Italian · Exclamations
Mannaggia!
mahn-NAH-jah · /manˈnad.dʒa/
Damn it! / Curse it!
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"(from 'mal ne aggia' — may evil come of it)"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
A soft, almost cute curse of southern origin — the sound of mild misfortune. Extend it with a target: "mannaggia a te" (damn you), "mannaggia la miseria" (damn poverty), the sing-song "mannaggia la miseria ladra." Nobody is offended; it's the affectionate grumble of someone who dropped their keys.
Heard in the wild
Mannaggia, è già finito il caffè.
Damn it, we're already out of coffee.
Where it lands
Southern origin; used nationwide
Quick answers
- What does "Mannaggia!" mean?
- In Italian, "Mannaggia!" means "Damn it! / Curse it!". Literally it's "(from 'mal ne aggia' — may evil come of it)". A soft, almost cute curse of southern origin — the sound of mild misfortune. Extend it with a target: "mannaggia a te" (damn you), "mannaggia la miseria" (damn poverty), the sing-song "mannaggia la miseria ladra." Nobody is offended; it's the affectionate grumble of someone who dropped their keys.
- Is "Mannaggia!" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
- How do you pronounce "Mannaggia!"?
- Say it "mahn-NAH-jah" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: manˈnad.dʒa.
Related in Italian
Cazzo! KAHT-tso Fuck! / Damn! / The all-purpose Italian curse. Merda! MEHR-dah Shit! / Damn it! Che palle! kay PAHL-lay What a pain in the ass! / So annoying! Porca miseria! POR-kah mee-ZEH-ryah Dammit! / For heaven's sake! Cavolo! KAH-vo-lo Darn! / Shoot! / The clean stand-in for cazzo. Rompiscatole! rom-pee-SKAH-to-lay Pain in the neck / nuisance
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Damn".
- French Putain ! Damn! / F***! / The all-purpose intensifier — punctuation, really
- German Scheiße! Shit! / Damn! — the all-purpose German expletive
- Greek γαμώτο Damn it! / Dammit!
- Japanese くそ Damn! / Crap! / Shit!
- Korean 씨발 Fuck / fucking hell — the load-bearing Korean curse.
- Polish kurwa Fuck / damn / shit — the load-bearing word of Polish, and its most common comma.
- Portuguese Porra! Damn! / Fuck! — but mostly used as pure punctuation
- Russian Блин! Damn! / Darn! / Shoot!
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