Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian expression of the day: ‘Non ti preoccupare’

This phrase is nothing to worry about.

Published: 23 September 2019 17:02 CEST
Updated: 18 December 2023 16:38 CET
Italian expression of the day: 'Non ti preoccupare'
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

The meaning of today’s phrase is simple: non ti preoccupare, ‘don’t worry about it’. 

Non ti preoccupare, ci penso io.
Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it.

– Scusa il disturbo.
– Vai tranquillo, non ti preoccupare.
– Sorry to bother you.
– Don’t worry about it, go ahead.

While preoccupare comes from the same Latin root that gave us ‘preoccupy’ in English, this Italian verb means ‘to worry’ or ‘to fret’. Just imagine your head being so ‘occupied’ by anxieties that you can’t think of anything else.

But you don’t need to concern yourself with that, since we’re talking about doing just the opposite. 

The only thing you might need to (ahem) worry about is whether you should say non ti preoccupare or non preoccuparti, which is such a source of confusion that even Italians have dedicated heated forum threads to it.

The short answer is: you can say either interchangeably.

They both mean exactly the same thing, non preoccuparti is just the reflexive form of the verb. It’s the difference between ‘worrying’ and ‘worrying yourself’.

Just bear in mind that preoccupare is transitive (it needs a direct object), so you use it to say that something worries you. In this case the verb agrees with the thing or things (third person singular/plural), not with the person it’s worrying. 

La sua salute mi preoccupa.
Her health worries me.

Preoccuparsi, on the other hand, is intransitive (it doesn’t need a direct object) and you use the preposition per to specify who or what you’re worrying about. The verb is conjugated according to the person doing the worrying.

Mi preoccupo per la sua salute.
I worry about her health.

If it helps you decide between the two, according to Google there are around 5 million more hits for non preoccuparti than non ti preoccupare.

But personally I prefer non ti preoccupare – or as we say in Rome, non ti preoccupa’.

Don’t spend too much time thinking about it: just pick one and… you know the rest.

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

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
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.

Published: 14 June 2024 13:59 CEST
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.

SHOW COMMENTS