What is finché in Italian?
Finché can be translated into English as long as both in an abstract and time-related sense.
Let’s get started!
Finché va bene a lui, va bene anche a me.
As long as it’s fine for him, it’s fine for me too.
Puoi rimanere finché vuoi.
You can stay as long as you want.
It can also sometimes be translated as while.
Finché nevica, è meglio non uscire.
While it snows, it is best not to go out.
This is simple enough, you’ll say. The trouble starts when we start adding a non after finché.
When to use finché non?
Finché non is a set expression that means until in Italian.
It is quite tricky for learners (and even native speakers sometimes!) to use this correctly as the non does not actually express a real negation.
However, once you understand that this non is a false negative and it needs not to be translated, the use of this expression is pretty straightforward.
Let’s have a look at some examples:
Abbiamo aspettato finché non sono usciti.
We waited until they went out.
Ho continuato a correre finché non ero esausta.
I kept on running until I was exhausted
Non posso uscire finché non finisco di studiare.
I can’t go out until I finish studying.
Finché vs. finché non
This difference may look small: after all, it is only a three-letter word, but it can make a sentence take a whole different meaning!
Have a look at the following example:
Sono stata bene finché ho lavorato da casa.
I was fine while I worked from home.
Sono stata bene finché non ho lavorato da casa.
I was fine until I worked from home.
In the first sentence, the subject was happily working from home, while in the second, she was happy until she started working from home!
Finché and finché non: more examples
Finché c’è vita, c’è speranza.
While there’s life, there’s hope.
Finché non torni non andrò a dormire.
I will not go to sleep until you get back.
Non sono uscita finché non ha smesso di piovere.
I did not go out until it stopped raining.
Finché siamo tutti insieme, non c’è nulla da preoccuparsi.
There is nothing to worry about as long as we’re all together.
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