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tatuare

to tattoo

verb tah-too-AH-reh Rare

Origin: From Polynesian tatau, via English or French tatouage

Usage Note

Tatuare means to apply a tattoo and can be used transitively ('tatuarsi un braccio' — to get one's arm tattooed) or reflexively. The reflexive tatuarsi takes essere in compound tenses. The related noun is il tatuaggio.

Examples

"Si è fatta tatuare una rosa sul polso."

Natural Translation

She got a rose tattooed on her wrist.

Literal Translation

Herself had tattooed a rose on-the wrist.

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