Working as a tour guide, I’ve noticed that there’s a word very difficult to be pronounced by the American clients: “grazie”, the Italian word for “thanks”.
The most of the time they pronounce it “grazi”, and sometimes, if they can speak Spanish, they try to go with “gracias”, or – in some rare occasions – I’ve even heard people gratefully saying “greasy”, meaning “thanks”.
The most difficult part of “grazie” seems to be the final “e”, the tricky vowel that, although not easy, should always be pronounced, as there are no “wasted vowels” in Italian.
The correct pronunciation of that final “e”, is the sound of the first letter in the name “Elizabeth”.
In order to make it easy, just say quickly: “GRAHT-see-yeh” (capital letters indicate the stressed syllable).
But what does “grazie” exactly mean?
The Italian word “grazie” comes from the Latin “gratiae”, the plural of “gratia”, a word with more than twenty different meanings: it stands for “gratitude”, but also “grace”, “goodwill”, “favor”, “liking”, “pleasingness”, “pleasantness”, “charm”, “esteem”, “support”, “approval”, “authority”, “popularity”, “affection”, “fascination”, “partiality”, “service”, “regard”, “acknowledgment”, “for the sake of”.
So, all this good stuff is what you wish peolpe, when you say “grazie” to them.
The Latin word “Gratiae” (pronounced exactly as “grazie”) is also the name of a group of three goddesses of charm and beauty: the Three Graces
They embody the three steps of kindness: giving, receiving, and giving in return. Of course, always saying “grazie”!