Crime and Punishment — Page 2

English → It CHAPTER I Level 8/10

But to be stopped on the stairs, to be forced to listen to her trivial, irrelevant gossip, to pestering demands for payment, threats and complaints, and to rack his brains for excuses, to prevaricate, to lie--no, rather than that, he would creep down the stairs like a cat and slip out unseen.

Ma essere fermato sulle scale, essere costretto ad ascoltare i suoi pettegolezzi futili e irrilevanti, le sue insistenti richieste di pagamento, minacce e lamentele, e spremersi il cervello per trovare scuse, tergiversare, mentire -- no, piuttosto di questo, sarebbe sceso giù per le scale come un gatto e sarebbe sgattaiolato via senza essere visto.

This evening, however, on coming out into the street, he became acutely aware of his fears.

Quella sera, tuttavia, uscendo in strada, divenne acutamente consapevole delle sue paure.

"I want to attempt a thing _like that_ and am frightened by these trifles," he thought, with an odd smile.

«Voglio tentare una cosa _del genere_ e mi spavento per queste sciocchezze,» pensò, con uno strano sorriso.

"Hm... yes, all is in a man's hands and he lets it all slip from cowardice, that's an axiom.

«Hm... sì, tutto è nelle mani di un uomo e lui lascia che tutto gli scivoli via per codardia, questo è un assioma.

It would be interesting to know what it is men are most afraid of.

Sarebbe interessante sapere di cosa gli uomini abbiano più paura.

Taking a new step, uttering a new word is what they fear most....

Fare un nuovo passo, pronunciare una nuova parola è ciò che temono di più....

But I am talking too much.

Ma sto parlando troppo.

It's because I chatter that I do nothing.

È perché chiacchiero che non faccio nulla.

Or perhaps it is that I chatter because I do nothing.

O forse è che chiacchiero perché non faccio nulla.

I've learned to chatter this last month, lying for days together in my den thinking... of Jack the Giant-killer.

Ho imparato a chiacchierare in quest'ultimo mese, restando per giorni interi nel mio covo a pensare... all'Ammazzagiganti.

Why am I going there now?

Perché ci sto andando adesso?

Am I capable of _that_?

Sono capace di _questo_?

Is _that_ serious?

È _questa_ una cosa seria?

It is not serious at all.

Non è affatto seria.

It's simply a fantasy to amuse myself; a plaything!

È semplicemente una fantasia per divertirmi; un giocattolo!

Yes, maybe it is a plaything.

Sì, forse è un giocattolo.

Vocabulary

Ma: Conjunction meaning 'but', used to contrast ideas.
essere: To be; fundamental Italian auxiliary and linking verb.
fermato: Stopped; past participle of 'fermare', to stop.
sulle: Contraction of 'su' and 'le', meaning 'on the'.
scale: Stairs or scales; steps in a building.
costretto: Forced or compelled to do something unwillingly.
ad: Variant of 'a', meaning 'to' before vowels.
ascoltare: To listen; to pay attention to sounds or speech.
i: Masculine plural definite article meaning 'the'.
suoi: His, her, its; third-person possessive adjective plural.
pettegolezzi: Gossip; idle, trivial talk about others.
futili: Futile, trivial; lacking importance or seriousness.
irrilevanti: Irrelevant; not pertinent or significant to the matter.
le: Feminine plural definite article or indirect pronoun 'her/to her'.
sue: Her, his; feminine plural possessive adjective.
insistenti: Insistent; persistently pressing or demanding something.
richieste: Requests or demands made of someone.
pagamento: Payment; the act of paying money owed.
minacce: Threats; menacing statements intended to intimidate someone.
lamentele: Complaints or grievances expressed repeatedly by someone.
spremersi: To squeeze or rack one's brain; to strain mentally.
cervello: Brain; the organ of thought and intelligence.
trovare: To find or to come up with something.
scuse: Excuses or apologies offered to justify behavior.
tergiversare: To stall, hedge, or evade commitment; to procrastinate.
mentire: To lie; to say something knowingly false.
piuttosto: Rather, quite; used to express preference or degree.
questo: This; masculine singular demonstrative pronoun or adjective.
sarebbe: Would be; conditional form of 'essere'.
sceso: Gone down, descended; past participle of 'scendere'.
giù: Down; directional adverb indicating downward movement.
come: Like, as, how; comparison or manner conjunction.
gatto: Cat; common domestic feline animal.
sgattaiolato: Sneaked away; slipped off quietly like a cat.
via: Away; adverb indicating departure or removal.
senza: Without; preposition indicating absence or lack of something.
visto: Seen; past participle of 'vedere', to see.
Quella: That; feminine singular demonstrative adjective.
sera: Evening; the time of day after afternoon.
tuttavia: However, nevertheless; concessive linking adverb.
uscendo: Going out, exiting; gerund of 'uscire'.
strada: Street, road; path or thoroughfare outside.
divenne: Became; past historic of 'diventare/divenire'.
acutamente: Acutely, keenly; with sharp perception or intensity.
consapevole: Aware, conscious; having knowledge or realization of something.
delle: Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'le'.
paure: Fears; feelings of anxiety or dread about something.
Voglio: I want; first-person singular of 'volere'.
tentare: To attempt or try; to make an effort.
cosa: Thing; general noun for an object or matter.
del: Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'il'.
genere: Kind, sort, type; category or genre of things.
mi: Me; first-person singular reflexive or object pronoun.
spavento: Fright, fear; intense feeling of being scared.
sciocchezze: Nonsense, foolishness; silly or trivial things said.
pensò: He/she thought; past historic of 'pensare'.
strano: Strange, odd; unusual or unexpected in character.
sorriso: Smile; a facial expression showing amusement or warmth.
tutto: Everything, all; total or complete amount.
nelle: In the; contraction of 'in' and 'le'.
mani: Hands; the body's primary grasping appendages.
uomo: Man; an adult male human being.
lui: He, him; third-person masculine singular pronoun.
lascia: Lets, leaves; third-person singular of 'lasciare'.
gli: To him; indirect object pronoun, or masculine plural article.
scivoli: Slides, slips; subjunctive of 'scivolare', to slip.
codardia: Cowardice; the quality of lacking courage or bravery.
assioma: Axiom; a self-evident truth or accepted principle.
Sarebbe: Would be; conditional form of 'essere'.
interessante: Interesting; arousing curiosity or attention in someone.
sapere: To know; to have knowledge of facts or information.
uomini: Men; plural of 'uomo', adult male humans.
abbiano: Have; subjunctive form of 'avere', to have.
più: More; comparative adverb indicating greater degree.
paura: Fear; feeling of anxiety or dread about something.
Fare: To do or make; versatile and essential Italian verb.
nuovo: New; recently created or not seen before.
passo: Step; a single movement of the foot.
pronunciare: To pronounce or utter; to articulate words aloud.
nuova: New; feminine singular adjective for something recent.
parola: Word; a unit of language with meaning.
ciò: That, this; neutral demonstrative pronoun.
temono: They fear; third-person plural of 'temere'.
sto: I am; present tense of 'stare', used in progressive.
parlando: Speaking, talking; gerund of 'parlare'.
troppo: Too much; excessively beyond what is appropriate.
perché: Because, why; conjunction or interrogative adverb.
chiacchiero: I chatter; first-person singular of 'chiacchierare'.
faccio: I do, I make; first-person singular of 'fare'.
nulla: Nothing; absence of anything; zero.
forse: Maybe, perhaps; expressing uncertainty or possibility.
Ho: I have; first-person singular of 'avere'.
imparato: Learned; past participle of 'imparare', to learn.
chiacchierare: To chat, chatter; to talk idly or casually.
quest'ultimo: This last; referring to the most recently mentioned period.
mese: Month; one of twelve divisions of the year.
restando: Staying, remaining; gerund of 'restare'.
giorni: Days; plural of 'giorno', periods of 24 hours.
interi: Whole, entire; complete without any part missing.
nel: In the; contraction of 'in' and 'il'.
mio: My; first-person singular masculine possessive adjective.
covo: Den, lair, hideout; a secluded hiding place.
pensare: To think; to use one's mind to consider something.
Perché: Why, because; interrogative or causal conjunction.
ci: There, us; locative or object pronoun in Italian.
andando: Going; gerund of 'andare', to go.
adesso: Now; at this present moment in time.
Sono: I am / they are; present of 'essere'.
capace: Capable, able; having the ability to do something.
questo: This; masculine singular demonstrative pronoun or adjective.
questa: This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective.
seria: Serious; grave, not playful or trivial.
affatto: At all; used to intensify a negative statement.
semplicemente: Simply, just; in a plain or uncomplicated manner.
fantasia: Fantasy, imagination; creative or fanciful mental imagery.
divertirmi: To enjoy myself, to amuse myself; reflexive of 'divertire'.
giocattolo: Toy; an object made for children to play with.

← Previous Next →

Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.

Create free account →