48 LE FACCENDE DOMESTICHE (VOCABOLARIO)
chores
Rossella Pescatori; Caren Bernezet Parrish; Shahrzad Zahedi; and William J. Carrasco
Learning Objectives
- In this section, you will learn how to talk about household chores
Studiamo !
I lavori domestici
Now we are going to talk about household chores. Here’s a good list to start with:
| Italiano | Inglese |
|---|---|
| innaffiare le piante | to water (the plants) |
| scopare | to sweep |
| bollire | to boil |
| cucinare | to cook, bake |
| lavare il pavimento | to mop the floor |
| fare la lavatrice, fare il bucato | to do laundry |
| fare i piatti | to do the dishes |
| fare il letto | to make the bed |
| fare le faccende domestiche | to do housework |
| fare la spesa | to do the shopping |
| fare i compiti | to do homework |
| fare riparare la macchina | to get the car repaired |
| fare giardinaggio | to garden |
| pulire | to clean |
| passare l’aspirapolvere | to vacuum |
| spolverare | to straighten up, put in order, tidy up |
| riscaldare | to reheat, to warm up |
| stirare | to iron (clothes) |
| occuparsi | to take care of |
| portare fuori la spazzatura | to take out the garbage |
| portare fuoti l’immondizia | to take out the trash |
| tagliare l’erba | to mow the lawn |
As you can see, many of these chores do not match up evenly to their English equivalents. Here are some examples:
- vs. riordinare vs. lavare
Lavare means to wash (like hands, clothes and dishes) pulire means to clean (like floors, ovens, and counters), and riordinare means to clean up, tidy up or arrange (like the bedroom, living room, or closet). Certain types of cleaning and washing do not use these verbs at all. Instead we use expressions with fare: fare la lavatrice, fare i piatti, fare il letto, etc.
- cuocere vs. cucinare
Cucinare o fare da magiare mean to do the cooking, to prepare meals. Cucere or fare la cottura refers to the actual cooking (or heating up) of food: fare bollire (to boil), grigliare (to grill), friggere (to fry), cucinare al vapore (to steam), mettere nel forno (to put in the oven), etc.
