/aˈvere le farˈfalle ˈnello ˈstɔmako/ lit. ‘have butterflies in the stomach’
Italian idiom, everyday. To feel a nervous, fluttering excitement, before something important or around someone you’re attracted to.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Italian speaker.
How do people use Avere le farfalle nello stomaco
?
Everyday Italian, and most often about being in love or newly smitten, though people also use it before an exam or a first day at work. Italians say it with avere (“ho le farfalle nello stomaco”) or sentire (“sento le farfalle nello stomaco”). It’s the same picture as English, so it’s an easy one to borrow.
Also said sentire le farfalle nello stomaco
Avere le farfalle nello stomaco
in real sentences
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Sento le farfalle nello stomaco.
I have butterflies in my stomach.
Tatoeba, sentence by Heracleum, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
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“Avere le farfalle nello stomaco” indica quella strana sensazione che si prova nella fase di innamoramento.
“Having butterflies in your stomach” means that strange feeling you get when you’re falling in love.
Tatoeba, sentence by ianna, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Avere le farfalle nello stomaco
come from?
We found no source for when Italian started saying it. English Wiktionary’s translation table shows the same butterflies in Spanish, Polish, Norwegian and Swedish, so it’s one of those images that has spread across many European languages. Whether Italian borrowed it from English is likely but unproven, so treat that as a guess.
Mistakes learners make with Avere le farfalle nello stomaco
Dropping the article. English says “I have butterflies”, but Italian needs “le”: “ho le farfalle nello stomaco”, not “ho farfalle nello stomaco”.
Other Italian idioms like Avere le farfalle nello stomaco
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?
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