Italian Phrase: Non ci posso credere! (I can’t believe it!)

This week’s phrase is bound to come in handy if you see or hear about something that defies belief.

It is made up of the following components:

• Non >> A very common adverb of negation. In this particular phrase, it translates as not in English.

• Ci >> A common pronoun and adverb with various meanings. In this case, it is another way of saying a ciò (literally: to that) or a questo / quello (literally: to this / that).
  
  Non ci posso credere. = Non posso credere a ciò / a questo / a quello.
  Literally: I can’t believe (to) this / that.

• Posso >> The first person singular present conjugation of potere (can, to be able). In English, it translates as I can.

• Credere >> The infinitive verb to believe in Italian. It is usually followed by the prepositions a (to) or in (in).
  
  credere a qualcuno / qualcosa = to believe somebody / something
  credere in qualcuno / qualcosa = to believe in somebody / something

Note that it is possible to move ci from its position between non and posso to the end of credere without changing the meaning of the sentence. This is because direct and indirect objects can be attached as a suffix to the end of infinitives in Italian:

Another variation on this phrase removes the verb potere from the equation altogether. The only difference is that credere has to be conjugated into its first person singular present form credo (I believe).

Heather Broster

Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.