When a holiday goes wrong, you need the right vocabulary to describe it. In Italian, you can easily form the opposite meaning of many adjectives by adding a negative prefix. The three most common are in-, dis-, and s-.
The Prefix "in-"
Just like in English, the prefix in- reverses the meaning of certain adjectives. For example, soddisfatto (satisfied) becomes insoddisfatto, and adeguato (adequate) becomes inadeguato.
| No tourist is as dissatisfied as me. | Nessun turista è tanto insoddisfatto quanto me. |
| The bathroom was inadequate and the water was cold. | Il bagno era inadeguato e l'acqua era fredda. |
The Prefix "dis-"
The prefix dis- also works much like its English equivalent. With it, organizzato (organized) becomes disorganizzato, and onesto (honest) becomes disonesto.
| The clients are dissatisfied with the disorganized service. | I clienti sono insoddisfatti del servizio disorganizzato. |
| That owner is dishonest and he did not return the money. | Quel proprietario è disonesto e non ha restituito i soldi. |
The Prefix "s-"
The prefix s- is uniquely Italian and very common. It typically attaches to adjectives starting with a consonant. By adding s-, comodo (comfortable) becomes scomodo, and fortunato (lucky) becomes sfortunato.
| There was an unpleasant smell and the bed was uncomfortable. | C'era un odore sgradevole e il letto era scomodo. |
| We are unlucky, this hotel is uncomfortable and dirty. | Siamo sfortunati, questo albergo è scomodo e sporco. |