🎙 Welcome to  We learn Italian step by step  / Impariamo l’italiano piano piano

🎧 Mini Episode 3 – From Wolves to Formal You in Everyday Italian

Ciao a tutti, and welcome back to another mini episode of Impariamo l’italiano piano piano - the podcast where we take our time, explore Italian in context, and soprattutto, enjoy the ride.

Today, we're exploring three little phrases that popped up in Episode 2 - and while they may sound simple, each one reveals something unique about how Italians communicate:

• How they wish you luck,
• How they talk about challenges, and
• How they show respect and formality in conversation.

Siete pronti? Allora, cominciamo.

🐺 Part 1 – "In bocca al lupo!" 

Our first expression is used before exams, performances, interviews, any situation where, in English we might say, “Break a leg!” or “Good Luck”, in Italian you will often hear a reference to being in the mouth of the wolf.

Let’s listen in on the end of Episode 2 for this well known expression and pay particular attention to Antonio’s response.

[start clip]
 Myra: I’ll share the English translation of this part of the story, in our next podcast episode. In the meantime, good luck with your assignments, or as the Italians would say, Into the mouth of the wolf – In bocca a lupo! 

Antonio: Crepi il lupo
     (May the wolf die!) 

Myra? What was that?

Antonio: Cosa?
    (What?) 

Myra: Did you say something?

Antonio: Ah, sì, ho detto 'Crepi il lupo!
(Ah, yes, I said 'May the wolf die!') 

Myra: OK so I guess, if the wolf dies, you don’t get swallowed whole. Italians and their idioms!

Antonio: Hai detto qualcosa?
    (Did you say something?)
[end clip]

So did you catch that response? “Crepi il lupo!”

If a wolf’s got your head in its mouth, I suppose you’d be hoping the wolf doesn’t survive! 

You might have heard the story about Romulus and Remus two brothers who are thought to be the founders of Rome. They were apparently discovered by a she-wolf who I imagine would have protected them from the elements and other threats while nurturing them. In that case to be in the mouth of the wolf is not such a bad place to be after all. 

Or maybe it’s been handed down from hunters who, being somewhat superstitious, might have believed that to wish a negative situation on someone is to actually wish the opposite, similar to the way we use “Break a leg”. 

So the next time you need to wish an Italian good luck, why not try it out! Say: In bocca al lupo! and if someone says it to you, remember the response: Crepi il lupo! May the wolf die. So why, you might be wondering is it crepi and not 3rd person singular crepa?

Well, crepi is the subjunctive mood. in Italian, it's called congiuntivo, a mood we will get to eventually.
We use it when expressing a wish, a hope, or possibility, rather than stating a fact.

In this case, you’re not saying the wolf is dying — you’re hoping it will.
So instead of the normal present tense (crepa), we use the subjunctive (crepi).

🧾 Side-by-side:

• Il lupo crepa. → The wolf dies. (Present indicative – a statement)
• Crepi il lupo! → May the wolf die! (Present subjunctive – a wish)

And that’s why Italians say Crepi il lupo! — not Crepa il lupo!
It’s a wish disguised as an idiom… and wolves everywhere should beware.

So that’s what the good she-wolf gets for all her troubles.
 Chi fa del bene, se ne pente.
Or as we say in English, “No good deed goes unpunished.”

Literal: Who does good, ends up regretting it.

Part 2 – "Una bella sfida" 

The next phrase I’d like to bring to your attention is literally translated as a beautiful challenge. But what does it really mean?

Let’s listen in as I introduce the assignment of conjugating verbs in the imprefetto:
 [start clip] 
 Before listening to the next episode, I have a little workout for you.  When you have a moment, take a pen and paper and conjugate these 5 verbs in the imperfetto.  

If you do this brain exercise before listening to the answers, you will get much more out of this podast. I promise.

Antonio: Ah, una bella sfida! Ma ricorda, Myra, non tutti sono pronti per una maratona verbale.
(Ah, quite a challenge! But remember, Myra, not everyone is ready for a verbal marathon.)

Myra: So when you say bella sfida, you don’t mean a beautiful challenge really do you? You mean a big challenge. I’m only asking them to conjugate a few verbs.

Antonio: D’accordo, d’accordo... forse una maratona è troppo. Ma sicuramente una corsa veloce, e magari una bella salita!
(Okay, okay...maybe a marathon is too much. But definitely a fast run, and maybe a nice climb!)
[End clip]

Here we can see that, while bella literally means beautiful, it can also mean a big challenge or a tough one, sometimes even a fun challenge.

Here are a few more examples. To say: 

A great idea 
 una bella idea

A big  surprise
 una bella sorpresa

And once again... a tough challenge
 una bella sfida

And speaking of this versatile word “bella” or it’s masculine equivalent, “bello” it’s handy to know that when used with the preposition “di”, its meaning does not translate literally into English.

For instance:

Cos’hai fatto di bello?
Literally: What have you done of beautiful?
This actually means, “What nice things have you done?” or  What have you been up to?

Another example:

Che mi racconti di bello?
Literally: What do you tell me of beautiful?
This means: What’s new? Got any good stories?

The “di bello” part adds warmth and positive expectation  like you’re hoping for some happy or pleasant news, not just the facts.

You might hear similar forms such as:

·        Did you see anything nice? → Hai visto qualcosa di bello?

·        Read anything good lately? → Hai letto qualcosa di bello?

·        Tell me something nice. → Mi dici qualcosa di bello?

I wonder if Antonio might be able to lend a hand here. Antonio, could you come up with a story that uses some of these examples to help us tune our ears to them?

ANTONIO (a little offended):
Ah, finalmente! Dopo tutto questo tempo… credevo che ti fossi dimenticata di me.

(Finally! After all this time… I thought you had forgotten about me.)

MYRA:
Not at all! I just wanted to see if I could make it to Mini Episode 3 on my own.

ANTONIO:
Va bene, va bene… allora ascoltate questa storia.

(Alright, alright… then listen to this story.)

La settimana scorsa, mi hanno invitato a partecipare a una gara di poesia improvvisata in un piccolo teatro a Roma. Quando sono arrivato, c’erano già venti partecipanti… tutti con i loro fogli, le loro rime, i loro applausi finti.

Un amico mi ha guardato negli occhi e mi ha detto: “In bocca al lupo, Antonio!”
E io, ovviamente: “Crepi il lupo.”

Salire su quel palco, senza sapere cosa dire, davanti a un pubblico di perfetti sconosciuti?
 Una bella sfida, credetemi.

Ma alla fine… ho chiuso con un verso dedicato all’amore e ho ricevuto un applauso vero.

Dopo, una ragazza mi ha sorriso e mi ha chiesto: “Che mi racconta di bello?”
E io ho risposto:
“Che oggi ho vinto… quando Io ho incontrato Lei.”

Myra:

Bella storia, Antonio! Che ne dici se la facciamo ancora una volta, con la traduzione in inglese e in italiano?

Great story Antonio! How about we do it one more time, with the English and Italian translation?

Antonio:

Quando vuoi.
 Ready when you are!

Myra:
Whenever you’re ready, take it away, Tony!

Antonio (wounded, theatrical):
Tony?! Davvero… 
Mi hai appena tolto tutta la dignità… in diretta!
(Tony?! Really… “Tony”?
 You’ve just stripped me of all dignity… on air!)

[brief pause – he says nothing more]

Myra:
Antonio… the story?

Antonio (over-the-top):
La storia? E tu pensi che una storia conti qualcosa… in un momento come questo?
The story? And do you think a story matters anything… at a time like this?

Myra:
Per favore…
Do it for me.

Antonio:
Per te? Mmm… no.

Myra:

Per gli ascoltatori?
 For the listeners?

Antonio:
Lo faccio solo per gli ascoltatori.

Last week, I was invited to take part in an improvised poetry competition at a small theater in Rome.
La settimana scorsa, mi hanno invitato a partecipare a una gara di poesia improvvisata in un piccolo teatro a Roma.

When I arrived, there were already twenty participants… all with their papers, their rhymes, their fake applause.
Quando sono arrivato, c’erano già venti partecipanti… tutti con i loro fogli, le loro rime, i loro applausi finti.

A friend looked me in the eye and said, “In bocca al lupo, Antonio!”
Un amico mi ha guardato negli occhi e mi ha detto: “In bocca al lupo, Antonio!”

And I, of course, replied: “Crepi il lupo.”
E io, ovviamente: “Crepi il lupo.”

Getting up on that stage, not knowing what to say, in front of a crowd of total strangers? A bella sfida — a real challenge, believe me.
Salire su quel palco, senza sapere cosa dire, davanti a un pubblico di perfetti sconosciuti? Una bella sfida, credetemi.

But in the end… I finished with a verse about love and got real applause.
Ma alla fine… ho chiuso con un verso dedicato all’amore e ho ricevuto un applauso vero.

Afterward, a girl smiled at me and asked, “What’s new and beautiful for you to tell me?”
Dopo, una ragazza mi ha sorriso e mi ha chiesto: “Che mi racconta di bello?”

And I answered: “That today I won… when I met you.”
E io ho risposto: “Che oggi ho vinto… quando ho incontrato Lei.”

Myra:

Wow… Lei, eh?
Very formal, Antonio. Trying to impress her?

Antonio (lightly):
Un uomo deve saper scegliere le parole giuste… al momento giusto.
(A man must know how to choose the right words… at the right moment.)

🧑‍🏫 Part 3 – “Tu” vs “Lei”: Speaking Formally (4:00–6:00)

Myra:
Mm-hm. Well, your choice of Lei is actually a perfect segue into our next point.
Let’s talk about how Italians switch between tu and Lei — and when you might want to sound more respectful… or just smooth, like Antonio.

Let’s listen in on Episode 2 when we were discussing this topic:
 
 [start clip]
 We mentioned that the informal you singular is ‘tu’. What about if it’s formal? In other words you’re talking to your professor, your soon to be inlaws, the shop keeper who you don’t know. Instead of ‘tu’ you would use, ‘Lei’. What if it is a man? We still use ‘Lei’ to address them. So speaking about a person, he or she, he is ‘lui’ and she is ‘lei’. But when speaking directly to a person, informally you would use ‘tu’, but formally, the professor, the shopkeeper, your new  inlaw, ‘Lei’.

[end clip]

And do you recall when I was speaking with Professoressa Daniela Bartalesi-Graf

[start clip]

Benvenuta, Professoressa Daniela! Possiamo darci del tu?
Welcome, Professoressa Daniela! Can we use the informal “tu” with each other?

Professoressa Daniela
Certamente, Myra. Diamoci del tu perché, dopo tutto, siamo coetanee e vorrei anche ringraziare te e la squadra di Impariamo l'Italiano Piano Piano per avermi invitata.
Certainly, Myra. Let’s use “tu”—because, after all, we’re peers and I’d also like to thank you and the Impariamo l’Italiano Piano Piano team for inviting me.

[end clip]

And again with  Dottoressa Chiara Brambilla?

[start clip]

Dottoressa, benvenuta a Impariamo l’italiano piano piano!
Doctor, welcome to We Learn Italian step by step!

Prima di iniziare, possiamo darci del tu?
Before we begin, can we use the informal “tu” with each other?

Chiara:
Oh, assolutamente, Myra, ti prego, dammi sempre del tu. Ok. E grazie per avermi invitata.
Oh, absolutely, Myra, please, always use “tu” with me. Ok. And thank you for inviting me.
[end clip]

Here is a Quick Overview:

• Tu = informal “you”
• Lei = formal “you” (used with professors, strangers, in-laws, etc.)

⚠️ Not to be confused with:

• lei (lowercase) = she

Notice also that Antonio used the third person singular of raccontare: racconta.
If he were speaking informally, it would have been racconti , second person singular.
So when you are speaking either formally or informally, you need to consider, not only the pronoun but also the form of the verb.

For instance:

·        Tu: Come stai? → How are you? (informal)

·        Lei: Come sta, Lei? → How are you? (formal)

If you are thinking this is a little basic, I agree. But it is something we probably don’t get a lot of practice with because we generally default to the informal ‘tu’ way of speaking. So how about a bit of practice with some sentences using the formal and the informal?

Practice Examples – Tu vs Lei

Let’s try a few examples, side by side. 

• Where do you live?
  → Tu: Dove abiti? (informal)
  → Lei: Dove abita, Lei? (formal)
• Do you speak English?
  → Tu: Parli inglese? (informal)
  → Lei: Parla inglese, Lei? (formal)
• Would you like a coffee?
  → Tu: Vuoi un caffè? (informal)
  → Lei: Vuole un caffè, Lei? (formal)

Antonio:

E ricordate… usare Lei non è solo una questione di grammatica.
 È eleganza. È rispetto. È… fascino.

And remember… using Lei isn’t just about grammar.
 It’s elegance. It’s respect. It’s… charm.

Myra:

Let me guess. You use Lei with every woman you meet?

Antonio:
Diciamo che… riconosco le occasioni giuste.
(Let’s just say… I recognize the right moments.)

Wrap-Up & What’s Next (6:00–end)

Let’s recap:

• When someone needs luck, throw them to the wolves… nicely. - In bocca al lupo! 
   And the response – Crepi il lupo!
• A beautiful challenge… or just a big one! – Una Bella sfida  
• Choosing formal tone, Lei or informal, tu - Choose wisely. Your relationship might depend on it. 

👉 Which of these do you find the most useful?
  
 Feel free to send me a voice message using the link in the show notes, and try one of these expressions in a sentence of your own! Or if you have a topic you’d like me to cover in an upcoming episode, use the SpeakPipe to tell me about it. Just click send me a message in the show notes.I’d really love to hear your voice.

In Mini Episodes 4 and 5, we’ll revisit how to conjugate both regular and irregular verbs in the imperfetto - including one very common irregular verb, essere, and a few others you might recognize from our story.
We’ll also take a look at some more Italian expressions, including one that came up in Episode 3 that you can use to light a fire under someone who’s dragging their feet and needs to get moving.
Can you remember what it was?
 
 

Until then…
 Impariamo l’italiano… piano piano. 🐌

Antonio:

Un impegno quotediano!

Together: A Presto!