Newbie - Disgusting!

kylep says
July 16, 2008

Che schifo!  I know someone who does this, but then he also puts ketchup in oatmeal.  My three Che Schifo things:

3. Overcooked spaghetti (Che schifo la consistenza!)
2. Cold hotdogs (hot-dog?  panino con wurstel?)
1. Thick drool from big dogs. (Pensare a questo mi fa volere vomitare!)

catherinem says
July 16, 2008

I'd like our users to comment on what makes them say che schifo! You already know what Marco and I think is disgusting. Now it's your turn!

p.s. Kylep: I totally agree, pasta scotta is really gross!

missworldtraveler says
July 17, 2008

I used to think eating certain foods with one's fingers (i.e. rice with gravy) was really disgusting until I lived in a certain European city.  There, a local told me I was disgusting because I touched my food with my fingers.  I remember thinking, "but this is finger food (i.e. chicken, popcorn, pizza, fruit)!  Now, I am a lot more tolerant and a lot more understanding of the eating habits of others.

Another pet peeve of Italians is seeing foreigners cut their spaghetti instead of winding it around the fork.  I learned this the hard way the first time I visited Italy.

vittoria says
July 17, 2008

Food that is dead a long time, dehydrated powders that you add water to and other types of prepared items that you add to meat (also not a big favorite of) or other types of phony cheese and noodle dishes. The ingredients are of a large part chemical and sodium and the grain or ingredient hasn't seen the sun in years.

Stinky, blue cheese was not a favorite of mine in the past.

Talking on the phone with a mouthful can be che schifo

auntie68 says
July 17, 2008

Hello Italianauts! My che schifo moments all seem to be connected with the way "Westerners" eat Chinese food.

Please please don't feel awkward, if you happen to recognize yourselves anywhere on my list, because I know that nobody has a clue, and it's not so bad (just a bit jarring to me; I'd never think less of anybody for innocently doing any of these things):

(1) "Messing up your rice": By drizzling soy sauce on it. Or by mixing the whole bowl/plate of rice up with the sauce (*except maybe mabo tofu). But I blame the Chinese restaurants for this, because they serve those one-dish meals with a scoop of something splashed right in the centre.

(Explanation: In Chinese food culture, children are taught to keep their rice looking neat. Mixing up the rice thoughtlessly with other food is a bit like slicing up a plate of spaghetti into 1-cm lengths and then eating it with a spoon.)

(2) Sucking on chopsticks, chewing them, or -- che schifo! -- playing with them (eg. drumming on the table with them).

(3) This is something I have seen Greek, Italian, and Spanish friends do, with my own eyes, so maybe it is a Southern European thing: Scraping food from one communal dish into another, like so many food scraps, so that the waitress can start clearing away some serving dishes.

(Explanation: This has to with respect for the chef/ preserving the restaurant's "decorum". In a decent Chinese restaurant, only the waitress or waiter can do this. The waitress will actually ask the customers for permission before "combining" dishes, and even so, only for those foods whose flavours won't get blended with each other eg. deep fried food. Other things will be transferred to pristine new plates of their own -- much smaller ones. In most good restaurants, the staff will even pay attention to how they "plate" the result, and may even replace the garnishing so that it looks refined.)

I hope that my che schifo list didn't make anybody out there feel self-conscious! After all, I bet that a lot of Europeans think "che schifo" when they see Chinese diners sucking the meat off bones, which is actually not considered impolite. 

marcod says
July 18, 2008

@sonobono: [lo] schifo is a noun, schifoso is an adjective.

@vittoria: wow, that's really schifoso!--> "Food that is dead a long time, dehydrated powders that you add water to and other types of prepared items that you add to meat or other types of phony cheese and noodle dishes"

@sholadolan: "I could even put peanut butter on my pizza." -there's a limit to everything, I agree with your boyfriend, sorry ;)

nhohmann says
June 17, 2009

Walking down an alley in Rome (or any other city, for that matter) and smelling urine and excrement (that's just as often deposited by people as dogs).  

Che schifo!  Che puzza!

catherinem says
June 18, 2009

@nhohmann: If you order a whole pizza, it's pretty uncouth to eat it with your hands. You'll see EVERYONE else eating it with a knife and fork. Maybe grabbing a little sliver of crust with your fingers is cool, but definitely not the cheesy part!

catherinem says
June 21, 2009

haha @la_bella_italia: I'd have to say that your number 2 "che schifo" is on my list of "che buono" things!!

blueschaeffer says
August 24, 2009

For me the things that are che schifo are lumpy foods. 1.Tapioca pudding (like your tapioca balls, I suppose) che schifo!

2. Oatmeal - che schifo!

3. Mashed potatoes - che schifo!

And, while in France we bought some unknown sausages at the market place which turned out to be sausages made of tripe

My 2 year old said "dat is degutting (disgusting in 2 yr old speak). But, in Italy we would have said che schifo!

karolvig says
September 1, 2009

This lesson is cool and so it´s really true that italians don´t like to eat pizza with ketchup! I have this habit, I like a lot to put ketchup in many foods, like pizza of course (only in some pizzas i dont put, Pizza Hut for example is much better without it) and fried potatos.

And Catherine, you dont like sweet popcorn? I like, what is schifo on this?

I agree with marco list of schifo things!

sandybelle says
September 30, 2009

hi my top che schifo is

talking with food in your mouth.this is million times more schifo than ketchup on pizza

catherinem says
November 3, 2009

@trungle2009

Glad you enjoy our podcasts! A few comments:

studiare, to study, is not a reflexive verb, so to say I study Italian, you can write:

...(io) studio italiano...

Also, in Italian, a song is a feminine noun: 

una canzone

le canzoni

Hope this helps!

italianlove17 says
January 12, 2010

my top che schifo...

3. eating after other people (like they take a bit

then you do)

2.  drinking after people

1. biting your nails

these things are very gross to me..