Qualche

Italian word of the day

Qualche is an adjective that can be translated into English as “some”, “a few” or also “any”.

Examples

Nella scatola è rimasto solo qualche biscotto.
There are only a few cookies left in the box.

Hai ancora qualche moneta da due euro? Ho solo banconote da venti.
Do you still have any two-euro coins? I only have twenty-euro bills.

C’è qualche cosa che posso fare per aiutarti?
Is there anything (“any thing”) I can do to help you?

I cani stanno abbaiando. Ci dev’essere qualche animale là fuori.
The dogs are barking. There must be some animal out there.

Using qualche in Italian

We’ve said that qualche in Italian is an adjective that can mean “some”, “a few” and also “any”. To be more precise, it’s what we call an aggettivo indefinito, an indefinite adjective. These adjectives, like alcuni, qualsiasi and ogni, introduce a small amount of something.

The most important thing to remember is that qualche is always followed by a singular noun, never a plural noun. It’s also used with countable nouns.

Ho fame. Mangerò qualche mandorla.
I’m hungry. I will eat some almonds.

Note that almonds, a plural noun, is in the singular in Italian, mandorla (its plural would be mandorle, with a final -e). Remember: you can’t use a plural noun after qualche, even if you’re talking about a plural amount of something.

Other indefinite adjectives in Italian, however, can take on a plural noun, such as alcuni/e. The same sentence with alcuni/e would be…

Ho fame. Mangerò alcune mandorle.
I’m hungry. I will eat some almonds.

You use alcuni for masculine plural nouns and alcune for feminine plural nouns. In this case, you need alcune because mandorle is a feminine plural noun. You can’t say alcune mandorla, using the singular noun.

Alcuni changes form depending on the gender of the noun.

Qualche never changes and always remains the same, regardless of the gender of the noun that follows it.

Qualche…	gatto
Some…	cats (singular)
Alcuni…	gatti
Some…	cats (plural)

Qualche gatto mangia, altri gatti dormono.
Some cats are eating, some other cats are sleeping.

Qualche…	casa
Some…	houses (singular)
Alcune…	case
Some…	houses (plural)

Now let’s take a look at some other examples (qualche altro esempio) with qualche in Italian.

C’è qualche libro che vuoi comprare?
Are there any books you want to buy?

Per qualche motivo, mi sento più vivo di notte.
For some reason I feel more alive at night.

Devo scrivere un saggio. Hai qualche foglio?
I have to write an essay. Do you have some sheets?

Vorrei qualche informazione sui vostri nuovi computer.
I’d like some information about your new computers.
(Informazione is a countable noun in Italian!)

Expressions

There are a number of common expressions featuring qualche. These are:

• qualche volta (sometimes)
• qualche tempo fa (a while ago)
• in qualche modo (somehow)
• mettere su qualche chilo (to put on a few kilos)
• avere qualche linea di febbre (to have a bit of a fever)
• c’è qualche speranza? (is there any hope?)

For example, you can say…

Qualche volta verrò a trovarti nella tua nuova casa.
Sometimes I will come to visit you in your new house.

In qualche modo ce la faremo.
Somehow we will make it.

Mio fratello è a casa da scuola perché ha qualche linea di febbre.
My brother is home from school because he has a bit of a fever.

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