Common Italian expression
| Literally | To read between the lines |
| Meaning | To grasp the subtext |
| IPA pronunciation | /ˈlɛddʒere tra le ˈriːɡe/ |
Leggere tra le righe
To read between the lines
Examples
La sua risposta era vaga, ma leggendo tra le righe si capiva la sua preoccupazione.
His answer was vague, but reading between the lines, you could sense his concern.
In un romanzo, spesso il significato più profondo si trova leggendo tra le righe.
In a novel, the deeper meaning is often found by reading between the lines.
Where does this idiom come from?
There are blank spaces between lines in a written text, testo. If you can “read” these lines, it means you can understand the hidden message of a text, something that is not written nero su bianco, that isn’t clearly stated in black and white. You can read the subtext, the sottotesto.
Related lessons
- leggere (to read)
- riga (line, row)
- tra (preposition)
- prepositions
- definite articles
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