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sfogliare

to leaf through

verb sfoh-LYAH-reh Rare
Arts & Culture Literature

Origin: From Italian s- (away) + foglio (leaf, page) — to remove the leaves/pages one by one.

Also means

to skim

Usage Note

Sfogliare means to flip through the pages of a book or magazine without reading carefully. It is also a culinary term for making pasta sfoglia (puff pastry), where layers of dough are separated. In cooking, it can also mean to strip leaves from herbs. The metaphorical 'leafing through memories' is also natural in Italian.

Examples

"Stava sfogliando una rivista in sala d'attesa."

Natural Translation

She was leafing through a magazine in the waiting room.

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