Quasi
ADVERB / CONJUNCTION
Meaning and English translation 🔖
1. Almost
🇬🇧 It indicates that the quantity, quality, or condition expressed by the following words is not fully reached but is very close to it.
🇮🇹 Indica che qualcosa è vicino a essere vero, completo o accaduto, ma non lo è del tutto.
2. As if, Like
🇬🇧 Used to introduce a statement that describes a condition or situation that is not true but is imagined or suggested.
🇮🇹 Usato per introdurre una situazione immaginaria o irreale, spesso in contesti ipotetici o indiretti.
Example sentences 💬
Maria ha quasi finito il suo libro.
Maria has almost finished her book.
È quasi mezzanotte.
It is almost midnight.
Camminava quasi non sentisse dolore.
She walked as if she felt no pain.
Ha reagito quasi fosse colpa sua.
He reacted as if it were his fault.
This article is brought to you by Giulia School, where you can learn Italian the natural way—with real conversations and passionate teachers guiding you every step of the journey. It’s the closest thing to immersion you can get without living in Italy. Click here to learn more.
Idioms with quasi 🇮🇹
Quasi quasi...
→ Half tempted
Sarei a dieta, ma c’è il tiramisù… quasi quasi...
I’d be on a diet, but there’s tiramisù… I’m half tempted...
Where does the word quasi come from? 🔎
Quasi comes from the Latin word "quasi," meaning "as if" or "almost."
Did you know that... 🤓
Impress your italian friends with curious facts about Italy and its culture
Does Quasimodo really mean "half-formed"?
The name Quasimodo from Victor Hugo's famous novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame is directly related to today's word. Quasimo Quasimodo was found abandoned at Notre Dame on the Sunday after Easter, known as "Quasimodo Sunday."
This Sunday’s name comes from the Latin phrase "quasi modo geniti infantes," meaning "like newborn infants," which is the beginning of the introit for that day. This phrase reflects the theme of rebirth and new beginnings.
In the Disney adaptation, the name Quasimodo is incorrectly translated as "half-formed. This creative liberty taken by Disney plays on the word "quasi" in its sense of "almost" rather than the original "as if" or "like." By interpreting "quasi" as "almost" and associating it with "half-formed," Disney underscores Quasimodo's incomplete and misshapen appearance.
A story of mispronunciation
The connection to the name Quasimodo doesn't end with Victor Hugo's character. Salvatore Quasimodo, the famous Italian poet and Nobel Prize in 1959, shares this name - last name in his case.
His surname, Quasimodo, should be pronounced Quasimòdo. Still, it is commonly mispronounced as Quasìmodo due to a loss of awareness of its original meaning and likely influenced by the more familiar association with Hugo's character.
