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Addirittura: A Handy One-Word Expression

There's a wonderful word that is a bit tricky to say, because there is a double "d," then a single "r", then a double "t" and then a single "r". Whew! But it's worth the trouble (and worth practicing). Addirittura. It means several things and is simply a great word to have handy, for instance, when expressing astonishment:

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Addirittura?

Really?

Caption 34, Chi m'ha visto - film - Part 22

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The man saying this, if speaking English, might have said, "Seriously?"

 

It can mean, "as a matter of fact":

 

E mi sembrava addirittura che i toscani lavorassero troppo poco.

And as a matter of fact, it seemed to me that Tuscans worked too little.

Caption 42, Gianni si racconta - Chi sono

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We can often translate addirittura with a simple "even."

 

E questa sera mi ha addirittura raggiunta in studio la mamma del povero Martino.

And this evening, poor Martino's mom even came to the studio to join me.

Caption 43, Chi m'ha visto - film - Part 18

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A less word-for-word translation might have been:

Poor Martino's mom came all the way to the studio to join me.

 

But it's a strong word and "even" doesn't always do it justice. 

It can mean "as far afield as," "as much as,"  "as little as," "to the point that," "downright," and more.

 

Sembri la Befana. Eh! Addirittura!

You look like a witch. Hey! That bad?

Captions 8-9, La Ladra - Ep. 7 - Il piccolo ladro

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Ce ne sono due grandi internazionali

There are two large international ones

eh... a Pisa e Firenze, ma addirittura altri sette piccoli aeroporti.

uh... in Pisa and Florence, but in fact there are seven other small airports.

Captions 69-70, L'Italia a tavola - Interrogazione sulla Toscana

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As you might have figured out, addirittura can have to do with extreme measures or something exceptional. It can be useful when complaining or when justifying something you did: 

L'ho controllato addirittura tre volte (I went so far as to check it three times).

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Tip: Go to the videos page and do a search of addirittura. You will get dozens of examples where addirittura is a stand-alone expression and others that will be part of a sentence. To get even more context plus the English translation, go to "Transcripts" and do the same kind of search with command-F. The word will be highlighted. Reading the sentence out loud will give you plenty of practice. 

 

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