Learn Italian with Harry Potter
If you are a Potterhead like me, you will certainly know that there are four Houses at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland. These are:
- Gryffindor
- Slytherin
- Ravenclaw
- Hufflepuff
In this lesson, we will take a look at the translation of Hufflepuff in Italian, and we will even talk about its founder, Helga Hufflepuff, its main personality traits, and its resident ghost.
All aboard the Hogwarts Express!
How do you say Hufflepuff in Italian?
Tassorosso is how you say Hufflepuff in Italian.
Tassorosso
Hufflepuff
Now, let’s see some example sentences with Hufflepuff in Italian.
I colori di Tassorosso sono giallo e nero.
Hufflepuff’s colors are yellow and black.
Cedric Diggory è un Tassorosso.
Cedric Diggory is a Hufflepuff.
Unlike the English word Hufflepuff, it’s interesting to note that Tassorosso in Italian doesn’t have a plural form. The plural remains unchanged.
Un gruppo di Tassorosso studiava nella Sala Grande.
A group of Hufflepuffs were studying in the Great Hall.
Tassorosso is a compound word
Tassorosso is a compound noun. This means that it’s made up of two words. In this case, it’s made up of tasso (badger) and rosso (red).
Il tasso
The badger
Rosso
Red
Tassorosso literally means red badger in Italian.
For example, you can say…
Un tasso ha rubato dei pomodori rossi.
A badger stole some red tomatoes.
If we were to translate Hufflepuff literally into Italian, we’d have to use a combination of the verb ansimare (to huff) and the noun sbuffo (puff).
It’s easy to see why it starts with tasso, because the symbol of the Hufflepuff House is actually a badger. The color red doesn’t have much of an explanation other than being consistent with the names of the other Houses. All the translations of the 4 Hogwarts Houses in Italian feature a different color.
New translation?
In the most recent Italian translation of the Harry Potter book series, Tassorosso was changed to Tassofrasso because the color red has nothing to do with Hufflepuff, although frasso means nothing in Italian and was chosen for its sound.
For example, if you buy Harry Potter e la Pietra Filosofale (Amazon link) nowadays, don’t worry if you read Tassofrasso! The Italian dubbing of the movies features Tassorosso as it was done before the latest translation of the books.
Who founded Hufflepuff in Italian?
As you may have noticed, all the Hogwarts founders’ names use alliteration:
- Godric Gryffindor
- Salazar Slytherin
- Rowena Ravenclaw
- Helga Hufflepuff
This too was reproduced in the Italian translations of the Harry Potter books. Since Tassorosso begins with a T, not an H as Hufflepuff, the name Tosca was used. So Tosca Tassorosso founded Hufflepuff in Italian!
Tosca Tassorosso
Helga Hufflepuff
For example, you can say…
Tosca Tassorosso è la fondatrice della Casa di Tassorosso.
Tosca Tassorosso is the founder of Hufflepuff House.
Fondatrice comes from the verb fondare, to found, and literally means female founder. If you’re talking about a male founder, use fondatore instead.
Who is the resident ghost of Hufflepuff in Italian?
The Fat Friar is Hufflepuff’s resident ghost in the original English versions of the Harry Potter books. This was translated into Italian as Frate Grasso, literally “fat friar”!
Il Frate Grasso
The Fat Friar
For example, you can say…
Il Frate Grasso è il fantasma di Tassorosso.
The Fat Friar is the ghost of Hufflepuff.
Hufflepuff’s main traits in Italian
Each Hogwarts House values a different set of personality traits. Hufflepuff especially values:
- Duro lavoro (hard-working)
- Pazienza (patience)
- Correttezza (fairness)
- Gentilezza (kindness)
- Fedeltà (loyalty)
- Modestia (modesty)
For example, you can say…
La pazienza, la modestia e la gentilezza sono virtù che pochi hanno.
Patience, modesty and kindness are virtues that few have.
Paolo pecca spesso di falsa modestia.
Paul often errs on the side of false modesty.
More free Italian resources
You might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
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Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling