Zitti e buoni
by Måneskin
How to study this song
“Zitti e buoni” carries 46 Italian words, 13 adjectives and 38 verb forms — 97 study entries in all, graded C1-. Work through the glossary first: testa, gente and attori are the words you will lean on most. This one leans on its verbs: 38 distinct forms against 13 adjectives, so conjugation is where the effort goes. At this level the words on their own are not the problem — it is the way they are put together that takes the work.
The words of this song, in several languages
Every word below is taken from this song and translated by us. Nothing here is the lyric itself — these are the individual words you need in order to follow it.
Vocabulary
| IT | EN | ES | FR | PT | NL | DE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| testa | head | cabeza | tête | cabeça | hoofd | Kopf |
Adjectives
| IT | EN | ES | FR | PT | NL | DE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| zitti | quiet, silent (pl.) | callados | silencieux | calados | stil | still, schweigend (Pl.) |
Verb forms
| IT | EN | ES | FR | PT | NL | DE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sanno | they know | saben | ils savent | sabem | zij weten | sie wissen |
What this song teaches you
Level · C1-
- Vocabulary words
- 46
- Adjectives
- 13
- Word combos
- 4
- Expressions
- 10
- Verb forms
- 38
- Quiz questions
- 35
Background
About the song
Måneskin won the Sanremo Festival with «Zitti e buoni» in March 2021 and then the Eurovision Song Contest with it in May, which took an Italian-language rock song to an audience that rarely hears one. The title is what an adult says to a child — quiet and well-behaved — and the band hands it back as an accusation. The chorus declines the instruction on behalf of anyone else who has had it given to them.
Did you know?
The chorus declines the same adjective three times — masculine, feminine and plural — so the line changes shape depending on who is being included in it.
Charts & streaming
Released 3 March 2021. It won Sanremo 2021 and the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, and became one of the most-streamed Italian-language rock recordings internationally.