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LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Italian expression of the day: ‘Non vedo l’ora’

We bet you can't wait to start using this Italian phrase.

Published: 29 September 2021 12:31 CEST
Updated: 29 July 2022 17:15 CEST
Italian expression of the day: 'Non vedo l'ora'
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

If you were to ask an Italian out on a date, they might respond with today’s expression: non vedo l’ora

But, since this literally translates as “I can’t see the time”, you might understandably think you’d just been turned down with an excuse about a busy schedule.

This is when it really pays to know your Italian idioms, since this phrase actually means “I can’t wait” or “I’m looking forward to it.”

As in, you’re just so excited about this future event that you can’t even “see”, or imagine, the time coming.

Isn’t that a bit more romantic than the impatient English “I can’t wait”?

The amorous Italian you met on your last trip to Italy, now separated from you by thousands of miles of ocean, is likely to send messages along the lines of:

– non vedo l’ora di rivederti amore mio

– I can’t wait to see you again my love

They don’t call it the language of love for nothing.

But, obviously, the phrase is also used all the time in all sorts of situations; some of them markedly less romantic.

Some other useful phrases might be:

– non vedo l’ora di finire il lavoro

– I can’t wait to finish work

– Non vedo l’ora di incontrare i miei nuovi colleghi

– I’m looking forward to meeting my new colleagues.

The second example might sound a little off to English speakers. While there’s a different between “I can’t wait” and “I’m looking forward to it” (the former would imply more yearning or excitement) Italians just use the same phrase for both.

So for English speakers, using non vedo l’ora when you want to politely express that you’re “quite looking forward to” getting started on a work project might feel a bit much. But really, it’s fine.

To use this phrase in any situation, you can simply add on verbs in the infinitive, just like in English.

Don’t forget that, In Italian, ora can be used to mean  both ‘hour and ‘time’, as well as “now”

Some examples:

– che ora è?

– what time is it?

– è ora di andare

– It’s time to go

– Stiamo mangiando proprio ora

– We’re eating right now

And now you know exactly how to tell people how excited you are about your next visit to Italy:

Non vedo l’ora di tornare in Italia!

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

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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: Metà vs mezzo

These Italian words are both used to talk about 'half' of something, so what exactly is the difference and when should you use them?

Published: 23 April 2024 10:48 CEST
Updated: 23 April 2024 11:49 CEST
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.

Make sure you don’t miss any of our Italian words and expressions of the day: download our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Italian Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.

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