There are many reasons you might vaguely recognize someone but not remember their name or how you knew them. Maybe you haven’t seen that person in years, or maybe you’ve spotted them out of context and couldn’t put the name on their face.Regardless of the situation, you can use a useful phrase in Italian to confirm your suspicions about someone’s identity is Have we met before? meaning is do we know each other?
Have we met before?
do we know each other?
verb Know meaning is ‘Know‘In the sense of being familiar or familiar with someone or something.Because we speak in the first person plural, we need to use the conjugated form we know (we know).
Then we have word. The word has multiple meanings in Italian, but in this particular case it is a first-person plural reflexive pronoun, and the English equivalent is ‘ourselves‘ or ‘each other‘. instead of saying “we know each other“, you have to swap word order in Italian (literally “we know each other“).
We don’t know each other very well.
We don’t know each other very well.
If we hang out a lot, we get to know each other better.
If we see each other often, we get to know each other better.
important: a verb, also translated as ‘Know‘ is in Italian Knowbut never used to indicate that you know someone. Know Means “know” in the sense of “know”, “know (how to do something)” or even “hear (about something)”.
Many times people put adverbs in already (already) or Coincidentally (Under any condition) at the end of a sentence, or beginning with a softener, e.g. Well… (literally ‘but‘ but in this case its meaning is closer to “Um”),formal excuse me… (sorry Sorry……) or informal sorry (sorry…).
Sorry, but do we have a chance to meet each other?
Sorry, but do we have a chance to meet each other?
Some other popular ways to ask the same question include:
- Have we met before? = Have we met already?
- we already met? = Have we met already? (Light. Have we met?)
Note that in English we often use the phrase “Do I know you?“But in Italian, it sounds unnatural to say “”I know her?” (Do I know you? – Formally) or “I know you?” (Do I know you? – informal).
But, we’ve met before, haven’t we? – Yes, at Mauro’s party last month!
Well, we’ve already met, haven’t we? – Yes, at Mauro’s party last month!
Another way of expressing is by speaking who knows you? ! (Literally: but who knows you?!).Italians use it to show that they are not interested in what someone has to say, and is usually accompanied by something like leave me alone! (leave me alone!) or beat it! (go away!)
Excuse me, can you give me your phone number? – Who knows you! ? go away, go away!
Excuse me, can you give me your phone number? –who are you? go away!
