How do you use the word quasi in Italian? What does it mean? How do you pronounce it?
In this lesson, we will look at how to use this word with the help of many audio recordings and example sentences. Read on to learn all you need to know!
Quasi in Italian
What is quasi?
Quasi is an adverb of quantity that can be translated into English as “almost” or “nearly”.
Quasi
Almost, nearly
Its pronunciation is close to koo-ah-see, with a voiced “s”. If you have trouble pronouncing Italian sounds, check out the Italian pronunciation guide.
Now, let’s see some example sentences with quasi in Italian, before we take a look at how to use this word.
Title: Italian All-in-One For Dummies
Language: English / Italian
Publisher: For Dummies
Pages: 672
Learn to speak Italian like a native? Easy.
Italian All-in-One For Dummies appeals to those readers looking for a comprehensive, all-encompassing guide to mastering the Italian language. It contains content from all For Dummies Italian language instruction titles, including Italian For Dummies, Intermediate Italian For Dummies, Italian Verbs For Dummies, Italian Phrases For Dummies, Italian Grammar For Dummies, and Italian For Dummies Audio Set.
Il cielo è sereno quasi ogni giorno.
The sky is clear almost every day.
Ho quasi perso il treno.
I almost missed the train.
Sono quasi le dieci.
It is almost ten o’clock.
Hai finito? – Quasi.
Are you ready? – Almost.
È quasi impossibile imparare una lingua straniera in poco tempo.
It is almost impossible to learn a foreign language in a short time.
Sono quasi annegato.
I almost drowned.
Now let’s see how to use quasi in Italian.
Use of quasi in Italian
We’ve said that quasi in Italian is an adverb of quantity and that it translates into English as “almost” or “nearly”. It can modify verbs, nouns, and adjectives. It’s not very different from those English adverbs.
Let’s listen to some other examples.
Il Texas è quasi il doppio del Giappone.
Texas is almost twice the size of Japan.
Qui non piove quasi mai.
It almost never rains here.
Quando arriverai lì, sarà quasi buio.
By the time you get there, it will be almost dark.
Sono quasi pronto, aspetta un altro minuto!
I’m almost ready, just wait another minute!
It’s also worth noting that quasi in Italian can also be the first element in a sentence, just like “nearly”. For example, you could say…
Quasi tutti i giapponesi hanno i capelli scuri.
Nearly all Japanese people have dark hair.
Quasi mille persone hanno partecipato alla manifestazione.
Nearly a thousand people participated in the demonstration.
Quasi dimenticavo!
I almost forgot!
Expressions with quasi in Italian
There are a number of common set expressions featuring quasi in Italian. These are…
- quasi quasi… (I’m almost tempted to…)
- quasi mai (hardly ever)
- quasi niente/nulla (almost nothing)
- quasi sempre (almost always)
- quasi pieno (almost full)
For example, you could say…
Quasi quasi mangio una bella porzione di gelato!
I’m almost tempted to eat a big portion of ice cream!
Non so quasi niente di te.
I know almost nothing about you.
Il mio vicino non porta quasi mai il suo cane al parco.
My neighbor almost never takes his dog to the park.
L’autobus è quasi pieno. Ci sono solo due posti liberi.
The bus is almost full. There are only two empty seats.
And that’s the end of our lesson on how to use quasi in Italian!
What next?
Now that you’ve seen how to use quasi in Italian, you might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
Aiuta Lingookies con un 👍!
❤️ If you liked this lesson on how to use quasi in Italian, consider sharing it with your social media friends who are also studying Italian.
