Episode 22 · Words That Actually Come Up
Casa or cassa? Don't ask a shop for the house
One S or two? In an Italian shop that is the difference between the checkout and your house.
Emma wants to pay in a shop and asks where the house is. The shop assistant points her home.
Laura ·
In this lesson
| Italian | Word for word | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Casa | house, home | one short S |
| Cassa | checkout, till | double S: hold it a beat longer |
| Scusi, dov'è la cassa? | excuse me, where is the till? | where do I pay? |
| Prima la cassa, poi a casa | first the till, then home |
A double consonant is not said twice, it is held longer. Say cas-sa with a tiny pause on the S, and keep the A before it short.
SOURCES - https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/cassa/ - https://trykaiwa.com/blog/italian-pronunciation-double-consonants - https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/italian/italian-grammar/italian-gemination/ - https://migaku.com/blog/language-fun/italian-shopping-vocabulary
The dialogue
Every line from the video, with the English meaning under the Italian.
Emma
Laura, the shop assistant just sent me home!
Laura
Cosa hai detto?
What did you say?
Emma✗ Mistake
Scusi, cerco la casa!
Excuse me, I'm looking for the house!
Laura
Casa... cassa.
house... checkout
Emma
Oh no... so casa is the house?
Laura
Sì! E dove paghi?
Yes! And where do you pay?
Emma✓ Correct
Alla cassa!
At the checkout!
Laura
Brava! Doppia esse: cassa.
Well done! Double S: cassa.
Laura
Quindi: prima la cassa... poi a casa!
So: first the checkout... then home!
The voices in this video are synthetic and the on-screen host is generated. The Italian itself is written and checked by a native speaker.
Ready to speak, not just watch?
Practise these phrases out loud with Laura in a small group or a private lesson.
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