Un desiderio, tanti soldi e un tradimento
A2 Italian listening practice · Italian · Curated for beginners
Does “genio” mean genie or genius in Italian?
A man rubs a lamp and gasps: «Wow, un genio!» (“Wow, a genie!”), only to be told «io sono un genio cattivo» (“I’m an evil genie”). The twist for learners: genio means both “genie” and “genius” in Italian.
So “sei un genio!” is “you’re a genius!”, while Aladdin’s lamp holds un genio of the wish-granting kind, context tells them apart. The evil genie’s offer is pure comedy: 100 million euros, but everyone who’s ever cheated vanishes from the Earth. One little word, a genie’s bargain and a compliment rolled into one.
Vocabulary frequency
How common is the vocabulary in this A2 Italian listening practice listening practice?
General Italian frequency
Spoken Italian frequency
Words above this video’s level
Quick glosses for vocabulary that goes beyond this video’s A2 level.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · OpenSubtitles 2018 (HermitDave) (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.
- ▸In Italian for praise: “sei un genio!” (“you’re a genius!”).
- ▸In Italian versions of Aladdin and fairy tales.
- ▸In Italian comedy sketches with a wish-granting twist.
- ▸Describing a brilliant idea as a colpo di genio (“stroke of genius”).