Many Italians use swear words all the time in their everyday conversations.
You may know a few of them, but it’s hard to know how strong they are or when it's actually appropriate to use them.
In this post, you’ll learn how to use (or not) the most common Italian swear words, some milder alternatives, and even one word you should never say—because it’s actually a crime in Italy!
Cazzo!
Cazzo is one of the most commonly used Italian swear words and it literally translates to a vulgar term for male genitalia.
Italians use it to express frustration, surprise or anger, similar to how English speakers use “f*ck”.
Cazzo! Ho dimenticato il passaporto! - F*ck! I forgot my passport!
Ho perso di nuovo le chiavi, e che cazzo! - I lost my keys again, what the f*ck!
If you're not sure about the context or more simply you don't like le parolacce (swear words), you can say cavolo instead.
It literally translates to "cabbage", however, it expresses the same feelings of cazzo , without being vulgar. Similar to the English “geez!”
Vaffanculo!
If you find yourself navigating Italian traffic, this is the swear word you’ll most frequently see on the lips of local drivers!
Vaffanculo is used to express extreme anger or annoyance with somebody, much like saying "f*ck off" in English.
It's definitely not polite, so you should reserve it for situations where you know it will be understood in the right context.
Ha suonato il clacson e urlato "vaffanculo!" - He honked his horn and yelled “f*ck you!”
For a milder alternative, you can say: vai a quel paese!
It literally translates to "go to that country". It might not carry the same level of intensity of vaffanculo , but it will get your point across.
Che due palle!
Che due palle literally translates to “what two balls,” but in everyday Italian, it’s similar to saying "What a pain in the ass!" in English.
Oggi è il mio ultimo giorno in Italia, che due palle! - Today is my last day in Italy, what a pain in the ass!
If you want to maintain some composure even if you are very sad to leave Italy, you can say the lighter alternative of this swear word: che due scatole ! Literally “what two boxes”!
If you’re wondering why Italians get that upset over boxes, this is one of those expressions that doesn’t make sense when translated literally. It’s best just to learn it as it is.
Porca puttana!
In Italian, porca means “female pig,” and puttana means “whore”. So you probably already can tell that this is quite a strong one.
It’s typically used in moments of extreme frustration or surprise, much like saying "what the hell!" in English.
Porca puttana! Ho perso l’aereo! - What the hell! I missed my flight!
For a slightly less offensive option, you can use porca miseria , which translates to "damn it".
Merda!
If you're enjoying your ice cream cone in Italy and all of a sudden it falls over your jacket, this is the swear word to say.
Merda literally means “sh*t” and it's used in much the same way as in English.
Merda! Ho rotto il mio telefono! - Sh*t! I broke my phone!
The mild alternative for merda is mannaggia . It’s similar to saying “darn it!” or “shoot!” in English.
Good to know: if you visit Italy you’re probably going to hear mannaggia in central and southern Italy, where it’s mostly used. (In fact Matteo, who is from Naples, uses it a lot!)
Stronzo!
Italians say stronzo (lit. piece of sh*t) to describe someone who is rude or inconsiderate. It’s very similar to saying “asshole” in English.
Mi dispiace, sono stato uno stronzo . -I'm sorry: I was an asshole.
If you are angry with someone but want to avoid using such a strong word you can say brutta persona that means “bad person”.
Interestingly, Italians also use the word bastardo that is very similar to the English “bastard”, with the same meaning.
Sono incazzato!
Sono incazzato translates to "I’m pissed”, or “pissed off" in British English. And you might recognize that it’s a variation on the word we talked about at the beginning of this blogpost: cazzo.
Sono incazzato per il ritardo del treno! -I’m pissed off about the train delay!
If you want to express your anger without being overly dramatic, you can say sono incavolato!
You might recognise the word cavolo (cabbage) we saw earlier as an alternative to cazzo .
Porco Dio: the word against the law
Porco in Italian means “male pig” and Dio means God. It's usually used in the same way as "Goddammit" in English.
Many Italians say it, but unlike other swear words we have seen so far, this one can be considered extremely vulgar and offensive. In fact in Italy for some people religion is a big deal, so this offence against God could be taken pretty seriously.
And, believe it or not, there’s actually a law that makes using this phrase (or any of its variations) a crime, punishable by a fine.
So, it’s probably best just to avoid it.
A list of common Italian insults (that we hope you won’t have to use during your trip in Italy)
If the swear words you've learned so far aren’t quite enough, here are some other common Italian insults:
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Testa di cazzo! - D*ckhead!
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Figlio di puttana! - Son of a b*tch!
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Sfigato! - Loser!
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Pezzo di merda! - Piece of sh*t!
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Cazzone! - Idiot!
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Cretino! - Jerk!
Italian Swear Words You Won’t Find in Your Textbook: Review
Let’s review those Italian swear words (and their milder alternatives) one more time:
Cazzo! - F*ck! ( milder alternative: Cavolo!)
Vaffanculo! - F*ck off! (milder alternative: Vai a quel paese! )
Che due palle! - What a pain in the ass! (milder alternative: Che due scatole! )
Porca puttana! - What the hell! (milder alternative: Porca miseria! )
Merda! - Sh*t! (milder alternative: Mannaggia! )
Che stronzo! - What an asshole! (milder alternative: Che brutta persona! )
Sono incazzato! - I’m pissed/pissed off! (milder alternative: Sono incavolato! )
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to “Learn Italian with Joy of Languages”.
M: Today, we’re talking about a topic you definitely don’t find in your textbooks: swear words that we Italians use the most!
K: As you may have already guessed, we'll use strong language, if there are children around, we recommend putting your headphones on.
M: It might feel a bit odd or even strong to hear us say these swear words in English, but it's actually helpful. This way, you can better understand their impact when you use them in Italian. It's an important aspect to keep in mind as you learn.
K: Before we get started, can we ask you a quick favore ? if you’re listening to this on your podcast app, could you hit the subscribe or follow button? This way you’ll get notified when we release a new episode and you’ll help our podcast grow so that we can keep making free lessons like this. Grazie!
K: So, a few weeks ago Matteo had to go to the dentist.
M: To be precise, it was the third time I had to go, to fix the same thing!
K: Here's a similar conversation to the one we had when he got home:
M: Che due palle!
K: Che c’è? Sei incazzato?
M: Sì, quello stronzo mi ha tagliato la gengiva
K: Merda… come stai?
M: (sospiro di frustrazione) Passerà. Però che cazzo!
K: Matteo said:
M: Che due palle! – What a pain in the ass (or arse as we say in the UK!)! Literally
Che – What
Due – two
Palle – balls
K: You might want to use che due palle when something feels like a big hassle or when you're dealing with a tedious situation
M: For example, if your train is late or worse:cancelled! Which happened to me a short time ago, by the way.
K: I know. Train stations are places when you can hear a lot of swearing! So, what a pain in the ass, literally, what two balls is…
M: Che due palle (x2)
K:It’s a pretty common phrase in Italy, but it’s also a bit vulgar, so if you’re looking for a softer version of this, you can say a very funny and slightly strange alternative:
M: Che due scatole (x2)
K: Which literally means: “what two boxes”
M: Che due scatole.
K: If you’re wondering why Italians get that upset over boxes, this is one of those expressions that doesn’t make sense when translated literally.
M: Yes. It’s best just to learn it as it is.
K: Then I asked Matteo:
M: Che c’è? Sei incazzato? – What’s up? Are you pissed? (or “pissed off” as we say in the UK). Literally:
Che – What
c’è – there is
Sei – You are
Incazzato- …
K: For this last word we need a little bit of explanation. Incazzato comes from the word cazzo, which is one of the most commonly used Italian swear words. We’ll talk about that in a few minutes.
M: Cazzo is a vulgar term for male genitalia. And it’s part of the word you’ve just heard: incazzato .
K: Again, there’s no point in looking for some kind of sense. What you need to know is that incazzato translates to "pissed” of “pissed off", as in very angry!
M: Incazzato (x2)
K: So, when I asked Matteo if he was incazzato he replied:
M: Sì, quello stronzo mi ha tagliato la gengiva - Yes, that asshole cut my gum (or arsehole as we say in the UK). Literally:
Sì - Yes
Quello - That
Stronzo - piece of shit
Mi - Me
Ha - has
Tagliato - Cut
La gengiva - The gum, and here you see that Italians use a word very similar to the latin: gingivitis
K: So, here Matteo has just called his dentist stronzo – literally, it means “piece of shit”. It’s commonly used when you’re angry with someone who’s done something bad or annoying.
M: Yes, for example, if someone cuts you off in traffic, stronzo can easily pop out!
K: Yes. Traffic jams in Italy are definitely another place where there is no shortage of swearing! So, even though stronzo literally means “piece of shit”, it’s probably used in the same way, and with the same frequency, that we would use “asshole” or “arsehole” in English.
M: Stronzo (x2)
K: Back to the dialogue, I asked Matteo:
M: Merda... come stai? – Shit… how are you?
Merda- Shit
Come- How
Stai - You Stay Remember that for asking “how someone is” Italians use the verb stare . So to ask “how are you” you can say: Come stai ? You can find more details in episode 128
K: M erda is our next swear word and you can use it in the same way you’d use “shit” in English, in this case to show shock, like, “shit, what happened?” or, like I did: “shit, how are you?”
M: Merda (x2)
K: Then Matteo replied (I apologise in advance, because the strong one is coming!)
M: Passerà. Però che cazzo! – It’ll pass. But what the fuck!
Passerà - It’ll pass
Però - But
Che- what
Cazzo- slang for male genitalia
K: Cazzo is one of the most common swear words in Italian, we talked about it before, when Matteo explained the word incazzato . Cazzo is used much like the English “fuck.” And, like we said earlier, there’s no real point in trying to find the logic behind it. Why do we use the slang word for the act of fornication as one of our strongest and most common swear words, while Italians use the slang word for male genitalia? That’s just the way it is!
So, “what the fuck” in Italian is:
M: Che cazzo (x2)
K: Literally:
Che – What
Cazzo – Fuck (this feels weird I should really stop saying the f word in public now!)
K: As we said before, The problem about swear words in another language is that you’re probably never quite sure when it's actually appropriate to use them. So, here’s the milder version that you can use instead, I found it very funny when I first heard it.
M: Cavolo!
K: Cavolo , is "cabbage" in Italian, and in addition to using it at the market you can also used in the same way as “geez” or “gosh” in English. So again, that’s:
M: Cavolo (x2)
K: Let’s quickly review the most common Italian swear words : First, we have “What a pain in the arse!” , literally “what 2 balls”
M: che due palle (x2)
K: And, can you remember the milder alternative? Literally “What two boxes!”
M: che due scatole! (x2)
K: Then, how would you say "I’m pissed off."
M: sono incazzato (x2)
K: “Arsehole”?
M: stronzo (x2)
K: “shit”?
M: merda (x2)
K: Finally, fuck ?
M: cazzo (x2)
K: I don’t think we’ve ever said so many swear words in 10 minutes. And povero dentista!
M: Yes, I would like to specify that I did not actually swear at the poor dentist. And my gum is better now so it’s all good.
K: Let’s listen to the conversation again.
M: Che due palle!
K: Che c’è? Sei incazzato?
M: Sì, quello stronzo mi ha tagliato la gengiva
K: Merda… come stai?
M: (sospiro di frustrazione) Passerà. Però che cazzo!
K: We hope you enjoyed this lesson, for us it was quite funny even if a bit odd.
M: Yes, I agree! Over on the blog, you’ll find more swearwords and the milder alternatives to all the ones you learnt today.
K: You’ll also learn one swear word you should never say because it’s actually a crime in Italy
M: Yes. Strange but true!
K: To find out more, click the link in the description or go to italian.joyoflanguages.com/podcast and search for episode 163.
M - See you next time.
K - Or as we say in Italian.
Alla prossima!
Time to check your understanding and remember everything you just learned! Below you’ll find a mini-quiz and some vocabulary cards to help it all go in.
Quiz
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: Italian Swear Words You Won’t Find in Your Textbook
Vocabulary
Cazzo! Ho dimenticato il passaporto! = F*ck! I forgot my passport!
Porca puttana! Ho perso l’aereo! = What the hell! I missed my flight!
Sono incazzato per il ritardo del treno! = I’m pissed off about the train delay!
Che due palle! = What a pain in the ass (lit. what 2 balls)
Sei incazzato? = Are you pissed (off)?
Merda! = Shit!
Che cazzo! = What the f*ck!
Flashcards: Italian Swear Words You Won’t Find in Your Textbook
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
