Pure

Italian word of the day

Pronunciation
English translation	Even, also, go ahead

Pure is both a conjunction and an adverb used in colloquial Italian and that can be translated into English as “even”, “also”, “go ahead”. It doesn’t really have a direct equivalent in English because it has many different meanings.

Examples

Andrea non parla solo l’inglese, ma pure il francese.	Andrea not only speaks English, but also French.
Tom era alla festa. C’eri pure tu?	Tom was at the party. Were you there, too?
Siamo pure andati al museo di storia naturale.	We even went to the natural history museum.
Siediti pure!	Please have a seat!

Using pure in Italian

We’ve said that pure in Italian is an adverb and a conjunction that translates English expressions such as “of course” and “as well…” or “even if”, among others.

The most common meaning is “also” or “even”.

Pure a me piace giocare a tennis.	I like to play tennis, too.
Giorgio si è pure rotto la caviglia.	Giorgio also broke his ankle.
Pretende pure di essere servito per primo?	Does he even demand to be served first?

The word pure in Italian is also used to translate “please, go ahead”. Pure is used with a verb conjugated in the imperative mood, so the order sounds less harsh and more friendly. It can be used in formal and informal situations.

Entri pure e si accomodi su una poltrona.	Please go ahead and take a seat in an armchair.
Di cosa hai bisogno? Dimmi pure.	What do you need? Go ahead and tell me.
Mangia pure, io arrivo fra poco.	Go ahead and eat, I’ll be there in a little while.

Pure… or puré?

Make sure you don’t confuse pure with puré, with an accent mark. The first is an adverb and a conjunction, while the second translates into English as mashed potatoes. The pronunciation is also different.

Puré di patate

Mashed potatoes

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