If you want to express absolute disbelief in Italian, an exclamation you simply cannot afford not to learn is Ma dai!
Ma dai!
Oh, come on! / Seriously?
Ma is the word for but, whereas dai is a catch-all exclamation used when:
- encouraging someone to do something (Dai, forza! = Come on, you can do it!)
- trying to get someone to hurry up (Dai, sbrigati! = Come on, hurry up!)
- you feel that someone has said or done something wrong, foolish or unbelievable (Dai, perché fai così? = Oh come on, why are you behaving like that?)
It is in this final sense of the word that the expression Ma dai! is used.
Marco esce con Camilla. – Ma dai? Non ci credo!
Marco is dating Camilla. – Seriously? I don’t believe it!
If you are really having trouble believing what the other person is saying, or wish to communicate annoyance, you can elongate the a sound (daaaai).
Qualcuno ha avvistato un UFO a Torino! – Ma dai! Piantala di dire scemenze!
Somebody spotted a UFO in Turin! – Oh, come on! Stop saying silly things!
Non riesco a collegarmi. Mi sa che è caduta la linea. – Ma dai, di nuovo? Non è possibile!
I can’t log on. I think the connection is down. – Seriously, again? It’s not possible!
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.
