Per cortesia, non prendere in giro tuo cugino.

In Italian, the negative imperative for tu uses non + infinitive. So:

• tu: Non prendere (don’t take/tease)
• voi: Non prendete
• Lei (formal): Non prenda
• noi: Non prendiamo

Affirmative imperative for tu would be prendi (e.g., Prendi!), but in the negative it switches to the infinitive: Non prendere!

Literally it’s “to take around,” but it’s an idiom meaning “to make fun of,” “to tease,” or “to kid.” It takes a direct object:

• Prendere in giro qualcuno = to make fun of someone
• Mi stai prendendo in giro? = Are you kidding me?

Yes. Both orders are possible:

• More common: prendere in giro qualcuno
• Also acceptable: prendere qualcuno in giro The first is the standard set phrase and sounds a bit more natural.

With singular, unmodified close family members, Italian normally drops the article:

• mio padre, mia sorella, tuo cugino

Use the article when:

• The noun is plural: i tuoi cugini
• It’s modified: il mio caro cugino, il mio cuginetto
• The possessive is loro: il loro cugino

Use Lei forms and suo:

• Per cortesia, non prenda in giro suo cugino. Even more polite:
• La prego, non prenda in giro suo cugino.
• La prego di non prendere in giro suo cugino.

They all mean “please,” with slight nuance:

• Per favore: neutral, most common.
• Per cortesia: a touch more formal/polite.
• Per piacere: also common; can sound a bit more emphatic or regional. You can also use Cortesemente, … for a formal tone.

The comma is recommended because Per cortesia is a parenthetical politeness marker. You can also place it at the end:

• Non prendere in giro tuo cugino, per cortesia.

With the negative tu imperative (non + infinitive), the object pronoun can go before or after the infinitive:

• Non lo prendere in giro.
• Non prenderlo in giro. Both are widely used; placing it before the infinitive is very common. In the affirmative tu imperative (without non), it must attach to the verb: Prendilo in giro!

Not necessarily. It often implies light teasing or “kidding,” but it can be mean-spirited depending on tone and context. Harsher options:

• deridere (to deride, formal/strong)
• sfottere (colloquial, can be rude) Softer options for friendly joking:
• scherzare (con qualcuno)

It’s different. Scherzare con qualcuno = “to joke with someone,” not necessarily at their expense. Prendere in giro targets the person and implies teasing/mocking. So:

• Non scherzare con tuo cugino = don’t joke around with him (neutral)
• Non prendere in giro tuo cugino = don’t make fun of him

Approximate English-friendly hints:

• Per cortesia: pehr kor-teh-ZEE-ah (the s often sounds like a voiced z)
• prendere: PREHN-deh-reh
• in giro: een JEE-ro (g before i = English “j”)
• tuo: TOO-oh (a single syllable glide in Italian)
• cugino: koo-JEE-no

Yes. Natural Italian options:

• Smettila di prendere in giro tuo cugino. (informal)
• Piantala di prendere in giro tuo cugino. (colloquial)
• Formal: La smetta di prendere in giro suo cugino.