Incontro romantico al Grande Fratello Vip
A2 Italian listening practice · Italian · Curated for beginners
What does “birichino” mean in Italian?
Birichino (fem. birichina) is the affectionate word for someone who’s cheeky or mischievous — never genuinely bad. It’s what you call a kid getting into harmless trouble, or, flirtatiously, a partner who was un po' birichina ieri, “a bit naughty yesterday.” The tone is warm and smiling, not scolding: English “cheeky,” “naughty,” or “little rascal” capture it. It can also colour an expression — un sorriso birichino is a cheeky grin.
As a noun birichino means a brat, imp, scamp, or monkey — usually a child. A single prank is a birichinata. The word likely comes from the Emilian dialect and may be cousin to briccone, “rascal.” Reach for birichino when “mischievous” needs a layer of fondness — it tells the listener you’re teasing, not telling off.
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Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · OpenSubtitles 2018 (HermitDave) (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.