indovinare
/in.do.viˈna.re/
The English phrase 'guess' translates to the Italian verb indovinare.
indovinare is used to mean reaching an unconfirmed conclusion. You can also use the idiomatic expression indovinare al buio to describe making a guess blindly, without any information or basis. If you want to express the noun form of a prediction about the outcome of something, use congettura.
Meaning: to reach an unconfirmed conclusion (verb)
Which one should you use?
In English, 'guess' can be used for both the act of guessing and for correctly identifying something. In Italian, indovinare specifically implies that the guess was correct or successful.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The past participle of indovinare is indovinato. The second-person singular imperative form is indovina.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 5 syllables, with the stress on the 4th syllable: /in.do.viˈna.re/.
Did you know?
- The root of indovinare is the Latin divināre, which means 'to divine' or 'to practice divination'.
- The Italian language has a specific noun, indovinello, which refers specifically to a riddle, directly linking the act of guessing to a formal type of word game.
- While English uses 'guess' in phrases like 'I guess so' to show uncertainty, Italians would avoid indovinare here and instead use phrases like credo or immagino.
Examples in context
- Qualcuno riesce a indovinare?Can anyone guess?This sentence is useful for asking if anyone can indovinare.Tatoeba #11085924 by Guybrush88, translation #8589773 by sundown
- Riesci a indovinare il prezzo?Can you guess the price?This sentence is useful for asking if someone can indovinare regarding a price.Tatoeba #5390784 by Guybrush88, translation #276974 by CK
- Riesci a indovinare la sua età?Can you guess her age?This sentence is useful for asking if someone can indovinare regarding an age.Tatoeba #2579629 by Guybrush88, translation #309612 by CK
- Egli è bravissimo a indovinare i tuoi pensieri.He is very good at guessing your thoughts.
- Dobbiamo fare ipotesi basate sui dati che abbiamo.We need to make hypotheses based on the data we have.
- Indovina chi viene a cena stasera?Guess who is coming for dinner tonight?
- 37 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Giulia and Matteo are playing a game of riddles.
- GiuliaProva a indovinare cosa ho in mano.Try to guess what I have in my hand.
- MatteoNon riesco a indovinare!I can't guess!
- GiuliaÈ un oggetto molto piccolo.It is a very small object.
- MatteoForse è una chiave?Maybe it's a key?
Sources
- Wiktionary, “guess” translations and entries indovinare, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries indovinare, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
