It\u2019s a super-short word, easy to pronounce, and easy to place in a sentence \u2014 it goes at the beginning of a phrase, so it\u2019s your best bet when you really need to say \u201cbut.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Ma<\/em> is something to say as you are thinking of what to say:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Ma\u2026 quand\u2019\u00e8 che usciamo insieme? <\/em>(But\u2026 when are we going to go out on a date together?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- You can use it when you are shocked or surprised, like when your car gets towed because you hadn\u2019t noticed the “no parking\u201d sign. [photo of no parking sign]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\""but"](\"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/italian-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/rimozione-forzata-divieto-di-sosta.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nMa<\/em><\/strong> come???<\/em> (How did this happen?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- You can use it when you\u2019re indignant:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Ma<\/em><\/strong> che diavolo state facendo? (<\/em>But<\/strong> what the hell are you doing?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- You can use it when you’re not convinced:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Ma<\/em><\/strong>… non lo so.<\/em> (Well<\/strong>, I don’t know about that.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\""but"](\"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/italian-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Screenshot-2019-04-18-at-11.43.39-1024x564.png\")
Ma <\/strong>che ci faccio qui? <\/em>
But<\/strong> what the heck am I doing here?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nSpeaking of ma<\/em> (but), there\u2019s a movie with ma<\/em> in its title : Ma<\/em><\/strong> che ci faccio qui!<\/em> – Un film di Francesco Amato.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
In fact, you can watch this entire movie on Yabla with Italian and\/or English subtitles, vocabulary reviews for each of the 24 bite-size segments, and there are other exercises, too, for reinforcing your comprehension. You will learn plenty of slang, and hear the way teenage Italians really talk. Check it out<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2: The second way to say \u201cbut\u201d in Italian is with per\u00f2<\/em>. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Per\u00f2<\/em> can take the place of \u201cbut,\u201d however, many Italians use both ma<\/em> and per\u00f2 together<\/em>, even though it\u2019s not really correct. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ma pero<\/em><\/strong>\u2026 vorrei mangiare adesso. Ho fame!<\/em> (But but<\/strong>\u2026 I want to eat now. I\u2019m hungry!)<\/p>\n\n\n
Ma<\/em> is such a short word that sometimes we just add per\u00f2<\/em> to get our point across, in this case, hunger! Very useful if you want to whine in Italian. Picture kids trying to get out of doing their homework: Ma per\u00f2, tutti i miei amici stanno giocando a pallone…<\/em> (but all my friends are playing soccer!)<\/p>\n
Per\u00f2<\/em> is used at the end or in the middle of a sentence, and often connects two contradictory ideas. It can also be translated as \u201chowever.\u201d So in English we put \u201cbut” at the beginning of a phrase, but per\u00f2 <\/em>can snuggle in to the middle. <\/p>\n\n\n
![\"Tarantella\"](\"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/italian-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Screenshot-2019-04-18-at-11.20.58-1024x601.png\")
Oggi, <\/em>per\u00f2<\/em><\/strong>, la tarantella \u00e8 conosciuta in tutto il mondo come un ballo tradizionale folcloristico. <\/em>
But<\/strong> today, the tarantella is known the world over as a traditional folk dance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/italian-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Screenshot-2019-04-18-at-10.31.52-1024x547.png\")
\u00c8 stata quasi una tragedia\u2026 per\u00f2<\/strong> ci siamo molto divertite.<\/em>
It was nearly a tragedy\u2026 but<\/strong> we had a lot of fun.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Per\u00f2<\/em> is a pretty easy word with two syllables. The accent is on the second and last syllable and you can draw it out for a pretty long time! Listen…<\/a>
<\/p>\n\n\n\nYou can even place per\u00f2<\/em> <\/strong>at the very end of a sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Pippo](\"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/italian-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Screenshot-2019-04-18-at-11.57.21-1024x577.png\")
Tu sei un po’ troppo apprensivo, <\/em>per\u00f2<\/em><\/strong>! <\/em>
But<\/strong> you’re a bit too apprehensive!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Adriano](\"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/italian-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Screenshot-2019-04-18-at-08.36.27-1024x667.png\")
<\/a>Tu stammi vicino, <\/em>per\u00f2.<\/em><\/strong>
But <\/strong>stay close to me.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n3: The third way Italians say \u201cbut” is with invece<\/em>. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If we translate invece<\/em> literally, it means \u201cinstead,” but it\u2019s often used just like \u201cbut.\u201d The tricky thing is that, like per\u00f2<\/em>, it\u2019s often stuck between words where we least expect to hear it.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/italian-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Screenshot-2019-04-18-at-08.54.28-1024x577.png\")
<\/a>Se\u00a0vi\u00a0ricordate,\u00a0in\u00a0qualche\u00a0video\u00a0precedente,<\/em>
vi\u00a0ho\u00a0mostrato\u00a0come\u00a0preparare<\/em>
\u00a0la\u00a0pasta\u00a0alla\u00a0carbonara,<\/em>
proprio in questa cucina.<\/em>
<\/em>If\u00a0you\u00a0recall,\u00a0in\u00a0an\u00a0earlier\u00a0video,
I\u00a0showed\u00a0you\u00a0how\u00a0to\u00a0prepare
\u00a0pasta\u00a0alla\u00a0carbonara<\/em>
right in this kitchen.
Oggi,\u00a0<\/em>invece<\/em><\/strong>,\u00a0vi\u00a0far\u00f2\u00a0conoscere\u00a0il\u00a0mio\u00a0piatto\u00a0preferito: spaghetti\u00a0con\u00a0olio,\u00a0pomodorini\u00a0e\u00a0aglio.<\/em>
But<\/strong> today, I’ll acquaint you with my favorite dish: spaghetti with oil, cherry tomatoes, and garlic.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"mozzarelle\"](\"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/italian-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Screenshot-2019-04-18-at-09.17.55-1024x621.png\")
<\/a>Eh, come si ottiene la mozzarella affumicata, <\/em>invece?<\/em><\/strong>
OK, that\u2019s how you make mozzarella, but<\/strong> how do you obtain smoked mozzarella?
<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"3](\"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/italian-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_2567-1024x768.jpg\")
\u00c8 bellissimo il tuo cane. <\/em> Io invece<\/strong> preferisco i gatti.
<\/em>Your dog is beautiful, but<\/strong> I prefer cats.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nSo there you have the basics of \u201cbut\u201d in Italian. You have three choices: ma<\/em>, per\u00f2 <\/em>and invece<\/em>. Ma<\/em> is the easiest, so try it out on your friends and family.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
See and hear how native Italians say \u201cbut\u201d and other important words by going over to yabla.com<\/a><\/strong> and subscribing to the vast library of videos: original content of various kinds, TV shows, movies, documentaries and more. There are some free videos too, so you can see how it works. Speaking of “free,” check out the free Italian lessons<\/a> available on Yabla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- You can use it when you’re not convinced:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- You can use it when you\u2019re indignant:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- You can use it when you are shocked or surprised, like when your car gets towed because you hadn\u2019t noticed the “no parking\u201d sign. [photo of no parking sign]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n