Learn how to ask the speaking party to say something again
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Ciao! Hello and welcome back to Italian survival phrases brought to you by ItalianPod101.com, this course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Italy. You will be surprised at how far a little Italian will go. |
| Now, before we jump in, remember to stop by ItalianPod101.com and there, you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
| There will be many times when the Italian around you or coming at you is fast and furious and you may not catch some parts or even any of it. In occasions like this, asking the speaker to say it again can make the difference between understanding a crucial piece of information and spending the rest of the day trying to figure out what they just said. |
| The following phrase will not only give you a better sense of the language, but it will also help you tune your ear as well! |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| In Italian, "Can you repeat that?" is Può ripetere per favore? |
| Può ripetere per favore? |
| Let's break it down by syllable, Può- ri-pe-te-re per fa-vo-re? |
| Now let's hear it once again, Può ripetere per favore? |
| The first word Può means "Can you". This word is followed by ripetere, which in English is "repeat". ri-pe-te-re |
| Let's take a look at the next expression per favore which means "please". per fa-vo-re |
| per favore |
| So all together we have Può ripetere per favore? |
| Literally this means "Can you repeat please?" |
| At times, even repeating the words, isn't enough to understand the speaker. This is often due to how fast the person is speaking. For instances like this, you can use the phrase "Slowly please". |
| In Italian "Slowly please" is Lentamente per favore. |
| Let's break it down by syllable Len-ta-men-te per fa-vo-re. |
| Now let’s hear it once again. Lentamente per favore. |
| The first word Lentamente means "slowly." |
| Let's breakdown this word and hear it one more time. Len-ta-men-te. |
| Lentamente |
| This is followed by per favore, which in English is "please". |
| So to recap, we have Lentamente per favore, "slowly please." |
| The phrases we have seen can be used together "Can you repeat slowly please?" Può ripetere lentamente per favore? |
| Another option is "Can you repeat again?" which in Italian is Può ripetere ancora? |
| Può ripetere ancora? |
| Let's break it down by syllable Può ri-pe-te-re an-co-ra? |
| Now let’s hear it once again. Può ripetere ancora? |
| So to recap, we have Può ripetere ancora? meaning "Can you repeat again?” |
| This can be used together with "Slowly please". |
| "Can you repeat again, slowly please?" which is Può ripetere ancora, lentamente per favore? |
| Può ripetere ancora, lentamente per favore? |
| Cultural Insights |
| Asking someone to repeat what they've just said is especially important when given directions to get you where you're going. If you happen to be lost, instead of stopping someone on the street for directions, it's always best to stop in a store or a café and ask the people that work there. This is because, chances are, they are much more familiar with the neighborhood than the average passerby on the street. When giving directions, Italians tend to speak really fast especially if they assume you already speak the language. So, if there's something that you didn't understand or missed part of the sentence, you can say, Può ripetere per favore? This means as you've just learned, "Can you repeat that please?" |
Outro |
|---|
| Okay, to close out this lesson, we'd like you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for shouting it aloud. You have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so buona fortuna, which means “good luck” in Italian. |
| "Can you repeat that please?" - Può ripetere per favore? |
| Può ripetere per favore? |
| Può ripetere per favore? |
| “Slowly please." - Lentamente per favore. |
| Lentamente per favore. |
| Lentamente per favore. |
| "Can you repeat again?" - Può ripetere ancora? |
| Può ripetere ancora? |
| Può ripetere ancora? |
| That’s going to do it for today. Ciao ciao! |
Comments
HideWhen in doubt, do you usually ask people to immediately repeat what they have just said, or first try to grasp the meaning from the situation?
Hi David Doyle,
thanks for leaving a comment. There are a few things you can try to make things better for you.
You could lower the speed of the lesson (use the button on the left of the play bar, the one that says 1x, which is normal speed).
You could manually pause the lesson.
You could practice repeating the sentences using the voice recorder tool (if you're not on the app). It's the microphone icon on the left of each sentence. You can listen to each sentence individually and record yourself repeating it, to compare your pronunciation.
Hope this helps!
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Ciao,
Look, this appears to be a theme in many of the Italian Pod 101 sessions; there isn't enough time given to say the word or phrase, in Italian before the voiceover comes and starts saying it a lightning speed. Can you please give more time for us to actually say the word/phrase before speaking over us?
It's getting really frustrating.
Regards,
David,
Ciao Catherine Mitchell,
Grazie! Thank you!
Se hai domande sulle lezioni, facci sapere.
If you have questions about the lessons, let us know.
A presto,
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Una lezione molto utile!
A very useful lesson!
Hi Lassi,
That's because sometimes the best translation is not a literal one, so there may be some differences.
Please notice that "I think first and then ask" should be "Prima penso e poi chiedo.":thumbsup:
A presto e grazie!
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Buon giorno!
Mi chiamo Lassi, piacere. (My name is Lassi, nice to meet you)
Credo che prima e poi chiedere. (I think first and then ask)
Ho una domanda: (I have a question)
Why "Può ripetere per favore?" is translated to "Can you repeat that please?"? Should there be "quello" somewhere? Grazie mille :smile:
Grazie per questa lezione. (Thank you for this lesson)
Mantenere il buon lavoro. :thumbsup: (Keep up the good work)
Arrivederci, a presto!
Good approach Jacqueline!
You try to balance both options.
Ciao
i think i usually think if i can figure out what it means first and then i ask.
But sometimes i just say What did you say?