Common Italian expression
| Pronunciation | |
| Literal translation | To be an open book |
| English translation | To be an open book |
| Meaning | To be very easy to understand and emotionally “read” |
Using the same pattern, you can also use essere un libro chiuso, “to be a closed book”, to describe someone who always hides their feelings and opinions!
Examples
| Luca è un libro aperto. Sai sempre quello che pensa. | Luca is an open book. You always know what he is thinking. |
| Matteo, invece, è un libro chiuso. Non mostra mai alcuna emozione. | Matteo, on the other hand, is a closed book. He never shows any emotion. |
Where does this idiom come from?
This idiom comes from the fact that reading an open book is really easy because you only have to look at the characters on the page. In contrast, the contents of a closed book cannot be read until you pry it open.
Related lessons
- essere (to be)
- libro (book)
- aperto (open)
- indefinite articles
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