mi manca
The Italian phrase for 'I miss her' is mi manca.
This phrase expresses sadness because a female person is not present.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase mi manca literally translates to 'she is missing to me', where the person being missed is the subject of the sentence.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly try to use io la manco by attempting to use 'io' (I) as the subject and 'la' (her) as the object. In Italian, the person being missed is the subject.
Did you know?
- The word manca is derived from the word for 'left hand', as something missing was historically compared to being left-handed or incomplete.
- While English uses one word for 'miss', Italian uses mancare for both missing a person and missing a train or a target.
- In many Italian songs, the phrase mi manchi (I miss you) is often used to create a sense of poetic longing, treating the person as a necessary element of the speaker's existence.
Examples in context
- Mi manca così tanto.I miss her so much.This sentence is useful for expressing the intensity of how much you miss someone using mi manca.Tatoeba #3637744 by Guybrush88, translation #307995 by CK
- Di' a Mary che mi manca.Tell Mary that I miss her.This sentence is useful for conveying a message to someone else using mi manca.Tatoeba #12517958 by Guybrush88, translation #6428771 by CF
- Mi manca.I miss her.This sentence is a simple way to state that you miss her using mi manca.Tatoeba #479785 by Pharamp, translation #2002712 by Spamster
- Mi manca molto MariaI miss Maria very much.
- Mi manca molto mia sorella.I miss my sister a lot.
- Mi manca un sacco Giulia.I miss Giulia a ton.
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Giulia and Francesco are talking about Giulia's sister who moved away.
- GiuliaMi manca molto mia sorella.I miss my sister a lot.
- FrancescoCapisco, deve essere difficile per te.I understand, it must be difficult for you.
- GiuliaSì, mi manca la sua compagnia.Yes, I miss her company.
- FrancescoVedrai che presto la rivedrai.You will see, you will see her again soon.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries manca, mi, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
