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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Quindi’

Italians pepper their conversations with this common conjunction. So what does it actually mean?

Published: 1 October 2018 11:13 CEST
Updated: 5 May 2023 16:00 CEST

Italian word of the day: 'Quindi'

Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Listen to Italians talking for more than a minute and you’re sure to come across quindi.

Don’t be fooled: it has nothing to do with the number 15 (quindici) and everything to do with helping your speech flow.

This little word has two main meanings. The first is ‘so’, or more formally, ‘therefore’.

Sta per piovere, quindi portati un ombrello.
It’s about to rain, so take an umbrella.

Si tratta quindi di una questione della massima importanza.
It is therefore a matter of the greatest importance.

Penso, quindi sono.
I think, therefore I am.

You might hear people ask: “E quindi?” – ‘So what?’ or ‘What’s your point?’, usually said a touch sarcastically.

Its second main meaning is ‘then’, ‘next’ or ‘afterwards’.

Ho cenato, quindi sono uscita.
I had dinner, then I went out.

Aggiungete l’acqua alla farina e quindi iniziate ad impastare.
Add the water to the flour and then start kneading.

Continuare diritto, quindi girare a destra.
Keep going straight, then turn right.

More than anything, when you’re speaking informally quindi is a really useful word to help you follow on naturally from one phrase to the next – very close to the way we use ‘so’ in English.

Don’t be afraid to use it at the start of a sentence…

Quindi, ricapitolando…
So, to recap…

Quindi alla fine, si è risolto tutto.
So ultimately, it all worked out.

… and you can even trail off with it to leave something implied but unsaid.

Grazie per l’invito ma sono piuttosto stanca, quindi…
Thanks for the invitation but I’m kind of tired, so… [no].

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Italian word of the day: Metà vs mezzo

It’s often the case in Italy that you’ll find several words that mean something very similar, and it’s not always easy to know which one is appropriate. Our new mini series looks at some of the most common word pairs, and sorts out which should be used and when.

Why do I need to know the difference between metà and mezzo?

Because you’ll need to use both of them in daily conversation if you live in Italy, but the difference in meaning isn’t always clear.

What’s the difference?

When you want to talk about ‘half’ of something in Italian, it may seem as though you have two choices.

Depending on what you’re talking about, you could reach for either metà or mezzo (or mezza, which we’ll come to later) but many language learners say they’re not always sure which one to use in certain situations.

Put simply, the difference between metà and mezzo is much the same as the difference between ‘half’ and ‘middle’ in English.

Metà: a half, as in one of two equal parts of something.

Mezzo: the middle, as in equally distant from two points.

For example:

Ha mangiato metà torta

He ate half of the cake

Facciamo a metà

Let’s split it (in half)

E’ sdraiato in mezzo alla strada

He’s lying in the middle of the street

Non penso che ti dovrebbe mettere in mezzo

I don’t think she should be putting you in the middle of this

READ ALSO: Come stai vs come va

But is anything in Italian ever really that simple?

There are some specific situations where the two words seem to be used interchangeably, or where it’s not clear why one is typically used and not the other.

Confusion arises particularly around telling the time in Italian, as you could say:

Sono le undici e mezzo

It’s half past eleven

Il mio treno arriva alle 5.40: vediamoci dieci minuti prima, alla mezza.

My train arrives at 5.40: let’s meet ten minutes before, at half past.

Why in this case aren’t we using metà for ‘half’? And why is it sometimes mezza rather than mezzo?

The English ‘half past’ doesn’t translate literally into Italian. Mezzo is used here instead, since we’re talking about the ‘middle of’ the hour, the point equally distant between two hours.

This might take some getting used to for English native speakers, but it is pretty logical.

As for why it’s mezza in the second example, this isn’t because it needs to agree with the gender of the noun in the sentence.

In fact, dictionaries tell us it’s always more correct to use mezzo regardless (although many Italians themselves find this rule confusing.)

But, in this case, as the language guardians at Italy’s Accademia della Crusca explain, mezza may (if you prefer) be used instead of mezzo when we already know the time, or at least the hour, being talked about.

So if you had earlier told someone an event would start at 8pm, but it’s now been delayed by half an hour, you could then say:

Comincerà alle otto e mezza

But if you’re inviting someone for the first time, you’d probably stick to:

Alle otto e mezzo

This can be a lot to remember when you’re in the middle of a conversation, but with practice you’ll soon get a feel for which word sounds right in which context.

Do you have an Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.

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