Comparisons

In Italian, the words solo, solamente and soltanto all translate as only in English. When used as adverbs and conjunctions, they are completely interchangeable. As an adverb: When used as an adverb, all three correspond to the English adverb only (as in exclusively or merely). For example: Mio figlio mangia solo pane e pasta.Mio figlio mangia solamente pane e pasta.Mio figlio mangia … [Read more...] about Solo vs Solamente vs Soltanto: What’s the difference?

As human beings, we have the natural tendency to talk about what we want in conversation with friends and family, be it food, drink, sleep, company or something more profound. In Italian, the infinitive verb for to want is volere and when expressing a personal desire in the first person, it can be conjugated in two ways. (Io) voglio - Present tense The first is the present indicative … [Read more...] about Voglio vs Vorrei: What’s the difference?

In English, the phrase I love you is extremely flexible. It can be used not only towards a lover or a person you're in love with, but also family members, your children and even really good friends. In Italian however, there are two different phrases that equate to I love you and learning how they differ is extremely important. 1) Ti amo 2) Ti voglio bene Ti amo is used towards someone … [Read more...] about Ti amo vs Ti voglio bene: What’s the difference?

In Italian, there are two main ways you can translate the word now. One is ora and the second is adesso. For all intents and purposes, ora and adesso are synonyms in modern day Italian, and swapping one for the other will rarely sound strange to the native ear. Ora derives from the Latin hora ("hour") whereas adesso comes from ad ipsum ("in this moment"). Ora ho un appuntamento. Ti … [Read more...] about Ora vs Adesso: What’s the difference?

In English, we have one adverb of place to describe the location of something close to us – here – and another to describe the location of something further away – there. This is why many learners are surprised to learn that four different adverbs exist in Italian: qui and qua (the equivalents of here) and lì vs là (the equivalents of there). So what's the difference between qui/qua and … [Read more...] about Qui vs Qua | Lì vs Là in Italian – What’s the difference?

In English, we have but one word for day but in Italian, there are two: giorno and giornata. Knowing which to use can be tricky if you've only just started learning the language, so here are some helpful tips to clear up the confusion! Giorno It takes 24 hours for the earth to rotate on its axis, and it is this specific astronomical time period that Italians refer to as giorno (masculine, … [Read more...] about Giorno vs Giornata: What’s the difference?