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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Però’

It may be small, but this little word packs a punch.

Italian word of the day: 'Però'
Photo: DepositPhotos

Like many students of Italian, I first learned però as ‘but’ – but that ‘but’ doesn’t really do this ubiquitous word justice, as I soon found out.

That’s not to say you can’t use però just the same way you’d say a forceful ‘but’.

L’ho incontrata per strada, però ha fatto finta di non riconoscermi.
I saw her in the street, but she pretended not to recognize me.

É brutto, però è simpatico.
He’s ugly, but he’s nice.

But while in English we always put ‘but’ at the beginning of a contradicting clause – and the same goes for ma, the other common Italian word for ‘but’ – però can go in various positions in your sentence, including at the end. It’s like ‘though’ in that respect.

Non è mica scemo, però!
He’s not the least bit stupid, though! 

È bello, però.
It’s beautiful, though.
(NB: you’ll hear this phrase used all the time in Italy to excuse just about anything.)

And like ‘though’, però has what linguists call a “concessive value”: you can use it to concede that something is true even if you’ve just said something else that would suggest it isn’t.

In English we might also use phrases like ‘nevertheless’, ‘however’ or ‘yet’ to make the same point.

Sono stanca, non tanto però da non poter finire.
I’m tired, yet not so tired as not to be able to finish.

Se non vuoi andarci tu, devi però mandarci qualcuno.
If you don’t want to go yourself, you have to send somebody nevertheless.

I recently listened to an elderly (and I assume, hard of hearing) signora sustain a monologue about her summer plans for the duration of a 20-minute bus ride through Tuscany, fuelled largely by trailing “peròooooo…”s that allowed her to keep adding to her point. So do not be afraid to use però liberally.

In spoken Italian you can even reinforce it by preceding it with ma (‘but BUT’!), though the dictionary politely advises you not to do so in ‘proper’ language, for instance when you’re writing a formal letter.

Io ti aiuto, ma però qualche piccolo sforzo devi farlo anche tu.
I’ll help you, but you have to make a bit of an effort too. 

The one other use to watch out for is when you hear an Italian speaker exclaim però at the start of their sentence: it’s sometimes used to express surprise, in either a good or a bad way, like ‘well!’ or ‘wow’.

Però, che coraggio hai avuto.
Wow, how brave you’ve been.

Però, che maleducato!
Well! How rude!

And just in case you were wondering how important that little accent on the O really is: very. Without it, pero means something quite different – ‘pear tree’.

If you’re struggling to find it on your keyboard, these tips should help.

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 expression of the day: ‘Al volo’

We’re sure you’ll learn this Italian phrase in no time.

Italian expression of the day: ‘Al volo’

If you’ve ever found yourself at an Italian airport and looked up at the departure board, there’s a good chance you’re already familiar with the word volo, which is the Italian equivalent of ‘flight’ – but also the first person singular of the verb volare (to fly) in the present tense.

And if you’re a fan of classical music, you may of course have heard of Italy’s famous opera trio Il Volo (‘The Flight’).

But what do Italians mean when they say they’re going to do something al volo (hear it pronounced here)? 

Much like its closest English equivalent, ‘on the fly’, al volo has very little to do with aircraft or flying as it’s one of the most common Italian phrases to say that you’re doing something ‘quickly’ or ‘readily’, often without having prepared it or thought about it much beforehand.

Facciamoci una pasta al volo e poi usciamo.

Let’s cook some pasta on the fly and then get out.

Ho dovuto preparare la presentazione al volo perché non mi avevano avvisato della riunione.

I had to put the presentation together on the fly as I’d not been notified of the meeting. 

But usage of al volo is not limited to practical actions or tasks you may do quickly and without much thought. 

In fact, you can also pair it with the verb capire (understand), comprendere (comprehend) or imparare (learn) to say that you grasped something ‘immediately’ or ‘in no time’, meaning you won’t need any further explanation. 

Tuo figlio capisce tutto al volo. Ha un grande futuro davanti a lui, a mio parere.

Your son understands everything in no time. He’s got a great future ahead of him, in my opinion.

And if you haven’t fully understood or grasped something on your first try (which is painfully likely when dealing with Italy’s infamous red tape, even for locals), don’t worry: you’ll always have the option to ask a domanda al volo, or a ‘quick question’, to clear up your doubts. 

Another popular way to use the phrase is in relation to big opportunities, whether that be in life, in education or at work. So an opportunity that va presa al volo must be seized immediately as it’s too good to be missed. 

Finally, if you’re planning on watching Euro 2024 matches on Italian TV over the next month, you may hear football commentators use al volo multiple times while analysing a match as colpire la palla al volo means to strike it while it’s in the air, or ‘volley’ it.

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

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