45 Comments
I put "hot rolls" and was marked wrong. In Britain a sandwich is always made with two flat slices of bread. A roll is the English equivalent of a panino. But now we English also use the word "Panini" as the singular of say a filled ciabatta roll and "paninis" as the plural. So you might go into a snack bar in England and ask: "Do you do hot paninis?" or ask for say "a ham and tomato panini, please!" I've tried being a clever clogs in English snack bars by asking for a "Panino" only to be corrected with "Do you mean a panini?".
Even in Canada and the US panini has come to mean a single sandwich grilled. I'm on a useless campaign to let the shop owners to know that panini is actually plural, and I always order a "panino". It is a thankless battle but I don't seem to be able to give it up.
Please enjoy the lingot on me to raise your spirits in this hopeless cause
My Italian friends here just sigh and say "We've given up. Now we just tell ourselves that panini and canolli are American words."
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Panini might mean a plural in Italian but it has taken on its own meaning in English and that's fine. Similar to how 'calzone' is pronounced incorrectly from an Italian point of view. That's how language works and evolves.
General comnent panino/i...One's plural, one's singular. It doesn't require too much mental effort to learn the correct usage of foreign words; the transformation of foreign words to suit ourselves is ignorant, lazy, and arrogant, and if we can only bend and shape other languages to suit our tastes - better to just use English I think.
Glad I'm not alone in the battle, but do you order two cappucini? I would, certainly, but I can't afford them so I just have two coffees.
In Italian it's "gelato/gelati", in English (Australian at least) it's "gelati/gelatis". The borrowing language is under no obligation to keep the rules from the donnor language. People already complain that English is too complicated!
In american english its gelato/gelatos which is like nails on a chalkboard to me...
Yeah but the italian word panino isnt the same as the english word panini. The english panini is the specific hot sandwich roll thing. Un panino in italian is a sandwich. Filling in a bread. capisci
We have the same situation in Russia: "panini" here are used as singular. :(
Why can´t "hanno" refer to the formal use of you, i.e., "Loro"? In Italian, "you" can be translated into "tu", "Lei", "voi" and "Loro" as far as I can remember from my first Italian course.
I read some comments saying the use "lei" and "loro" for "formal" speech is almost extinct. Strongly disagree. Like saying speaking politely is almost extinct (well maybe they do have a point). But, it is more likely that the sentence in this example would be used in asking a restaurant owner or waiter. "Do you have sandwiches?"rather than "Do they have sandwiches?" Polite speech is respectful, something a tourist or foreign speaker should utilize, especially us americanos who have a reputation of being arrogant and pushy.
On a trip to visit my partner's relatives in Cosenza in southern Italy I spoke to them (elderly and very polite people all) in the Lei form, thinking I was being politically correct. That went on for a while until Maria, who had been a teacher and who actually showed me the letters I had written, all corrected with red pencil, said: "John, why do you insist on talking in such an old-fashioned manner." To her, it sounded very strange. It took me a while to make the switch but I was glad for the input.
- 477
Just the use of courtesy loro is almost extinct.
Lei as courtesy pronoun is very much alive.
It's gonna always seem to me that caldi means cold, like in English and German
Having learned the words caldo and cane as well as considering this sentence which makes me think about fast food, I have come to wonder how to say "hot-dog" in Italian.
"Cane-caldo"?
- 1919
Cane caldo is kind of a joke for those Italians who know a bit of English.
From my experience, anything hot dog like is würstel. You can even get it on pizza.
Hey, the typo is a disease inflicted apon all of us at one time or another.
Couldn't this sentence also mean, "Are there any hot sandwiches?" If not, how would you ask a shop owner if there were any hot sandwiches available?
What's a hot sandwich? Sandwiches might be described as toasted but they are never described as hot. Only rolls can be hot. Why doesn't Duolingo know this?
Languages are not exact, and translation often not direct. Common usage in one language often differs from one language than another. That is what keeps life interesting. Neither is right, neither is wrong, just different. You will struggle less if you accept that. A panino is grilled, therefore hot, and since it is some kind of filling between pieces of bread I can't think of a better translation than 'sandwich. If you can, let me know. Thanks for listening.
Yes, I have no trouble in telling you what a sandwich is called when it's been grilled: it's called a toasted sandwich. You can get them in lots of places in England. (You know, the place where English is spoken.) In Italy, however, the word 'panino' means bread roll. Sometimes they are filled and sometimes they are not, but the fundamental principle is that the word 'panino' means roll, not sandwich. In Italy, a sandwich (two slices of bread with filling) which has been grilled is called a 'toast'. Since I'm not here to learn American, I find it mighty irritating that my translations are consistently marked wrong because I'm not familiar with American usage. Your argument would hold water if Duolingo were as broadminded as you are about what's right and wrong, but it isn't and I'm bored with repeatedly having to 'correct' things that weren't wrong in the first place.
thank you for your thoughtful reply. I certainly understand what you are talking about. But language is inexact, and usage is ephemeral at best, changing from place to place, region to region within one country as well as between cultures. But Duolingo is constantly evolving and becoming more correct, if I can use that word. Enjoy the process and help make the program better. Sometimes it is frustrating, but that's life whether you are in England, Canada, Italy, and probably even Borneo. That is part of what keeps it interesting. In my travels in Italy I have eaten a lot of panini and they have all been grilled (sandwiches for want of a better word) and I don't ever recall hearing the word (would it be "tostatas"?).
- 1919
In Italy, any roll sliced open or two slices of bread or focaccia with something in the middle is called a "panino".
"Panino" also means a small roll.
Walk into any bar in Italy and ask for a "panino" and you will be given some form of bread with meat, cheese or vegetables in the middle. They may even heat or "toast" it without even asking. You absolutely will not be given a plain roll. Point to a sandwich and ask what it's called, the answer will be "panino".
Try a sandwich of hot roast pork and hot gravy on thick sliced bread - wonderful.
I had the same question. My Italian teacher said Italian uses the same word ("caldo") for "hot" and "warm"; there is not a separate word for "warm".
He said you can usually tell in context and/or by intonation whether the speaker meant "hot" or "warm" . If they want to really emphasize "HOT", they would say "molto caldo" or change the tone in their voice.
"Fa caldo oggi" could mean "It's warm today" or "It's hot today", depending on the inflection.
"Tiepido" means lukewarm, usually describing water.
In American English, sandwiches are usually described as either a "cold sandwich" or a "hot sandwich", never a "warm sandwich".
From comments above (and below), Pat590727 seems very upset about this American usage of "hot sandwich". Apparently, in British English, it would be a "toasted sandwich".
- 1919
I can confirm the non-existence or at least the non-use of a separate word for 'warm'. When I talk with my Italian surf buddies about water temp, it's either acqua calda or acqua fredda. Nothing in between.
I find the obsession of some Duo users over the panino=roll thing fascinating.
I agree wholeheartedly with those who have tried to convince Duolingo that 'panini' should be translated as 'rolls'. But 'hot sandwiches' simply does not exist as a concept. It should be either 'hot rolls' or 'toasted sandwiches'. By the way has anyone else found it difficult to buy simple, unfilled rolls in Italy? Whenever I ask for 'due panini' I'm always asked what I want put in them! It was not thus even 10 years ago! I now go round in a circle and open with 'vorrei del pane -- ha panini?'
Actually "hot sandwiches" and "cold sandwiches" DO exist as a concept in American English. And my experience in Italy is that, whenever I asked for a "panino", they generally understood I wanted a sandwich, not a roll.
- 1919
Your experience with asking for 'due panini' should tell you that in Italy, when you hear 'panino' think 'sandwhich'.
Hopefully a nice read: https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/11133354
Yet again. Another multiple choice question that gives ONLY wrong options. It is stupid!!. Duolingo are you correcting this major mistake?
Can someone explain when C sounds like K and when it sounds like CH I feel like this is something u should understand this far in to the lessons but I still get surprised
