Italian word of the day: 'Chissà'
The Italian word you'll need when things simply defy explanation.
When living in Italy it's not unusual to find yourself at a loss to explain what's going on around you.
And when something defies explanation, chissà is the word you need.
- Cosa sta succedendo adesso?
- Boh, chissà!
- What's happening now?
- Who knows?
When used on its own (or with a shrug of the shoulders and a boh) in response to a question, it means something like “Beats me!” or “Goodness only knows”.
You can also use it when asking the sort of question you're not really expecting an answer to, like this:
- Chissà quando arriveranno?
- Who knows when they’ll arrive?
Literally, it means “who knows it”, or chi lo sa. Chissà is in fact a shortened form of this phrase.
- Chissà che cos'era quel rumore
- (E) chi lo sa!
- I wondered what that noise was.
- Who knows!
Note chissà and chi lo sa aren’t always interchangeable when used in a sentence. Chissà is often used when musing out loud, while a chi lo sa is more likely to be an actual request for information.
Compare the following two examples:
- Chissà se Maria mangia carne o no
- I wonder if Maria eats meat?
- Chi lo sa se Maria mangia il carne?
- Do any of you know if Maria eats meat?
A more complicated way of using chissà is when talking about someone or something being “special” - combining it with chi (who) or che cosa (what).
- Marco si crede chissà chi.
- Marco thinks a lot of himself. (Literally “Marco thinks he's who knows who”)
- La pasta non era chissà che cosa.
- The (quality of) the pasta wasn’t anything special. (Literally “The pasta wasn't who knows what”)
And of course, it comes in useful when you're faced with an unknown phrase in Italian:
- Cosa significa? Chissà!
- What does it mean? Who knows!
Do you have an Italian word you'd like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.
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When living in Italy it's not unusual to find yourself at a loss to explain what's going on around you.
And when something defies explanation, chissà is the word you need.
- Cosa sta succedendo adesso?
- Boh, chissà!
- What's happening now?
- Who knows?
When used on its own (or with a shrug of the shoulders and a boh) in response to a question, it means something like “Beats me!” or “Goodness only knows”.
You can also use it when asking the sort of question you're not really expecting an answer to, like this:
- Chissà quando arriveranno?
- Who knows when they’ll arrive?
Literally, it means “who knows it”, or chi lo sa. Chissà is in fact a shortened form of this phrase.
- Chissà che cos'era quel rumore
- (E) chi lo sa!
- I wondered what that noise was.
- Who knows!
Note chissà and chi lo sa aren’t always interchangeable when used in a sentence. Chissà is often used when musing out loud, while a chi lo sa is more likely to be an actual request for information.
Compare the following two examples:
- Chissà se Maria mangia carne o no
- I wonder if Maria eats meat?
- Chi lo sa se Maria mangia il carne?
- Do any of you know if Maria eats meat?
A more complicated way of using chissà is when talking about someone or something being “special” - combining it with chi (who) or che cosa (what).
- Marco si crede chissà chi.
- Marco thinks a lot of himself. (Literally “Marco thinks he's who knows who”)
- La pasta non era chissà che cosa.
- The (quality of) the pasta wasn’t anything special. (Literally “The pasta wasn't who knows what”)
And of course, it comes in useful when you're faced with an unknown phrase in Italian:
- Cosa significa? Chissà!
- What does it mean? Who knows!
Do you have an Italian word you'd like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.
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