andare all'estero
To say go abroad in Italian, say andare all'estero.
andare all'estero means to travel or move to another country. Italian uses the phrase all'estero, literally to the abroad, where English uses a single adverb.
Meaning: Translations (verb)
Which one should you use?
Recarsi all'estero is formal and used in official writing. Scappare all'estero is colloquial and suggests escaping abroad. Fare una fuga all'estero means taking a getaway abroad.
How does it change in a sentence?
In compound past tenses andare takes the auxiliary essere, giving andato all'estero for gone abroad.
Did you know?
- The verb andare is a linguistic oddity called a suppletive verb because its different tenses come from entirely different root words.
- While andare all'estero means to go abroad, the word estero is actually derived from the Latin exterus, meaning 'outside'. This connects the Italian concept of going abroad to the physical act of stepping outside a boundary.
- In Italy, the phrase scappare all'estero is often used humorously to describe a vacation, even when the person is not actually escaping from anything.
Examples in context
- Pensi di andare all'estero?Do you plan to go abroad?Here andare all'estero follows Pensi di, asking about someone's plans.Tatoeba #633793 by Guybrush88, translation #16239 by CK
- Decise di andare all'estero.He decided to go abroad.Here the phrase follows Decise di, he decided to.Tatoeba #6827477 by Guybrush88, translation #294738 by CK
- Tom voleva andare all'estero.Tom wanted to go abroad.Here andare all'estero follows voleva, wanted to.Tatoeba #6533976 by Guybrush88, translation #6531874 by CK
- Devo andare all'estero per motivi di lavoro.I have to go abroad for work.
- Mio figlio si reca all'estero per studiare.My son is going abroad to study.
- Sto per partire per l'estero e non vedo l'ora di scoprire nuove culture.I'm about to leave for abroad, and I'm excited to explore new cultures.
- Dopo l'università, vorrei scappare all'estero per un po'.After university, I would like to escape abroad for a while.
- Ho bisogno di staccare un po' dalla routine, penso di fare una fuga all'estero.I need to take a break from the routine, I'm thinking of going for a getaway abroad.
- 51 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alessandro and Martina are talking about their future plans.
- AlessandroVorrei andare all'estero l'anno prossimo.I would like to go abroad next year.
- MartinaDavvero? In quale paese vuoi andare?Really? Which country do you want to go to?
- AlessandroPenso che andare all'estero sia un'ottima esperienza.I think that going abroad is a great experience.
- MartinaHai ragione, Alessandro, dovresti farlo!You are right, Alessandro, you should do it!
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
