17 June 2020
02: CEST+02:00
And you asked an Italian on a date, they may respond by saying today: non vedo l'ora
However, as it literally translates as 'I can not see the time,' it would be understandable to believe that a busy schedule has just turned down.
But it really pays off, because that expression really means "I can not wait," or "I look forward to it," to learn your Italian languages.
As in this situation, you are just so excited about this potential occurrence that you can not "see" the time is coming.
And it is definitely a phrase you are going to learn from an Italian romantic lover. The flirtatious Italian, whom you met on your last trip to Italy, now separated by thousands of kilometres, will possibly send you the following messages:
non vedo l'ora di rivederti amore mio
- I can’t wait to see you again my love
They do not call it much in the language of passion.
But clearly, the phrase is used in all kinds of contexts all the time; others are slightly less romantic.
Some other useful sentences might be:
non vedo l'ora di finire il lavoro
- I can’t wait to finish work
Non vedo l'ora di incontrare i miei nuovi colleghi.
- I’m looking forward to meeting my new colleagues.
Although there is a slight difference between "I can not wait" and "I am looking forward" (the former implies more longing or excitement), Italians are using the same phrase for both.
However for English-speakers, using non vedo l'ora if you want to express politically that you are "excellent to look forward to" your colleague's birthday lunch might feel a little bit. But it is okay, really.
In order to use it, you can add infinitive verbs just as in English. Not too hard!
In Italian, ora can be used to mean both ‘hour and ‘time’, as well as "now"
Some examples:
che ora è?
- what time is it?
- è ora di andare
- It’s time to go
- Stiamo mangiando proprio ora
- We're eating right now
And now you can tell people how excited you are at your next visit to Italy:
