Italian word of the day
| Pronunciation | |
| English translation | True, real, truth |
| Origin | From the Latin word verum, “true” |
Different forms of vero
Like most adjectives in Italian, vero has two articles (definite or indefinite articles) and two numbers (singular or plural).
| Singular | Plural | |
| Masculine | Vero | Veri |
| Feminine | Vera | Vere |
Examples
| È vero che Marta si è sposata a settembre? | Is it true that Marta got married in September? |
| Non mi sembra vero di essere in ferie! | I can’t believe I’m on vacation! (It doesn’t seem true that I’m on vacation!) |
| Come distinguere il falso dal vero? | How to distinguish false from true? |
| Stefano è un complottista. Niente di quello che dice è vero. | Stefano is a conspiracy theorist. Nothing he says is true. |
Other examples:
| Questi gioielli sono veri? Devono valere parecchio! | Are these jewels real? They must be worth a lot! (Gioielli is a masculine plural noun) |
| La mia vicina di casa è una vera seccatrice. | My neighbor is a real nuisance. (Vera is a feminine singular noun) |
| Quelle rose non sono vere, sono solo dipinte. | Those roses are not real, they are just painted. (Vere is a feminine plural noun) |
Vera is also the Italian name for the wedding ring, also called fede nuziale!
As a noun, however, vero is rarely used. Verità is a more common translation for truth. You will find vero as “truth” as opposed to “falsehood” in sentences like “to differentiate between true and false” or “he speaks the truth”.
| Giorgio dice il vero. | George speaks the truth. |
Expressions
There’s a variety of common expressions and sayings featuring vero in Italian. Here are some:
- a onor del vero, a dire il vero (to tell the truth, to be fair)
- essere un vero amico (to be a true friend)
- incredibile ma vero (crazy but true)
- fosse vero! (if only it were true!)
For example, you can say…
| A onor del vero, non sapevo nulla fino a ieri sera. | To be fair, I did not know anything until last night. |
| Grazie, Matteo. Sei un vero amico. | Thank you, Matteo. You are a true friend. |
| Incredibile ma vero, Paolo ha passato l’esame! | Incredible but true, Paolo passed the exam! |
More free Italian resources
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