ballare

to dance

verb bahl-LAH-reh Rare

Origin: Late Latin ballare, from Greek ballizein (to dance, to jump).

Usage Note

Ballare takes avere as its auxiliary: Abbiamo ballato tutta la notte (We danced all night). It can also be used intransitively with a specific dance: ballare il tango. The derived noun il ballo means 'dance' or 'ball (event)', and il/la ballerino/a is the dancer — a useful word family to learn together.

Examples

"Le piace ballare la salsa."

Natural Translation

She likes to dance salsa.

Literal Translation

To-her it-pleases to-dance salsa.

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