# Damn



## ForzaMilan

Is there a mild curse word similar to damn in Italian?


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## robbotiku

accidenti bravo forza milan


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## Parergon

Dannazione, maledizione.


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## Riccaboni

forse, Madonna. I know My father yells that quite often in a "damn" situation.


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## Snowman75

How about *"cavolo"*? (literally "cabbage"). I hear it a lot in movies when they don't want to be too explicit.


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## StillLearning

"Cazzo," or "cock" in english, would probably be the word you're looking for.  Like Snowman said, "cavolo" or "cavoli" is used as a substitute for "cazzo" for those who don't like to swear.


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## luke_77

Riccaboni said:


> forse, Madonna. I know My father yells that quite often in a "damn" situation.


 
Where does your father come from? Is he from  milan originally? Cause I use to say "madonna"!!  

Luke


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## Nate in California

> "Cazzo," or "cock" in english, would probably be the word you're looking for.



"Cazzo" is a little stronger than "damn," and "cavolo" is a little weaker. I'm not sure there is a translation that captures the exact swearing level of "damn" in Italian.



> Where does your father come from? Is he from milan originally? Cause I use to say "madonna"!!



Don't all Italians???


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## luke_77

The best translation is: dannazione! It means exactly damn it!. Luke


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## Nate in California

> The best translation is: dannazione! It means exactly damn it!.



Oh yeah, true. But wait, does anyone actually say "dannazione!" I've never heard someone actually use it.


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## luke_77

Nate in California said:


> Oh yeah, true. But wait, does anyone actually say "dannazione!" I've never heard someone actually use it.


 
Yes, I do use it! Not always, sometimes, but I use it.

I'd rather use "cazzo", though I know it's rude and stronger..  ...but, you know...   

Luke


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## Nate in California

Yeah, cazzo's better.


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## Interista

Dai, si usa cazzo, viene cosí naturale!  Magari cavolo se ci fosse la gente che non piace le parolaccie..


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## luke_77

Yeah, but be carefull before using it and pay attention to the person you are talking to, otherwise you risk to get your ass kicked by someone..


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## Interista

heh haven´t happened yet! Sei milanese? Stavo lí per sei mesi e la mia parola piú usata é stata "pirla". But it is true, it is important to be aware of who you are talking to...


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## luke_77

Interista said:


> heh haven´t happened yet! Sei milanese? Stavo lí per sei mesi e la mia parola piú usata é stata "pirla". But it is true, it is important to be aware of who you are talking to...


 
Sì, sono milanese. Brava! Pirla è la parola che uso di piu' in assoluto..  ...con i pirla appunto! eheh 

Ti sei trovata bene qui?!?


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## etymologist

Another possibility is "mannaggia".  This may be more typical of the South.


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## Nate in California

Mannaggia la miseria! I love it.


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## Scopa Nuova

*Maledetto *(very close to *maledizione* previously mentioned) can be used for damn or curses, but it may be a little out of date. It's used a lot in operas.

Scopa Nuova


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## lsp

luke_77 said:


> Yeah, but be carefull before using it and pay attention to the person you are talking to, otherwise you risk to get your ass kicked by someone..


getting (so natural in every other way, I had to make this little correction)


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## lsp

Nate in California said:


> Mannaggia la miseria! I love it.



And how about "Porca miseria!"


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## leenico

> otherwise you risk to get your ass *getting* kicked by someone..


Just a little addition to the correction.


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## leenico

What does mannaggia mean? I used to hear mannaggia l'america when I was a kid.


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## Nate in California

> And how about "Porca miseria!"



Actually, that's the one I use most often, along with (in order of decency) cavolo, cazzo, and porca putana. Such a colorful language, Italian is.


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## lsp

leenico said:


> Just a little addition to the correction.



Hey stranger! 

I have to say, to me that sounds like an odd way to say it, "...otherwise you risk your ass getting kicked by someone..." 
Nope, I can't agree. not wrong, just not quite right, either. For me it has to be, "otherwise you risk getting your ass kicked by someone..."


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## leenico

Ha ha, lsp I don't think it matters.


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## Nate in California

> otherwise you risk getting your ass kicked by someone


Yes, this is the way it should be written.


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## leenico

I googled and sort of got 2,330,000 "*otherwise you risk your ass getting kicked by someone.*" I know I know it really doesn't mean anything.


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## Snowman75

Google:

"risk getting your ass kicked": 420
"risk your ass getting kicked": 8

waiting for mods to start deleting posts


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## Riccaboni

luke_77 said:


> Where does your father come from? Is he from  milan originally? Cause I use to say "madonna"!!
> 
> My Father is Sicilian, My Mother's family is from around Milano. My Grandfather From Sicily would yell "Minga" or smething along those lines, But I'm pretty sure that also was a word for Dick.


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## Nate in California

Yup, "minchia," often pronounced more like "miiiinghia." It's Sicilian for "cazzo."


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## ElaineG

leenico said:


> What does mannaggia mean? I used to hear mannaggia l'america when I was a kid.


 
Damn, basically.

In my boyfriend's family, it was "dannata America" -- that's about all the Italian he knows, actually.


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## lsp

leenico said:


> I googled and* sort of got *2,330,000 "*otherwise you risk your ass getting kicked by someone.*" I know I know it really doesn't mean anything.



If you used the quotation marks in your search, I'd be very surprised. With them, you get zero results and without them your results include any page where those words all appear in _any_ combination, including my suggested sequence.

EDIT "sort of got"???


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## Victoria32

lsp said:


> Hey stranger!
> 
> I have to say, to me that sounds like an odd way to say it, "...otherwise you risk your ass getting kicked by someone..."
> Nope, I can't agree. not wrong, just not quite right, either. For me it has to be, "otherwise you risk getting your ass kicked by someone..."


You _can_ say "...otherwise you risk your ass getting kicked by someone..." 
but that may be a BE usage, because I have used and heard it from my father (BE native)...


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## disegno

> Is there a mild curse word similar to damn in Italian?



Damn is considered mild now? Well, the times they are a changing. Sigh. I remember as a kid being freaked when my dad said the word damn...once upon a time it meant something really horrible.


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## Victoria32

disegno said:


> Damn is considered mild now? Well, the times they are a changing. Sigh. I remember as a kid being freaked when my dad said the word damn...once upon a time it meant something really horrible.


My mother considered it horrible (she was a preacher's grand-kid) and I used to... but society in general doesn't agree!


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## narmoriel

Hi, I live in Maremma ( Tuscany)  and I teach in an infant school so , when there is a problem I say *" maremma zucchina ".* My children laugh.
It isn't a bad phrase and it can be use without problem.
Narmoriel


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## pescara

lsp said:


> And how about "Porca miseria!"


 
lsp,
Porca miseria is one of my favorite italian expressions of frustration.  However, I have a difficult time explaining its meaning to Americans.  I know that the literal translation is "pig misery."  Someone once told me it means that not even a pig should suffer such misery, but I'm not sure if that is the correct explanation.   

Can someone help me with the origin/meaning of this expression? (Mods, I hope this isn't considered off-thread).


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## Marion Murri

I think it is important, not just the transalation of "damn" but the context, situation and person in front of whom one is expressing this sentiment. I, as an older citizen would rarely feel comforatble using "cazzo"  and cerainly would not use is in front of another senior unless I was very familiar with them.  I would however use "Madonna" or "maledetto" without hesitation and if I was really annoyed probably  "porco Dio" or "puttana".  Although resident in Australia I still spend 6 months per year in Italy and have spoken Italian since a child so consider my language still up to date.


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## raffavita

Nate in California said:


> Oh yeah, true. But wait, does anyone actually say "dannazione!" I've never heard someone actually use it.



Good point! 
It's pretty outdated.

I always have difficulties translating "damn" without sounding obsolete.
Especially when it has to fit a balloon and the word has to be short.

All I can think of is "cazzo", but I know it's too strong.

Maybe "cacchio"!
But it sounds ridiculous.

Would "merda" be too strong???

Grazie mille a tutti.


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## stella_maris_74

E' un fumetto, Raffa?
Se sì, magari può funzionare "Porc..!" senza ulteriori specificazioni


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## Colei che...

stella_maris_74 said:


> E' un fumetto, Raffa?
> Se sì, magari può funzionare "Porc..!" senza ulteriori specificazioni



Da letterista (), quoto.
Peccato per la lunghezza, perché anche "maledizione" mi sembra una traduzione adatta (e meno obsoleta di "dannazione").

(And no, I don't think that merda is too strong: it just depend on the situation!)


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## raffavita

stella_maris_74 said:


> E' un fumetto, Raffa?
> Se sì, magari può funzionare "Porc..!" senza ulteriori specificazioni



Sì, è un fumetto. E in effetti in molti casi userò "porc".. perché ci sta benissimo.
Qui in realtà lui ha appena capito una cosa molto grave.

E' molto preoccupato.

Perciò cercavo un'esclamazione meno spiritosa, diciamo. 
Non riesco a spiegarmi bene.

Ha capito quando attaccheranno i nemici.

Ecco.


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## danalto

*Ma porc...* può anche andare. 
Forse anche *Porca miseria*?

*Cavolo*, lo escluderei.
Visto che non hai (beata te ) problemi di lunghezze o di sinc, se ci scrivi *Accidenti*, o *...ccidenti*?

Concordo su *cazzo*, che sarebbe la migliore in assoluto, ma non si può quasi mai usare, *DAMN*!

p.s.: Di tutti i suggerimenti che ti ho dato onestamente mi piace solo l'ultimo, è un vero problema, ogni santa volta, rendere questa esclamazione!


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## eyeswideopen

Visto che non è ancora venuto fuori, visto il contesto, che ne dite di 'Diavolo!'?


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## Samu!

eyeswideopen said:


> Visto che non è ancora venuto fuori, visto il contesto, che ne dite di 'Diavolo!'?


 
Allora anche "Diamine!" (sono entrambe un po' datate...)

Se è per un fumetto, "maledizione" si può dire eccome.

---


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## cavillous

raffavita said:


> Good point!
> It's pretty outdated.
> 
> I always have difficulties translating "damn" without sounding obsolete.
> Especially when it has to fit a balloon and the word has to be short.
> 
> All I can think of is "cazzo", but I know it's too strong.
> 
> Maybe "cacchio"!
> But it sounds ridiculous.
> 
> Would "merda" be too strong???
> 
> Grazie mille a tutti.


I guess _merda_ is a better choice.
_Cazzo_ would be too strong a word.


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## raffavita

danalto said:


> Visto che non hai (beata te ) problemi di lunghezze o di sinc, se ci scrivi *Accidenti*, o *...ccidenti*?
> 
> Concordo su *cazzo*, che sarebbe la migliore in assoluto, ma non si può quasi mai usare, *DAMN*!



Eccome se ho problemi di lunghezza. Deve entrare tutto in un balloon.

La sinc invece no.

Perché dici che non si può mai usare??

Grazie a tutti voi, come sempre!!!


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