Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Pretendere’

We promise we're not pretending about the meaning of this word.

Published: 4 September 2023 15:58 CEST
Italian word of the day pretendere
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

The Italian verb pretendere is one of those words that seems designed to trip language-learners up.

It doesn’t, as you’d expect, mean ‘pretend’, but instead can mean any of ‘to claim’, ‘to demand’, ‘to expect/presume’ or ‘to want/aspire to’.

Un prodotto legittimo non pretende di risolvere tutti i problemi.
A legitimate product won’t claim to solve all your problems.

Pretende un risarcimento di 200 euro.
He’s demanding 200 euros in compensation.

Nessuno avrebbe mai preteso che fossi in grado di realizzare l’intero progetto da solo.
No one would ever have expected you to be able to complete the entire project by yourself.

Le cose si fanno sempre più difficili per i giovani che pretendono di diventare proprietari di una casa.
Things are getting more and more difficult for young people who aspire to become homeowners.

Of course, sometimes there will be an overlap between pretendere and ‘pretend’ – the difference is that with the latter, the verb itself tells us there’s a subterfuge going on, whereas with pretendere, it can only be understood from context.

I truffatori hanno pubblicato un falso annuncio di affitto pretendendo di essere dei proprietari di un lussuoso appartamento nel centro della città.
The scammers posted a fake rental ad claiming to be the owners of a luxurious city-center apartment.

The two words have the same Latin root in praetendere, and you can see how modern-day English got from ‘make a claim’ to ‘make a false claim’ (a usage that entered the language in around the 14th century) to ‘feign/affect’.

If you want a direct translation of ‘to pretend’, you need fingere or fare finta, which mean pretend both in the sense of ‘make-believe’ and ‘fake’.

Le piace indossare il suo vestito e fingere di essere un medico.
She likes dressing up in her outfit and imagining she’s a doctor.

Stanno fingendo di dormire.
They’re pretending to be asleep.

Per tutto questo tempo ha fatto finta di essere un avvocato, pur non essendosi mai laureato.
All this time he pretended to be a lawyer despite never having graduated from university.

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

Did you know you can get all our Italian words and expressions of the day on our new app as soon as we publish them? It takes a few seconds to download the app at the Apple or Android store, then you can select “Italian Word of the Day” in your Notification options via the “User” button.

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