Tifoso
NOUN [masculine and feminine]
Meaning and English translation 🔖
Fan, Supporter
🇬🇧 Someone who supports a sports team or champion. By extension, a passionate admirer of someone else.
🇮🇹 Chi fa il tifo per una squadra sportiva o sostiene un campione. Per estensione, appassionato ammiratore di qualcun altro.
🇬🇧 NB: "Tifosi" is the plural form. So, even though in English you might hear "I'm a tifosi of Ferrari", in Italian it's correct to use the singular form: "Sono un tifoso della Ferrari" (if you're a man) or "Sono una tifosa della Ferrari" (if you're a woman).
This also applies to other Italian words used in English, like "panini" (one panino, two panini) and many others. Knowing these differences can help you speak Italian correctly and teach a bit of Italian to your friends!
🇮🇹 NB: Tifosi è la forma plurale. Quindi, anche se in inglese potresti sentire "I'm a tifosi of Ferrari", in italiano è corretto usare la forma singolare: "Sono un tifoso della Ferrari" (se sei un uomo) o "Sono una tifosa della Ferrari" (se sei una donna).
Questo vale anche per altre parole italiane usate in inglese, come "panini" (un panino, due panini) e molte altre. Conoscere queste differenze può aiutarti a parlare italiano correttamente e a insegnare un po' di italiano ai tuoi amici!
| Masculine ♂️ | Feminine ♀️ | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | il - un tifoso | la - una tifosa |
| Plural | i - dei tifosi | le - delle tifose |
Example sentences 💬
La tifosa urlava a squarciagola per incoraggiare la sua squadra.
The fan was shouting at the top of her lungs to encourage her team.
Ogni domenica, lo stadio si riempie di tifosi entusiasti.
Every Sunday, the stadium fills up with enthusiastic fans.
La vittoria della nazionale ha reso felici milioni di tifosi in tutto il Paese.
The national team's victory made millions of fans happy across the Country.
Il papà abbracciò sua figlia e le disse: "Ricordati, io sono il tuo primo tifoso".
The father hugged his daughter and said to her: "Remember, I'm your number one fan".
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Idioms with tifoso 🇮🇹
Tifoso sfegatato
→ Die-hard fan
Marco è un tifoso sfegatato del Milan e non si perde mai una partita.
Marco is a die-hard AC Milan fan and never misses a match.
Tifosa accanita
→ Huge fan
Da piccola ero una tifosa accanita di Valentino Rossi e avevo tutti i suoi poster.
When I was younger, I was a huge fan of Valentino Rossi and had all his posters.
Where does the word tifoso come from? 🔎
Tifoso comes from tifo, which in turn comes from the Greek τῦφος (typhos), meaning "smoke, vapor, fever". Originally, it referred to the feverish clouding of the mind caused by typhus. Over time, the term came to describe sports supporters' ardent and "feverish" passion.
Did you know that... 🤓
Impress your italian friends with curious facts about Italy and its culture
Why are Ferraris red, but the logo is yellow?
This weekend, the Monza Grand Prix will be held, and if you watch the race, you'll see the drivers dressed in black and the cars with details, like the drivers' numbers, in black. Why? I searched and asked more expert friends, and there doesn't seem to be a special occasion, just the desire to celebrate the color of carbon fiber, a material that has revolutionized this sport.
And, speaking of Ferrari and its color, have you ever wondered why Ferrari F1 cars are red, but the logo is a black horse on a yellow background? The story behind these colors is fascinating and tied to Italian history.
Ferrari Red, called "Rosso Corsa," wasn't chosen by chance. In the early 1900s, when car races were becoming increasingly popular, each country had a special color: blue for France, green for England, white (later silver) for Germany, and red for Italy. So, the red of Ferraris is a way to honor the Italian sporting tradition.
But why is the logo yellow and black? The famous "Prancing Horse" has a unique story. In 1923, Enzo Ferrari met the parents of Francesco Baracca, a very skilled Italian pilot from World War I. Baracca had drawn a horse rearing up on its hind legs on his plane as a personal symbol. Baracca's mother told Ferrari to use this symbol on his racing cars, saying it would bring good luck. Ferrari agreed and added the yellow background to remember Modena, the city where his company was born.
So, when you see a red Ferrari with the yellow logo, you're looking at a piece of Italian history: the red represents the passion for sports in Italy, while the horse on a yellow background tells a story of courage, tradition, and pride for one's city.
