How to Say ‘If we're running a little late’ in Italian
Se dovessimo tardare un pochino
seh doh-vehs-SEE-moh tahr-DAH-reh oon poh-KEE-noh
[seh doh-vehs-SEE-moh tahr-DAH-reh oon poh-KEE-noh]
💬 Usage Tip: se dovessimo "if we should" is a polite way to raise a possibility that might not happen. It works for other situations too: se dovessimo cancellare "if we had to cancel".
Phrase Breakdown
Se dovessimo tardare
seh doh-vehs-SEE-moh tahr-DAH-reh
If we were to be late
'Se' plus the imperfect subjunctive describes a hypothesis. Stress do-VES-si-mo.
Se dovessimo tardare, chiamiamo.
If we're late, we'll call.
Words in this phrase
Se
[seh]
if
A conjunction meaning 'if,' used to introduce a condition politely.
Se vuoi, possiamo sentirci la prossima settimana.
If you want, we can talk next week.
dovessimo
[doh-vehs-SEE-moh]
we should (have to)
Imperfect subjunctive of 'dovere'; used in hypothetical 'if' clauses.
Se dovessimo partire, ti chiamo.
If we should leave, I'll call you.
tardare
[tahr-DAH-reh]
to be late
Verb meaning to delay or arrive late.
Non tardare stasera!
Don't be late tonight!
un pochino
oon poh-KEE-noh
a little bit
A diminutive of 'poco'. 'Ch' sounds like 'k': po-KI-no.
Aspetta un pochino.
Wait a little bit.
Words in this phrase
un
[oon]
a / an
An indefinite article meaning 'a' before a masculine singular noun.
È stato un incontro molto utile.
It was a very useful meeting.
pochino
[poh-KEE-noh]
little bit
Diminutive of 'poco'; a softer 'a little'.
Aspetta un pochino.
Wait a little bit.
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