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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Persino’

Even a beginner can manage this handy term.

Italian word of the day: 'Persino'
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Persino is one of those words I find myself looking up again and again, seemingly unable to make it stick.

It doesn’t help that it also goes by an alias: perfino, which means exactly the same thing – ‘even’.

Despite my blind spot, the two are actually quite straightforward. You say perfino or persino when you want to highlight something unexpected or unlikely.

Ha girato mezzo mondo ed è stata perfino al Polo Nord.
She’s travelled half the world and even been to the North Pole.

Persino sua moglie non è d’accordo.
Even his wife doesn’t agree.

They’re essentially words to add emphasis, a bit like pure or addirittura. We use ‘even’ much the same way in English, or in some cases ‘just’ or ‘only’.

Mi viene la pelle d’oca persino a pensarci.
I get goosebumps only thinking about it.

Perfino un bambino lo saprebbe fare.
Even (just) a child can do it.

Perhaps what throws me off is the fino part, which usually means ‘until’ or ‘up to’. But – and here’s what I really should memorize – fino can also be an emphatic ‘even’.

It’s more unusual, but you sometimes see it used this way with troppo (‘too much’) to imply that something’s happened ‘far too much’ or ‘all too well’. NB: you drop the final ‘o’ in this construction, just because it sounds better.

Sono stato fin troppo buono.
I was even too good (or: far too good). 

Hai detto fin troppo.
You’ve said quite enough (or: all too much). 

The parts of the puzzle all start coming together when you learn that sino is another word for fino, albeit a less common one (and if you want to get stuck a dictionary loop, trying looking all these terms up in and finding “sino: see fino”, only to be told “fino: see sino”).

So perfino or persino, which to go for? That’s entirely up to you: the two really are interchangeable, though my repeated Googlings turn up more results for persino than perfino.

Un giorno ce la farò persino io!
One day even I will manage it!

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For members

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.

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

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