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cursing.in curse like a local

Italian · Frustration

Che casino!

kay kah-ZEE-no · /ke kaˈzi.no/

What a mess! / What chaos!

2/5 Bar-safe

coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances

Literally

"What a brothel"

Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.

How to use it

"Casino" (with the stress on the middle, unlike the gambling "casinò") originally meant brothel and now just means chaos, mess, or a huge amount ("un casino di gente" — loads of people). Everyday and barely rude; describes traffic, a messy room, a complicated situation. "Che bordello" is a rougher synonym.

Heard in the wild

In centro c'era un casino pazzesco.

Downtown was absolute chaos.

Where it lands

Universal across Italy

Quick answers

What does "Che casino!" mean?
In Italian, "Che casino!" means "What a mess! / What chaos!". Literally it's "What a brothel". "Casino" (with the stress on the middle, unlike the gambling "casinò") originally meant brothel and now just means chaos, mess, or a huge amount ("un casino di gente" — loads of people). Everyday and barely rude; describes traffic, a messy room, a complicated situation. "Che bordello" is a rougher synonym.
Is "Che casino!" offensive?
It's on the mild end — 2/5 (Bar-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances.
How do you pronounce "Che casino!"?
Say it "kay kah-ZEE-no" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ke kaˈzi.no.

Related in Italian

Cazzo! KAHT-tso Fuck! / Damn! / The all-purpose Italian curse. Che palle! kay PAHL-lay What a pain in the ass! / So annoying! Che cazzo?! kay KAHT-tso What the fuck?! Rompiscatole! rom-pee-SKAH-to-lay Pain in the neck / nuisance Mannaggia! mahn-NAH-jah Damn it! / Curse it! Porca puttana! POR-kah poot-TAH-nah Holy shit! / Goddammit!

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "What a mess".

how to say "What a mess" →

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