😔🕣🈵

How to Say ‘Unfortunately, at eight thirty we're fully booked.’ in Italian

Purtroppo alle otto e mezza siamo al completo.

poor-TROH-poh AH-leh OT-toh eh MED-dzah see-AH-moh ahl kohm-PLEH-toh

[poor-TROH-poh AH-leh OT-toh eh MED-dzah see-AH-moh ahl kohm-PLEH-toh]

🇮🇹 In Italy: Italians often eat dinner late, so 8:30 is a peak slot and books up first. Asking for alle sette e mezza "at half past seven" often gets you in.

Phrase Breakdown

Purtroppo

[poor-TROH-poh]

Unfortunately

Used to express regret or sadness about a situation.

Example

"Purtroppo", non posso venire alla festa.

"Unfortunately", I cannot come to the party.

alle otto e mezza

AH-leh OT-toh eh MED-dzah

at half past eight

This gives the time. Link the words smoothly: AL-le-OT-to-e-MED-dza.

Example

Il film inizia alle otto e mezza.

The film starts at half past eight.

Words in this phrase

alle

[AH-leh]

Used to specify time occurrence.

Example

Alla festa arrivo alle otto.

I arrive at the party at eight.

otto

[OT-toh]

Eight

The numeric representation of the number 8.

Example

Il film inizia alle otto.

The movie starts at eight.

[eh]

and

A conjunction used to connect ideas or qualities.

Example

Nella frase E collaborativa, E aggiunge una seconda qualità positiva dell'azienda.

In the phrase 'E collaborativa,' 'E' adds a second positive quality of the company.

mezza

[MED-dzah]

half

Feminine of 'mezzo'; used for half past the hour.

Example

Sono le due e mezza.

It's half past two.

siamo al completo.

see-AH-moh ahl kohm-PLEH-toh

we are fully booked.

This is a standard restaurant or hotel phrase for 'no space left'. Stress com-PLEH-to.

Example

Mi dispiace, siamo al completo.

I'm sorry, we're fully booked.

Words in this phrase

siamo

[see-AH-moh]

we are

First person plural of essere, used to describe who we are or what state we are in.

Example

Siamo pronti per una grande sfida.

We are ready for a big challenge.

[ahl]

at the

'a' + 'il', at the.

Example

Ci vediamo al bar.

See you at the bar.

completo

[kohm-PLEH-toh]

full

'Al completo' means fully booked, with no space left.

Example

L'albergo è al completo.

The hotel is fully booked.

Guides for Italian learners

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