Top 10 Most Popular Italian Swear Words

'Vaffanculo' is a contraction that simply means someone can go screw themselves. The word is so deeply rooted in the culture that political protest days have even been named after it.

You can use 'cazzo' for all sorts of things. Although it literally refers to the male anatomy, in practice it works like the English 'fuck'.

The Italian swear word 'minchia' comes from Sicily. In the deep south it's so ubiquitous that it almost works as a filler word.

'Li mortacci tua' is a typically Roman verbal atom bomb. With it you don't just attack the person in front of you, you drag their whole family tree (dead ancestors included) through the mud.

Never insult someone's mother in Italy if you want to keep the peace. In a culture where 'mamma' is sacred, 'son of a whore' lands like a hard slap in the face.

Blasphemy is still officially an offense in Italy, although it's rarely enforced on the street. Still, 'Porco Dio' is considered one of the heaviest exclamations you can make.

'Stronzo' is the classic 'turd' of the Italian vocabulary. It works as the universal insult for a bastard or a jerk.

Literally this means a testicle, but in practice you're calling someone an idiot or a nitwit. 'Coglione' became world-famous when former prime minister Berlusconi used it in a fiery election speech.

'Merda' is short, powerful and instantly understood all over the world. It's the Italian answer to 'shit' and works in exactly the same way.

When you shout 'porca miseria', you're literally talking about 'pig misery'. You shout it when the train is late again or when you've lost the keys to your Vespa.