marcello and frances at the beach

I was wondering the same thing...i went back and watched that scene and it doesn't make sense

Maybe he meant to say niece but mixed up the words. He's not one to understand english idioms. See the "pull you up" scene.

He just got confused with his English.

He wasn't a native English speaker.

The Italian word for nephew is "nipote"
The Italian word for niece is "nipote"
"Nipote" is also the Italian word for Grandson as well as Granddaughter.

So Italians have 1 word for describing 4 different relations.

I can't believe so many people didn't get that it's supposed to signify that his English is rusty. I thought France's expression said it all, when she decided not to correct him.