Everyday italiano

[johnnyonthespot]

Some of you may have noticed that my mind wanders in strange directions now and then...

I have a question for our members who live their daily lives in Italia and are native or near-native speakers of the language.

I think it fair to say that the typical American delicatessen customer might request "a quarter pound" of prosciutto or "a half pound" of genoa salami (give me these two - have to be really thinly sliced - and a good loaf of bread and I am a happy man!). When an Italiano makes a similar purchase, is he more likely to request "un ottavo chilo/chilogrammo di prosciutto" or "cento grammi di prosciutto"?

Do Italians use both forms (ottavo-, quarto-, mezzo chilo and cento-, due cento-, cinquecento grammi) in daily life or is one preferred and the other rarely or never used?

[liviomoreno]

In Italy we generally use:

Un etto = 100 grams
Due etti e mezzo = 250 grams
mezzo chilo = 1 Kg
Sette etti = 700 grams

[johnnyonthespot]

In Italy we generally use:

Un etto = 100 grams
Due etti e mezzo = 250 grams
mezzo chilo = 1 Kg
Sette etti = 700 grams

You see, that is the problem with learning italiano by any means other than simply moving to Italy and being immersed in the culture.

etto? ettogrammo? If 100 is cento and one-tenth is decimo, where does etto come from??

Also, I would have thought that mezzo chilo would equal one-half Kg or 500 grams. Do I misunderstand, or did you mis-type?

[liviomoreno]

I mistyped : mezzo chilo = 1/2 Kg = 500 grams


Hecto or hecta (symbol h) is a prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of one hundred (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hecto). In Italian it becomes etto


1 decagrammo = 10 grammi (is used in some villages in Veneto region)
1 etto(grammo) = 100 grammi
1 chilo = 10 etti = 1000 grammi

[johnnyonthespot]

Well, at least it makes sense now.

[DeFilippis78]

Boy does your mind wander...salami and prosciutto? LOL!

Alicia

PS- Its yummy! Just got a kick out of the question

[PeterTimber]

1 Pound is not exactly 500 grams but is actually 454 grams. So that when your in Italy and ask for mezzo kilo you will be paying for 50 more grams than a pound. =Peter=

[legnoduro]

To be very accurate 1 avoirdupois pound is equal to exactly 453.59237 grams, but whose counting?