Common Italian expression
| Pronunciation | |
| Literal translation | The morning has gold in its mouth |
| English translation | The early bird catches the worm |
| Meaning | The morning brings opportunities and success; it encourages starting the day early to make the most of it |
You can translate early bird or early riser with an adjective, mattiniero.
Examples
| Non dovresti alzarti così tardi. Il mattino ha l’oro in bocca! | You shouldn’t get up so late. The early bird gets the worm! |
| Paolo non è un tipo molto mattiniero. Spesso si alza a mezzogiorno. | Paul is not a very early riser. He often gets up around noon. |
Where does this idiom come from?
This proverb is common in many languages, but the Italian version probably comes from the German idiom Die Morgenstunde hat Gold im Munde, which literally means the hour of the morning has gold in the mouth.
Anything golden is worth a fortune, so this means that the early hours of the day are the most precious of all, since your mind is fresh and your body has rested overnight! 🙂
Related lessons
- avere (to have)
- mattino (morning)
- oro (gold)
- bocca (mouth)
- in (preposition)
- prepositions
- definite articles
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