An Italian phrase that a lot of our readers have requested us to put in writing about is the verb attraversare. In case you haven’t watched many Hollywood movies set in Italy, you is likely to be interested in why this phrase is so common. Let’s uncover the explanation now!

Within the film Eat Pray Love, Julia Roberts’ character embarks on a journey of self-discovery, touring to a few totally different international locations, together with Italy. Throughout her time there, she turns into enamoured with the phrase attraversiamo, the first-person plural type of attraversare, appreciating each its phonetically pleasing sound and significant essence. You may watch the second she discovers the phrase within the clip under.

Now, within the movie, the phrase is described as that means “to cross over,” which is correct, nevertheless it additionally has the less complicated meanings of “to cross” or “to undergo.” One phrase I say to my son every single day is:

Another obstacles you’ll be able to attraversare embody rivers (fiumi), tunnels (gallerie), ponti (bridges), railway tracks (binari) and woods (boschi) to call a number of.

Relying on what you might be crossing, and the way you cross it, the interpretation for attraversare will fluctuate. As an example, whereas in English we are saying “to stroll / swim / bike / experience / fly throughout / by means of (one thing)” utilizing a particular motion verb, Italians typically use the verb attraversare adopted by the means or method of transportation.

• to run throughout / by means of = attraversare di corsa
• to bike throughout / by means of = attraversare in bicicletta
• to drive throughout / by means of = attraversare in macchina
• to fly throughout / by means of = attraversare in aereo

Attraversare is an everyday -ARE verb, so it conjugates like this within the current tense:

And since a lot of you might be eager on realizing extra concerning the first-person plural type, it’s price noting that attraversiamo can signify each “we cross” or “let’s cross,” relying on the context. Examine the 2 instance sentences under:

• Dai, attraversiamo la strada. Il semaforo è verde! = Come on, let’s cross the road. The visitors gentle is inexperienced!

• Se attraversiamo qui, ci mettiamo solo cinque minuti per arrivare a casa. = If we cross right here, it is going to solely take 5 minutes to get dwelling.

After all, like many verbs, attraversare additionally embodies a figurative that means, which is “to undergo” “to cross” or “to expertise“.

For instance, you’ll be able to attraversare un periodo difficile (undergo a tough interval) and a thought can attraversare la mente (undergo one’s thoughts).

Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the College of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, in addition to Japanese, Welsh, and French to various levels of fluency. Initially from Toronto, Heather has resided in varied international locations, notably Italy for a interval of six years. Her major focus lies within the fields of language acquisition, training, and bilingual instruction.