Magari

Meaning: One word doing the work of 'if only', 'I wish', 'perhaps' and 'you bet' — the tone decides which.

Language: Italian

Literally: if only / maybe

Category: Everyday

Origin: Italian; possibly from Greek makários ('blessed'). Routinely named the hardest Italian word to translate.

More untranslatable words — Everyday

Apericena — The evening drink whose accompanying buffet is generous enough to replace dinner altogeth…
Døgn — One complete 24-hour cycle treated as a single unit — what English can only say as 'twent…
Harryhandel — The day trip over the border into Sweden to buy meat, sweets and drink far cheaper than a…
Matpakke — The plain packed lunch of open sandwiches in paper, eaten at your desk — a small national…
Orka — To have the energy or will for something. Jag orkar inte carries the whole of 'I can't fa…
Hinna — To manage something inside the time available — not speed, but fitting the act in before…

Sprezzatura — The art of making something difficult look wholly effortless, hiding every trace of the w…
Dietrologia — The conviction that the official account is never the real one — that some hidden motive…
Attaccabottoni — The person who corners you and holds you in an endless, tedious story you cannot politely…
Menefreghista — Someone who has made not caring into an entire stance — indifference as a way of life.
Abbiocco — The heavy, irresistible drowsiness that comes after a large meal — the post-lunch stupor…
Culaccino — The ring or stain left on a surface by a wet or cold glass — that small, damp circle that…

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