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china

slope; downward path

noun KEE-nah Rare
Animals & Nature Geography

Also means

India ink

Usage Note

China is a false-friend trap: it has nothing to do with the country la Cina (China). As a common noun it means a downward slope or incline. Figuratively, scivolare su una brutta china means to slide down a dangerous/wrong path. It also means India ink (inchiostro di china). The country is la Cina with a capital C; la china (lowercase) is the slope or ink.

Examples

"Il paese è scivolato su una china pericolosa."

Natural Translation

The country has slid down a dangerous slope.

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