puttana" (b****). These words can be used to compose several swearing expressions, such as "non capisci un cazzo", "girare i coglioni", "porca puttana".

What does fongool mean in Italian? ›

0. Italian-Americanised mispronunciation of the phrase “va'a fare in culo” (literally “go do it in the ass”) often shortened to “vaffanculo”, “vafangool”, “bafongool” or just “fongool”; generally interpreted to mean “fuck you.” Va Fongool is an Oslo-based record lable for ugly music.

What does fangool mean in Italian? ›

Short reply: Va fangool (va fangul') is the Neapoletan/Sicilian form of the italian vaffanculo. VA FANGOOL=FUCK OFF.

What do Italians say when they swear? ›

Cazzo!

“Cazzo” is a versatile Italian curse word that can be used in various ways, similar to the English word “damn”, “sh*t” or “f**k.” It can be used to express surprise, annoyance, or anger. For example: “Cazzo! Ho versato il caffè sulla mia nuova maglietta!” (F**k! I've spilled coffee on my new shirt!)

Is stunad a bad word? ›

"Stunad" is a slang term in Italian, particularly in the Neapolitan dialect. It's considered impolite and can be offensive. This word doesn't have an exact English equivalent, but it's generally used to insult or mock someone, implying foolishness or stupidity.

What does chooch mean in Italian? ›

What does "chooch" mean? The word chooch is another bastardization of a word in Italian, ciuccio. In most of Italy, this means "pacifier", but in southern Italian slang, it means "donkey". The southern Italian migrants to the U.S took this term and over time it became chooch. It is used to describe someone as stupid.

What does googootz mean? ›

Googoots (Cucuzza) in italian is a big squash. Used as slang it means "a useless person." In other words, all that person is good for is to sit there like a big squash and get bigger.

What is a jabroni in Italian? ›

The first records of the term jabroni meaning “a foolish, contemptible person” come from around 1915. The first records of the professional wrestling meaning come from around 1995. Its origin is uncertain, but it is believed to have come from giambone, meaning “ham,” in some Italian dialects.

What does fazool mean in Italian slang? ›

1. Italian for bean. 2. Term used for money or a bill.

What is oogatz in Italian slang? ›

OOGATZ (OO Gotz) - Nothing.

What is a mamaluke in Italian? ›

Originally Answered: What is a mamaluke in Italian? Mammalucco or Mamelucco or Mammelucco are words that derive from the Arabic word mamlūk (plural mamālīk), mercenaries who worked for the Turkish caliphs. In Italian it has a derogatory meaning, ie silly, naive, stupid, unintelligent person.

What is considered rude in Italy? ›

So, if you're not asked to, don't ever take your shoes off. Don't wander around alone: Moving freely around someone else's home is considered rude and inappropriate. Accept something they offer: Leaving a house without having a coffee, a piece of cake, or even just a glass of water might disappoint your host.

What is moron in Italian slang? ›

Cretino — “Fool.” Perhaps this one feels super satisfying rolling off the tongue because it sounds like “cretin.” Deficiente — “Moron.” As in: you're so dumb, you're deficient! Dito nel culo — If someone is a “finger in your butt,” it means, well, that they're a real pain (or annoyance) in the ass.

What is the evil curse in Italian? ›

The malocchio is a superstitious condition characterised by misfortune, unluckiness, negative energy and sometimes illness. The word 'mal' meaning bad and 'ochhio' eye can also be associated with the green eye or envy.

What is Joey's Italian curse word? ›

Joey uses the Tuscan insult: "Va fa Napoli!", the Tuscan equivalent of "Go to Hell!" which literally translates as: "Go to Naples!". While cooking, Phoebe says she needs to call her mother to answer a "left-handed cooking question".

What does "che cosa" mean? ›

Che cosa. What does che cosa mean in Italian slang? This technically means 'what thing? ' However, it's often used as a way to describe someone who doesn't know what they're doing, or doesn't understand something.

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