ci manchi
The Italian phrase for "we miss you" is ci manchi.
This phrase is used to tell someone that you feel sadness because they are not present.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, ci manchi translates to "you are missing to us".
Which one should you use?
Use ci manchi when speaking to one person informally, ci manca when addressing one person formally and ci mancate when addressing a group of people.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Roman dialect, the phrase Te strignemo is used to express "we miss you", which literally translates to "we squeeze you".
How does it change in a sentence?
In Italian, the person being missed is the subject of the sentence.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly try to use a verb for "to miss" as a direct transitive verb, but in Italian, the person being missed is the subject of the sentence.
Did you know?
- The phrase ci manchi reflects a conceptual difference in how languages handle longing. Instead of an active verb for 'missing', Italian treats the absence of a person as a void or a lack.
- Depending on the scholarly theory, ci might have evolved from the Latin hīce, a variant of hīc meaning 'here'. This suggests the word developed from a pointer of location into a personal pronoun.
- The word ci in this phrase is cognate with the Neapolitan ce and Sicilian cci. These regional variations all share similar adverbial and pronominal meanings across different Italian dialects.
Examples in context
- Ci manchi.We miss you.This sentence is useful for practicing the basic phrase ci manchi.Tatoeba #3247477 by Guybrush88, translation #2241162 by CK
- Ci manchi molto.We miss you very much.This sentence shows how to add emphasis using the form ci manchi.Tatoeba #1247328 by Guybrush88, translation #71633 by CK
- Caro nonno, ci manchi molto.Dear grandfather, we miss you a lot.
- Ciao Sara! Ci manchi tanto, il nostro gruppo non è lo stesso senza di te.Hi Sara! We miss you a lot, our group isn't the same without you.
- Hey Luca, non sei con noi e ci manchi parecchio.Hey Luca, you're not with us, and we miss you a lot.
- Ci manchi tanto, torna presto!We miss you so much, come back soon!
Example conversation
Martina is on a video call with Francesco.
- MartinaCiao Francesco! Come va tutto?Hi Francesco! How is everything going?
- FrancescoTutto bene, ma mi manca l'Italia.All good, but I miss Italy.
- MartinaAnche noi, ci manchi tanto qui!We do too, we miss you so much here!
- FrancescoGrazie Martina, spero di tornare presto.Thanks Martina, I hope to return soon.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ci, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
