vacanze estive
The Italian phrase for summer holiday is vacanze estive.
vacanze estive refers to the period of time off from work or school that occurs during the summer months. You can specify the location or nature of the break by adding details, such as vacanze estive al mare for a summer holiday at the seaside or vacanze estive in Sicilia for a summer holiday in Sicily. In many everyday contexts, speakers will simply say le vacanze when it is already clear from the conversation that they are talking about the summer period.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the plural noun vacanze (holidays/vacations) and the feminine plural adjective estive (summer/summery).
How does it change in a sentence?
While the plural form vacanze estive is the standard way to refer to the summer break, you may use the singular form vacanza estiva to refer to one specific single trip or holiday period. The adjective estivo must always agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies: use vacanza estiva for the feminine singular or vacanze estive for the feminine plural.
Did you know?
- The word vacanza comes from the Latin 'vacans', meaning 'empty'. In a historical sense, it refers to a time when a position or a seat of power is 'vacant' or unoccupied.
- While vacanze estive refers to the break, the tradition of 'Ferragosto' on August 15 marks the peak of the summer holiday season. Many Italian shops and businesses close entirely for several days during this period, leaving cities nearly empty.
- If an Italian tells you they are 'in vacanza', they might be at home relaxing just as much as they would be traveling. The phrase describes the state of being off work rather than the act of traveling to a destination.
Examples in context
- Vado via per le vacanze estive.I'm going away for the summer holiday.This sentence is useful for saying you are going away for the vacanze estive.Tatoeba #6679309 by Guybrush88, translation #24322 by CK
- Le vacanze estive iniziano in luglio.Summer holiday begins in July.This sentence shows when the vacanze estive begin.Tatoeba #1979721 by Guybrush88, translation #1979625 by AryKiss
- Come ha passato le sue vacanze estive?How did you spend your summer holiday?This sentence is used to ask how someone spent their vacanze estive.Tatoeba #3034017 by Guybrush88, translation #1117067 by CK
- Sto organizzando le mie vacanze estive in Italia quest'anno. Visiterò Roma, Firenze e infine trascorrerò una settimana al mare in Sardegna.I'm planning my summer holidays in Italy this year. I'll visit Rome, Florence, and finally spend a week at the beach in Sardinia.
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Francesco and Giulia are talking about their travel plans.
- FrancescoHai già deciso per le vacanze estive?Have you already decided on your summer holidays?
- GiuliaSì, andrò al mare per le vacanze estive.Yes, I will go to the seaside for the summer holidays.
- FrancescoChe bella idea, Giulia!What a great idea, Giulia!
- GiuliaE tu, Francesco, dove vai?And you, Francesco, where are you going?
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
