Infischiarsene — and other ways to say you don't give a hoot...

Original: Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

Watch a film, and its clever or catchy phrases can easily get engrained in your memory. This is especially true for iconic films and lines that get incorporated into popular culture.

Voted the number one most memorable movie line by the American Film Institute in 2005, you've likely heard some version of: "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" said by Clark Gable as Rhett Butler to a decidedly whiny Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) in Gone with the Wind (Via col Vento.)

Now you can use the same mnemonic strategy to help you remember the phrase in Italian, too! Watch this dubbed clip and see if you can make out the context. Then, listen to the pronunciation and tone of the line:

Me ne infischio.

I don't give a damn

Part of the line's memorability and appeal was its use of the word "damn"— considered a profanity at the time of the film's release, and still not exactly polite today.  The Italian version maintains the same colloquial tone… But nowadays, it sounds a little bit out of date, and maybe a bit corny— something more along the lines of "I don't give a darn" or "I don't give a hoot."

If you'd like to express the same thing in a decidedly modern way, you could also say:

Non me ne frega.*

literally: that doesn't rub me

still means: I don't give a damn

*Be warned, this is very colloquial and quite crass!

If that isn't colorful enough for you, you can also add modifiers: (still crass—ranked from less vulgar to extremely vulgar!)

Non me ne frega un cavolo.

literally: a cabbage

a way to say a swear word without saying one!

means: I don't give a damn at all.

Non me ne frega un ficco secco.

literally: a dried fig

another way of saying a swear word without saying one!

also means: I don't give a damn at all./ I don't give one damn.

Non me ne frega un cazzo. (!)

used in place of the English F-word!

means: I don't give a F***!

I included the above for educational purposes only— I don't recommend saying it! 

Instead, swing back to the polite side of the spectrum with these perfectly acceptable (and mixed company friendly!) ways to express that you don't care:

Non mi interessa.

It/That doesn't interest me.

Non mi importa

It/That doesn't matter to me.

—Vuoi vedere un film?
Do you want to see a film?
—No, non mi interessa.
No, I'm not interested.

—Dove vuoi mangiare?

Where do you want to eat?

—Non mi importa.

It doesn't matter to me.

Now that we've run the gamut of ways to express disinterest, watch the clip again. Repeat until the sound becomes familiar, and you can pronounce it easily. Then try replacing the original with some of the variations and consider how each changes the meaning and tone of the film. Does associating the phrases with the clip help you remember each phrase and its subtleties better? 

I hope so! 

Sì, che mi importa!—

 Yes, I do care!

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