famiglia

family

noun fah-MEE-lyah Common

Usage Note

Famiglia is central to Italian culture and comes up in countless expressions: mettere su famiglia (to start a family), una persona di famiglia (a family person). The gli cluster gives the 'ly' sound, so it is pronounced fa-MEE-lya. In famiglia (within the family) signals informal, private matters as opposed to public ones.

Examples

"La mia famiglia è numerosa."

Natural Translation

My family is large.

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