Italian word of the day
Qui, qua
Qui and qua are the translations for here in Italian.
Qui, qua
Here
For example, you can say…
Non vedo nessun paio di occhiali qui.
I can’t see any pair of glasses here.
Vivo qui da tre anni e mezzo.
I have been living here for three and a half years.
Signore, non le è permesso parcheggiare la sua auto qui.
Sir, you are not allowed to park your car here.
Puoi rimanere qui quanto vuoi.
You may stay here as long as you like.
Difference between qui and qua in Italian
More often than not, qui and qua are perfectly interchangeable in Italian.
However, if we want to be more precise, qua in Italian has a broader sense. Qui refers to a more specific area, while qua is a more general way to translate here in Italian.
However, no one will ever tell you off for using qui instead of qua. I doubt many natives know about this difference at all, since it’s so subtle that it can be easily ignored.
Let’s see some other examples with qui and qua.
Ci sono dei cinema qua vicino?
Are there any movie theaters near here?
Non puoi entrare qui se non hai un pass.
You can’t enter here unless you have a pass.
Evito di attraversare la strada qui se sono di fretta.
I avoid crossing the road here when I am in a hurry.
Puoi lasciare qua la tua borsa.
You may leave your bag here.
Idiomatic expressions featuring qui in Italian
There are a number of common expressions featuring the word for here in Italian. Among them there are…
- qui casca l’asino (and that’s where you’re wrong)
- qui gatta ci cova (there’s something fishy about this)
- da qui in poi (from here on)
- tutto qui? (is that all?)
For example, you can say…
Scendi dalla bici. Da qui in poi proseguiremo a piedi.
Get off the bike. From here on we will continue on foot.
More free Italian resources
You might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
Aiuta Lingookies con un 👍!
❤️ If you liked this lesson on the meaning of qui in Italian, share it with your friends!