conscience vs. consciousness
A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
Una coscienza pulita di solito è segno di memoria cattiva.
– Steven Wright
– Steven Wright
✓ I must have lost consciousness for a few seconds.
✗ I must have lost *conscience* for a few seconds.
Devo aver perso coscienza per qualche secondo.
Your conscience is the “voice” that tells you whether what you are doing is morally right or wrong. For example, if you have something on your conscience or if you have a guilty conscience, it is because you know you have done something wrong. If you say that somebody has no conscience, you mean that they don’t care if what they do is wrong or bad.
If you are conscientious, you take care to work or study as well as you can.
Some more examples:
✓ He’s acting strangely. I think he has a guilty conscience.
✗ He’s acting strangely. I think he has a guilty *consciousness*.
Si comporta in modo strano. Credo che abbia la coscienza sporca.
✓ I did what I had to do. My conscience is clear.
Ho fatto quello che dovevo fare. Ho la Icoscienza a posto.
✓ He’s a very conscientious student. He always does his homework.
E’ uno studente molto coscienzioso. Fa sempre i compiti.
Consciousness is the state of being mentally awake and aware of what’s around you, what people are saying, and so on.
Consciousness is also awareness of specific issues.
If you are conscious of something, you know it exists or is true.
Some more examples:
✓ After the accident, he never regained consciousness.
Dopo l’incidente, non ha mai ripreso conoscenza.
✓ Environmental consciousness is increasing among young people.
La coscienza ambientale sta aumentando tra i giovani.
✓ I’m very conscious of the problem.
Sono pienamente consapevole del problema.
Now try the quiz below! There are FIVE answers. The pass mark is 100% (5 out of 5). Click on the blue arrows to go to the next or previous question. You can check your answers immediately or when you’ve finished the quiz.