Episode 13 · Real Italian Conversations
Dai! One Italian word, three different moods
Dai can cheer you on, show surprise, or mean oh come on. Same word, different tone.
Tom is struggling, then celebrating, then after Laura's cake.
Laura ·
In this lesson
| Italian | Word for word | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Dai, che ce la fai! | come on, you can do it! | encouragement |
| Dai! Davvero? | no way! really? | surprise |
| Ma dai... | oh, come on... | disbelief or mild annoyance |
| E va bene, dai | oh, fine | giving in |
The tone does the work: bright and rising for surprise, slow and falling for ma dai... Listen twice.
The dialogue
Every line from the video, with the English meaning under the Italian.
Tom
I can't do Italian. It's too hard.
Laura
Dai, che ce la fai!
Come on, you can do it!
Tom
Okay... I passed my exam!
Laura
Dai! Davvero?
No way! Really?
Tom
Yes! So... can I have your cake?
Laura
Ma dai...
Oh, come on...
Tom
Please?
Laura
E va bene, dai!
Oh, fine, go on then!
The voices in this video are synthetic and the on-screen host is generated. The Italian itself is written and checked by a native speaker.
Ready to speak, not just watch?
Practise these phrases out loud with Laura in a small group or a private lesson.
Find your Italian class