I've just been doing lesson 3.2 and am wondering why the phrase is 'ma che piccolo bicchierino' and not 'ma che piccolo bicchiere' when referring to a small glass?? Surely bicchierino already translates as small glass, so piccolo bicchierino translates as small small glass?!!
Confused about a small glass!

MarcB14
March 14, 2020

caterina-rocket-italian-tutor
March 24, 2020
Hi MarcB14,
Thanks for your question!
Your observation is indeed correct: "bicchierino" already implies that we are talking about a small glass. However, by adding the adjective "piccolo" (small) in front of it, the speaker exaggerates and stresses the small size of the glass. Therefore, it is not incorrect, and could be translated as "very small glass".
Hope this clarifies, don't hesitate to let me know if I can help you further!
Thanks for your question!
Your observation is indeed correct: "bicchierino" already implies that we are talking about a small glass. However, by adding the adjective "piccolo" (small) in front of it, the speaker exaggerates and stresses the small size of the glass. Therefore, it is not incorrect, and could be translated as "very small glass".
Hope this clarifies, don't hesitate to let me know if I can help you further!