Italian Word of the Day: Dunque (therefore / so / well / point)

Some words are staples of everyday conversation, and in Italian, dunque is one of them.

/dùn·que/ – [ˈdunkwe]
Italian word "dunque"

Dunque is a conjunction, adverb and even a noun as we’ll discover further down. It originates from Late Latin dunc, which is likely a blend of dumque (meaning “while, at the same time”) and tunc (meaning “then”).

It can connect two sentences, typically translating to therefore or so, and serves as a synonym for quindi or perciò.

  • È tardi, dunque dobbiamo andare a dormire. = It is late, so we must go to bed.
  • Mi hai detto di aspettare, dunque sono rimasto qui. = You told me to wait, so I stayed here.
  • Non c’era traffico, dunque siamo arrivati in anticipo. = There wasn’t any traffic, so we got there early.

Dunque can also be used at the start of a sentence, often as a filler to give you a moment to gather your thoughts. In this context, it means well or so and can often be replaced by words like allora or quindi.

  • Dunque, come dicevo prima… = Well, as I was saying before…
  • Dunque, fammi pensare… = Hmm, let me think…

In interrogative phrases, it is also an adverb used to elicit a response, as in the question:


Detective in glasses smoking cigar and reading newspaper with magnifier in office
Dunque, cosa abbiamo qui… = So, what do we have here…

You’ll also see it in the set expression E dunque? which is similar to the English So what? or What’s the big deal?

Lastly, we arrive at dunque as a noun, where it takes on the meaning of point or decisive moment. In this context, it’s typically found in the expression al dunque, meaning to the point. The phrase venire al dunque is commonly used to mean to get to the point.



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