Now

How do you say it in Italian?

Adesso

Use adesso to say now in Italian.

Origin	From the Latin word ad ipsum, “at the same time”
Pronunciation	/aˈdɛsso/

Examples

Adesso vivi a Boston, giusto?
You live in Boston now, don’t you?

Ho fatto una colazione abbondante, quindi adesso non ho molta fame.
I had a huge breakfast, so I’m not really hungry now.

Al mattino il cielo era sereno, adesso è nuvoloso.
In the morning the sky was clear; now it’s cloudy.

Ora

Ora has two meanings in Italian. Depending on the context, it can be either a noun or an adverb.

• l’ora, the hour
• ora, meaning now, at this moment

Ora non abbiamo tempo per questo.
We have no time for this now.

Ora abbiamo bisogno di un buon leader.
What we need now is a good leader.

Ora possiamo andare?
Can we go now?

Ora also translates time in the question che ora è? or che ore sono?, which means what time is it?.

Mi sapresti dire che ore sono, per favore?
Could you tell me what time it is, please?

Adesso and ora are perfectly interchangeable when translating now into Italian, but you cannot use adesso to translate “the hour”.

You can also use or ora, or proprio ora, to emphasize that something is happening right now.

Proprio ora is much more common than or ora, which is a more literary translation for right now in Italian.

Sono tornato proprio ora dal supermercato. Ti serviva qualcosa?
I just came back from the supermarket. Did you need anything?

Il treno sta arrivando proprio ora in stazione.
The train is just now arriving at the station.

In questo momento/istante

You can also say right now in Italian with the expressions in questo momento or in questo istante, which translates as in this moment or in this instant. Momento and istante are both masculine nouns.

In questo momento sono impegnata, ma fra dieci minuti sono da te.
I am busy right now, but in ten minutes I’ll be at your place.

You can also use al momento, which means at the moment.

Non è a casa al momento.
He’s not at home at the moment.

Scusami, ma al momento ho molto da fare.
Sorry, but I’ve got a lot to do at the moment.

Subito

Subito is more commonly translated as at once! or now! when used as an exclamation (like a mother ordering her child to clean their room NOW).

It’s not used as a translation for now in Italian to mean “in the present time”.

Arrivo subito, dammi un minuto!
I’m coming right now, give me a minute!

Dobbiamo andarcene subito da qui.
We have to get out of here right now.

Immediatamente

Immediatamente is similar to subito because it’s used to say now in Italian only when you or someone else wants something done immediately. It’s still a useful word to know.

Il ladro è stato immediatamente catturato.
The thief was caught immediately.

Luca! Vieni qui immediatamente!
Luca! Come here immediately!

Nowadays

Al giorno d’oggi non è facile crescere un figlio.
Nowadays it is not easy to raise a child.

Oggigiorno è difficile scegliere cosa comprare.
Nowadays it is difficult to choose what to buy.

Expressions with now in Italian

Let’s wrap up our lesson with a couple of expressions (espressioni, from the singular espressione) that feature the word for now in Italian.

D’ora in poi farò il bravo, promesso!
I will be good from now on, I promise!

D’ora in avanti, dovrai essere responsabile di quello che fai.
From now on, you must be responsible for what you do.

Dove sei stato finora?
Where have you been so far?

Rimani in macchina, per ora.
Stay in the car for now.

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