Corsican words
A buttega di e parolle
48 words
Greetings · N°01
Salutu
« sa-lou-tou »
Hello, hi
What you'll hear when you push the grocery door open.
01 / 07 — take down a plaque, or use the arrows
The full glossary
Greetings
- Salutu « sa-lou-tou »
- Hello, hi — What you'll hear when you push the grocery door open.
- Bonghjornu « bon-djor-nou »
- Good morning — The morning greeting, said when stepping in.
- Bona sera « bo-na-sé-ra »
- Good evening — Once the sun drops over the gulf of Porto.
- À prestu « a-prés-tou »
- See you soon — A goodbye that always means see you tomorrow.
- Avvedeci « a-we-dé-chi »
- See you — Another way to say see you soon, a little warmer.
- Cumu va ? « cou-mou-va »
- How are you? — The question that opens every chat at the counter.
- Vi ringraziu « vi-rin-gra-tsiou »
- Thank you — The heartfelt thank-you, more Corsican than 'grazie'.
At the grocery
- U Mercatellu « ou-mer-ca-tèl-lou »
- The little market — The name of the shop. Affectionate diminutive of 'u mercatu'.
- Buttega « bout-té-ga »
- Village shop, grocery — The exact word for what we are: not a supermarket, a buttega.
- U pane « ou-pa-né »
- The bread — Baked at dawn, still warm when we open.
- U panettu « ou-pa-nét-tou »
- Small loaf / sandwich roll — A panettu filled with lonzu, to take on the trail.
- U latte « ou-lat-té »
- The milk — Goat or sheep milk from the shepherd next door.
- U sale « ou-sa-lé »
- The salt — Coarse for cured meats, fine for the table.
- Frutti « frout-ti »
- Fruits — Peaches, figs, clementines in season.
- Merendella « mé-ren-dél-la »
- Snack pack — The hiker's snack: bread, cheese, cured meat.
At the table
- Figatellu « fi-ga-tèl-lou »
- Smoked liver sausage, Corsican winter in one bite — Grilled over wood fire, slipped into warm bread.
- Prizuttu « pri-zout-tou »
- Corsican dry-cured ham — AOP, aged a year+, sliced thin at the counter.
- Lonzu « lon-tsou »
- Cured pork loin — AOP, sweet and firm, perfect in a panettu.
- Coppa « cop-pa »
- Corsican coppa — Cured pork neck, AOP, aged at least 5 months.
- Brocciu « bro-tchou »
- Fresh whey cheese, ewe or goat — Mild, almost sweet. PDO. To spread, in omelettes, in desserts.
- U casgiu « ou-ca-djou »
- The cheese — Sheep tomme, casgiu merzu, brocciu — all on the board.
- Oliu d'oliva « o-liou-do-li-va »
- Olive oil — AOP Oliu di Corsica, mellow, perfect over brocciu.
- U mele « ou-mé-lé »
- The honey — Mele di Corsica AOP: maquis, chestnut, spring.
- A castagna « a-cas-ta-gna »
- The chestnut — AOP flour for pulenda and nicci cakes.
- Pulenda « pou-lén-da »
- Chestnut polenta — The winter dish, eaten with grilled figatellu.
- Vinu « vi-nou »
- Wine — We carry Sartène, Patrimonio, and a few local cuvées.
The landscape
- Ortu « or-tou »
- Garden, orchard — Found in Capu d'Ortu — 'the garden peak' above Porto.
- Capu « ca-pou »
- Cape, peak, headland — Found before peak names: Capu d'Ortu, Capu Rossu, Capu di a Veta.
- Marina « ma-ri-na »
- Marina — the seaside extension of an inland village — Ota has its marina down at Porto, 5 km below.
- Machja « ma-tchia »
- Maquis — low fragrant scrubland that covers the island — What you smell from the boat: Corsica before Corsica.
- U paese « ou-pa-é-zé »
- The village — More than a place: it's the community, the extended family.
- U mare « ou-ma-ré »
- The sea — The gulf of Porto, 5 minutes down from Ota.
- A muntagna « a-moun-ta-gna »
- The mountain — Above the village, laricio pines and Capu d'Ota.
- U fiume « ou-fiou-mé »
- The river — The Porto runs from Spelunca gorges to the marine.
- U libecciu « ou-li-bét-chou »
- South-west wind — The dominant wind that shapes Piana's calanche.
Sayings
- Pace è salute « pa-tché-é-sa-lou-té »
- Peace and health — The quintessential Corsican wish. More precious than wealth.
- Campa è lascia campà « cam-pa-è-las-chia-cam-pa »
- Live and let live — An island motto, halfway between philosophy and good manners.
- Chì cerca trova « ki-tcher-ca-tro-va »
- He who seeks shall find — For the customer digging through shelves for the right find.
- Salute è prusperità « sa-lou-té-è-prous-pé-ri-ta »
- Health and prosperity — The toast raised with a glass of the local wine.
With a smile
- Aiò ! « a-yo »
- Come on! Good grief! — The Corsican exclamation par excellence. Works to cheer on, vent, or end a chat.
- Madonna ! « ma-don-na »
- Goodness! Wow! — The Corsican gasp. Said when you see the bill, or a storm rolling in.
- Pinzutu « pin-tsou-tou »
- The 'pointy one' — nickname for mainland French — Fondly mocking. From the accent that 'points' to a Corsican ear.
- Sgaiuffu « sga-iouf-fou »
- Rascal, little scamp — For the kid who sneaks a sweet. Said with affection.
- Mufrina « mou-fri-na »
- Mule head, stubborn one — For the one who won't change their mind, even faced with the obvious.
- Capibàmbula « ca-pi-bam-bou-la »
- Daydreamer, scatterbrain — Literally 'doll head'. For the one who forgets their keys daily.
- Stantapassi « stan-ta-pas-si »
- Slowpoke, dawdler — For the one who walks slowly, as if carrying chestnut sacks.
- Toccu di bonu ! « toc-cou-di-bo-nou »
- So damn good! — The ultimate table compliment. For homemade ice cream, brocciu, or the first bite of figatellu.
- U rumpiculu « ou-roum-pi-cou-lou »
- The pain in the neck, the nuisance — For the one who asks three times if the brocciu is fresh. Said with a smile, almost always.