Paura
NOUN [feminine]
Meaning and English translation 🔖
Fear
🇬🇧 Emotional state of insecurity, confusion, and anxiety in the presence of real or imagined danger.
🇮🇹 Uno stato emotivo di insicurezza, smarrimento e ansia di fronte a un pericolo reale o immaginario.
| Masculine ♂️ | Feminine ♀️ | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | - | la - una paura |
| Plural | - | le - delle paure |
Example sentences 💬
Ho paura dei ragni.
I am afraid of spiders.
Accendi la luce, per favore: il buio mi fa paura.
Please turn on the light: the dark scares me.
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Idioms with paura 🇮🇹
Avere paura (di)
→ To be scared (of)
Hai paura dei ragni?
Are you scared of spiders?
Non avere paura (di)
→ Don’t be afraid (of)
Non avere paura del buio.
Don’t be afraid of the dark.
Mi fa paura
→ (It) scares me
Quel cane mi fa paura.
That dog scares me.
Farsi prendere dalla paura
→ To get a fright, to be scared by
I bambini si sono fatti prendere dalla paura.
The children got scared.
Da far paura
→ Terrifying, impressive
Il temporale era da far paura.
The storm was terrifying.
Che paura!
→ How scary!
Che paura quando è saltata la luce!
How scary when the lights went out!
Per paura di
→ for fear of
Lei cammina piano per paura di scivolare
She walks slowly for fear of slipping.
Ho paura che
→ I’m afraid
Ho paura che dovremo attendere un po’.
I’m afraid we’ll have to wait a while.
Tremare dalla paura
→ To tremble with fear
Stava tremando dalla paura durante il temporale
He was trembling with fear during the storm.
Farsela sotto dalla paura
→ Literally: peeing oneself from fear
Me la sto facendo sotto dalla paura.
I’m scared stiff.
Da paura
→ Cool, awesome
Ho comprato una moto da paura.
I bought an awesome bike.
Where does the word paura come from? 🔎
Paura derives from the Latin word pavor, which means "fear" or "fright."
Did you know that... 🤓
Impress your italian friends with curious facts about Italy and its culture
Have you ever heard an Italian saying “La paura fa 90”?
This expression comes from the Neapolitan Smorfia, the "dictionary" of dream interpretation.
In this curious system—without scientific basis—many types of people, objects, animals, actions, or situations are associated with a number from 1 to 90. The number 90 is linked to fear and is the highest number.
But why 90?
One explanation could be that 90, a rarely played number, might represent an extreme limit, like the fear of the unknown or death. The number 90 could symbolize the last possibility, a refuge when there is no other way out. In any case, fear can trigger unusual and unpredictable behaviors, making 90 a symbol of decisions made under stress.
The Neapolitan Smorfia has become integral to Italian popular culture, influencing literature, theater, and cinema. A famous example is the 1951 film directed by Giorgio Simonelli, titled “La paura fa 90.”
