In this lesson, youāll learn the most common and interesting cat idioms in Italian.
Letās start!
Cat idioms in Italian: male cats
What follows are cat idioms in Italian featuring male cats.
Essere come cane e gatto
It translates to to be like cats and dogs. It means to be archenemies.
Essere come cane e gatto
To be like cats and dogs
Literally: to be like cat and dog
I miei due figli sono come cane e gatto. Litigano sempre!
My sons are like cats and dogs. They are always fighting!
Giocare come il gatto col topo
Another easy one that has the same meaning as English, to play cat and mouse.
Giocare come il gatto col topo
To play cat and mouse
Literally: to play like the cat does with the mouse
Sta giocando con lui come il gatto col topo.
Heās playing cat and mouse with him.
Essere in quattro gatti
It means to be just a handful of people.
Essere in quattro gatti
To be just a handful of people
Literally: to be in four cats
Non cāera quasi nessuno al concerto. Eravamo in quattro gatti.
There was almost nobody at the concert. There was (we were) just a handful of people.
Quando il gatto non cāĆØ i topi ballano
Itās the Italian translation of when the catās away the mice will play.
Quando il gatto non cāĆØ i topi ballano
When the catās away the mice will play
Literally: when the cat is not there the mice dance
Title: Italian All-in-One For Dummies
Language: English / Italian
Publisher:Ā For Dummies
Pages:Ā 672
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Avere sette vite come un gatto
This is quite an interesting idiom.
You see, Italian cats have seven lives, not nine.
Is it better to be born an English or an Italian catā¦?
Avere sette vite come un gatto
To have nine lives
Literally: to have seven lives like a cat
I gatti hanno sette vite
Cats have nine lives
Literally: cats have seven lives
Cat idioms in Italian: female cats
What follows are cat idioms in Italian featuring female cats.
Qui gatta ci cova
Covare can either mean to brood (eggs) or to harbor (a feeling).
It translates to the English sentence thereās something fishy going on.
Qui gatta ci cova
Thereās something fishy going on
Literally: female cat broods here
Gatta morta
This is commonly found as either fare la gatta morta or essere una gatta morta. It has a double meaning.
Itās used to mean someone who plays dumb, but really isnāt. Itās also used to translate to be a flirt.
This idiom is based off of one of Aesopās fables, The Cat and The Mice, where a cat fakes his death to lure in some mice.
Gatta morta
Someone who plays dumb
Cocktease, to be a flirt
Literally: dead female cat
Chi fa la gatta morta ĆØ una persona molto subdola e pericolosa.
People who play dumb are very devious and dangerous.
Gatta da pelare
Pelare means to skin.
Bathing a cat is no easy feat. Imagine skinning one. Your arms would end up like a patchwork of scratches.
So when youāre facing a really hard problem, it can feel like skinning a catā¦
Avere una gatta da pelare
To have a tough nut to crack
Literally: to have a female cat to skin
Questa sƬ che ĆØ una bella gatta da pelare!
Now this one is some tough nut to crack!
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La gatta frettolosa fa i gattini ciechi
It means haste makes waste. Donāt do things in haste, youāll regret it.
Cieco means blind. Frettoloso comes from fretta, which means haste.
La gatta frettolosa fa i gattini ciechi
Haste makes waste
Literally: the female cat in a hurry gives birth to blind kittens
Tanto va la gatta al lardo che ci lascia lo zampino
Lardo is lard. Zampino is derived from zampa, meaning paw. The suffix āino translates to little, so zampino means little paw.
Its English counterpart is the pitcher goes so often to the well that it leaves its handle.
Tanto va la gatta al lardo che ci lascia lo zampino
The pitcher goes so often to the well that it leaves its handle
Literally: the cat goes to the lard so often that it leaves its paw
What next?
You might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
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