In Italian, “cavolo” means “cabbage.”
And man, did I see some serious cabbages in Tuscany. But the funny thing is, you’ll hear young Romans saying “Cavolo!!” all the time, and I guarantee you that they are not talking about vegetables.
Because it is so completely ridiculous to hear people yelling CABBAGE! all the time, “cavolo” has become my favorite Italian slang. As slang, it usually means something along the lines of “wow!” or “incredible!”
I found this actual cavolo in the organic garden of the agriturismo we stayed at near Pienza. The owner, Luciano, told me that the funniest mistake he hears people learning Italian make on a regular basis is when they call a “cavallo” a “cavolo.” Cavallo means horse. Calling a horse a cabbage- cavolo!
I love how Italians use cavolo instead of a swear word, ‘What the cabbage are you doing?’!
YES! I cannot get used to it! Cabbage? Whyy? Why is that a slang term?
Love this. My biggest word mix up is Carne=Cane. Meat=Dog. Don’t mix these up. It’s embarrassing. My Italian friends say Hungary and Angry are the words that they mix up the most in english.
I’ve noticed the hungry/angry one! I was getting an aperitivo and an Italian friend looked at me and said “I am so angry!!” “Why??” I asked.
Oh. Hungry. You are so HUNGRY. Got it.
i read in my italian book that cavolo could mean SHOOT!
Yep! I think it is used to stand in for stronger swear words. But why “cabbage??”
When I was beginning to learn Italian I got lots of words mixed up. I dislocated my ankle a few years ago and told 6 people that I had broken my horse – cavallo – instead of caviglia – ankle. And I ordered cavallo instead of cavolo in a restaurant. Fortunately Italians are very forgiving.
I almost hate to ruin some of your notions about how quaint or bizarre it is to hear people on the street yelling “Cavolo!”
Maybe you could not imagine that this is a slang term that means something else. Yes indeed. The word “Cavolo” is a mild replacement for the pretty direct and dirty “Cazzo.” And this word means “dick” (as in penis). Are you surprised that Italian guys would be yelling this at each other? It’s like yelling “Dickhead!”
Along a similar line, my surname if spelled with a J instead of a G would be Berenjena, which means literally “eggplant” in Spanish. But in certain Central American countries it is a slang term for penis.
Funny how there are so many slang terms for the male dangler.
And for lady bits! Figs, anyone?
…. not to mention “calma e gesso”. “Cazzo” is used so pervasively I don’t think a native Italian gives it a second thought.
When one friend greets another, “ehi! cazzoooooooooo!!” It’s as though cavolo is passé.
Sti cazzi! Very true — even this post is about 9 years old!
SO are they yelling cavolo or cavallo?