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 Slytherin in Italian, and we will even talk about its founder, Salazar Slytherin, its main personality traits, and its resident ghost.
All aboard the Hogwarts Express!
How do you say Slytherin in Italian?
Serpeverde is how you say Slytherin in Italian.
Serpeverde
Slytherin
Now, let’s see some example sentences with Slytherin in Italian.
I colori di Serpeverde sono verde e argento.
Slytherin’s colors are green and silver.
Draco Malfoy è un Serpeverde.
Draco Malfoy is a Slytherin.
Unlike the English word Slytherin, it’s interesting to note that Serpeverde in Italian doesn’t have a plural form. The plural remains unchanged.
La Sala Comune dei Serpeverde si trova nei Sotterranei.
The Slytherin Common Room is located in the Dungeons.
Serpeverde is a compound word
Serpeverde is a compound noun. This means that it’s made up of two words. In this case, it’s made up of serpe (snake) and verde (green).
La serpe
The snake
Verde
Green
Serpeverde literally means green snake in Italian.
The most common translation for “snake” in Italian is serpente. Serpe is a synonym for it and is used used to describe untrustworthy and deceitful people.
For example, you can say…
Quella ragazza è una vera serpe. Non ti fidare di lei!
That girl is a real viper. Don’t trust her!
Il verde è il mio colore preferito.
Green is my favorite color.
If we were to literally translate Slytherin in Italian, we’d have to use the verb strisciare, which means to slither.
It’s easy to see why it starts with serpe, because the symbol of the Slytherin House is indeed a snake. The color green is also one of Slytherin’s official colors along with silver, and that’s why it was used in the translation. All translations of the 4 Hogwarts Houses in Italian feature a different color.
Who founded Slytherin in Italian?
As you may have noticed, all the Hogwarts founders’ names use alliteration:
- Godric Gryffindor
- Salazar Slytherin
- Rowena Ravenclaw
- Helga Hufflepuff
This was also reproduced in the Italian translations of the Harry Potter books and movies, and since Serpeverde starts with an S, just like Slytherin, the original name was kept in the translation: Salazar Serpeverde. Other founders, such as Rowena Ravenclaw, weren’t so lucky.
Salazar Serpeverde
Salazar Slytherin
For example, you can say…
Salazar Serpeverde è il fondatore della Casa di Serpeverde.
Salazar Slytherin is the founder of the Slytherin House.
Fondatore comes from the verb fondare, to found, and literally means male founder. If you’re talking about a female founder, use fondatrice instead.
Salazar Serpeverde is famous for being a rettilofono, a parselmouth. This word comes from rettile, reptile, and the suffix -fono which means sound.
Rettilofono
Parselmouth
A parselmouth is a wizard (mago) or witch (strega) who is able to speak parseltongue, or serpentese in Italian.
Il serpentese
Parseltongue
Serpentese, of course, comes from serpente, which we’ve already seen means “snake”, and the suffix -ese, which is very common in adjectives describing nationality and languages, such as:
- inglese (English)
- francese (French)
- cinese (Chinese)
- giapponese (Japanese)
- portoghese (Portuguese)
Harry Potter può parlare il serpentese.
Harry Potter can speak Parseltongue.
Who is the resident ghost of Slytherin in Italian?
The Bloody Baron is Slytherin’s resident ghost in the original English versions of the Harry Potter books. This was translated into Italian as Barone Sanguinario, literally “bloody baron” from sangue, “blood”.
Il Barone Sanguinario
The Bloody Baron
For example, you can say…
Il Barone Sanguinario è il fantasma di Serpeverde.
The Bloody Baron is the ghost of Slytherin.
Slytherin’s main traits in Italian
Each Hogwarts House values a different set of personality traits. Slytherin especially values:
- Intraprendenza (resourcefulness)
- Determinazione (determination)
- Orgoglio (pride)
- Astuzia (cunning)
- Ambizione (ambition)
- Autoconservazione (self-preservation)
For example, you can say…
L’ambizione è il primo passo verso il successo.
Ambition is the first step to success.
I Serpeverde sono noti per giocare d’astuzia e con grande determinazione.
Slytherins are known for playing cleverly and with great determination.
Yours truly was Sorted into Slytherin on Wizarding World (and on every other Sorting quizz on the web, although I got Ravenclaw a couple of times).
Don’t be scared, I’m actually very good-natured, but very determined to make Lingookies one of your best go-to websites for learning Italian! 😉
More free Italian resources
You might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
Aiuta Lingookies con un 👍!
❤️ If you liked this lesson on how to say Slytherin in Italian, consider sharing it with your social media friends who are also studying Italian.
Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling