Volentieri

Italian word of the day

Pronunciation
English translation	Willingly, gladly, of course
Origin	From the Latin word voluntarie, “voluntarily”

Examples

Mia figlia va a scuola volentieri.	My daughter goes to school willingly.
Prendi una birra con noi? – Volentieri!	Will you have a beer with us? – Of course!
Verrei volentieri alla festa, ma devo lavorare.	I would gladly come to the party, but I have to work.
Mio zio è una buona forchetta. Mangia volentieri.	My uncle is a good eater. He eats willingly.

You can also use other adverbs with it to form expressions like molto volentieri or ben volentieri.

Verrò molto volentieri al tuo compleanno!

I will very gladly come to your birthday!

How to use volentieri

As an adverb, volentieri modifies a verb. It comes after the verb, never before it.

Ascolto volentieri musica classica.	I enjoy listening to classical music. Literally: I listen willingly to classical music.
Lo farò io volentieri.	I will gladly do it.

You can find it in the expression spesso e volentieri, which means “very often”. Literally, it means “often and willingly”.

Spesso e volentieri mi dimentico di fare i compiti.	I forget to do my homework very often.
Vado spesso e volentieri in vacanza con la mia migliore amica.	I very often go on vacation with my best friend.

As said, volentieri can also be used as a response to an invitation:

Vuoi un’altra tazza di tè? – Volentieri!

Would you like another cup of tea? – Sure!

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