As we saw earlier, Yes is translated as Sì, and here is how it is pronounced:
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Sì
Yes
Always remember to add the accent sign on the i, because otherwise you will say an entirely different word! Sì means yes, but si can be roughly translated as self, himself, herself.
Resources for further reading:
Certo
Certain / Certainly / Of course
Certamente
Certainly / Of course
Certo che sì!
Of course!
Va bene
Ok (literally- It goes well)
D’accordo
Ok / Fine (literally- Of agreement)
Ok
Ok
This cannot get any easier! Let’s listen to the pronunciation, which is very different from the English way.
No
No
The o in no is a “pure” sound, meaning it does not tend towards an “u” sound at the end like the English no, and the mouth is a bit wider when pronouncing it. Just keep practicing and you will see tremendous results in no time. Saying no is not always easy, so you may want to accompany it with these words:
No, mi dispiace
No, I'm sorry
Vorrei, ma non posso
I'd like to, but I can't
La ringrazio, ma devo rifiutare
I thank you, but I must say no (literally- I have to refuse)
Sarà per la prossima volta
Maybe next time (literally- it will be for the next time)
In an informal situation, you could say:
Neanche per idea!
No way! (literally- not even for idea)
Neanche per sogno!
Not even in your dreams! (literally- not even for dream)
Scordatelo!
Forget it!
Non ci penso neanche!
No way! (literally- I'm not even thinking about it)
Proprio no!
Definitely no!
Certo che no!
Of course not!
That’s it for today’s lesson. I hope you enjoyed it, that you learned new ways to convey Yes and No in Italian, and bettered your pronunciation! Here are a few recommended Italian lessons to try next!
A presto!
Maria DiLorenzi: Rocket Italian
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