stasera
/staˈse.ra/
The Italian word for tonight is stasera.
stasera is an adverb used to refer to the evening hours of the current day.
Meaning: during today's evening (adv)
What does it mean word for word?
stasera is a contraction of the words questa (this) and sera (evening).
Which one should you use?
While both stasera and stanotte can be translated as 'tonight' in English, stasera refers to the evening hours, whereas stanotte refers to the middle of the night or the period when one sleeps. For example, you would use stanotte when talking about how you slept during the night.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 3 syllables, with the stress on the 2nd syllable: /staˈse.ra/.
When do people say it?
The phrase A stasera! is a common way to say 'See you tonight!' when parting from someone you expect to see later that same evening.
Did you know?
- The Italian stasera is a linguistic cousin to the Romanian astă-seară, both reflecting an ancient way of shortening 'this' when paired with 'evening'.
- The word sera is used in the greeting Buonasera, which can be said as early as 4 PM or 5 PM, meaning stasera can start much earlier than 'tonight' does in English.
- In Italian, the word for 'this' in stasera is actually a shortened form of the older word esta, a linguistic process called apheresis.
Examples in context
- Ci si vede stasera.See you tonight.This sentence shows how to use stasera to arrange a meeting.Tatoeba #2840374 by Guybrush88, translation #2648979 by CK
- Sto a casa stasera.I'm staying at home tonight.This sentence shows the use of stasera to describe a location or action during the evening.Tatoeba #6540875 by Guybrush88, translation #6531288 by CK
- A stasera! A presto!See you tonight! See you soon!This sentence demonstrates the parting phrase using stasera.Tatoeba #2721226 by Guybrush88, translation #630618 by vicch
- The conference will take place questa sera.The conference will take place tonight.
- 726 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are planning their evening over the phone.
- MartinaHai programmi per stasera, Francesco?Do you have plans for tonight, Francesco?
- FrancescoNo, non ho niente di speciale.No, I don't have anything special.
- MartinaVuoi cenare con me?Do you want to have dinner with me?
- FrancescoSì, mi farebbe molto piacere!Yes, I would love to!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “tonight” translations and entries stasera, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries stasera, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
