“Mi sa che” in Italian
Meaning
Mi sa che is a colloquial expression that is used in Italian to indicate the impression, suspicion, or feeling about something. It is often used in informal contexts to express an opinion or intuition.
It doesn’t have exact equivalents in other languages, in fact, there is no literal translation for this construction. However, it is similar to saying “I have a feeling that” or “it seems to me that” in English.
It is only used in the first person singular, with the indirect pronoun mi (for “I”). Have a look at these examples:
Mi sa che non sono venuti.
I think they did not come.
Mi sa che vuole invitarvi a cena.
I have the feeling that she wants to invite you over for dinner.
Construction
In this expression, the verb sa is the third person singular conjugation of the verb sapere (to know). In fact, the subject of the sentence is what you have the feeling or suspicion about, while the indirect pronoun states the person that experiences that feeling.
In this sense, the construction is the same as that of the verbs servire, piacere, sembrare, or mancare. Therefore, it could literally be translated as “something feels somehow to me”, where “something” is the subject of the sentence and “to me” is the indirect pronoun.
Let me break down the structure so that you can understand better:
Mi sa che il ristorante è chiuso.
To me it feels that the restaurant is closed.
In other words, mi sa che is a synonym of mi sembra che (it seems to me that), penso che (I think that), or credo che (I believe that).
Verb Tense
As you might have seen already, we use the indicative mood with this expression. The tense depends on when the event occurred, therefore you can use the present, past, future etc…
However, if you are familiar with the subjunctive mood you might wonder: since it is a personal opinion, why don’t we use the subjunctive mood?
Well, let me explain you why: mi sa che is used to express a personal impression, belief, or sensation. Although it is an opinion, the speaker considers it relatively certain or factual. It works just like secondo me (according to me).
In other words, by using mi sa che we are indicating that the statement is based on a perception or feeling, but it is considered a probable reality.
In contrast, if you were to express something with more uncertainty or subjectivity, you would use the subjunctive mood. For example:
Non sono sicuro che lui sia a casa.
I am not sure that he is at home.
How to use “mi sa di sì” and “mi sa di no”
There are two similar constructions that are used to answer a yes or no question. In this case, instead of che, we use the preposition di right before sì or no. This is how it results like:
- Mi sa di sì (I think so)
- Mi sa di no (I don’t think so)
Have a look at the example:
A: Venite stasera?
B: Mi sa di no.
A: Are you coming tonight?
B: I don’t think so.
A: Ha passato l’esame?
B: Mi sa di sì.
A: Did she pass the exam?
B: I think so.
