Italian idioms: "Aspetta e spera!"

Today I'd like to discuss an Italian idiom which is very easy to explain, incredibly easy, as easy as it gets. The idiomatic phrase is: "ASPETTA E SPERA!"

(Channel Intro)

Hi, everybody! I'm Luca and this amazing video is aimed at those people who are learning Italian as a foreign language.

I'm referring both to those who are attending an Italian class, for example in an Italian language school or at university, and those who are learning Italian by themselves, for instance by watching some videos or reading some books about the Italian grammar, and so on.

Specifically, this video is aimed at those people who have already learned the basics of the Italian language and would like to improve their Italian.

On this channel, in fact, I have published hundreds of videos about the Italian language, in which I explain several Italian idioms, idiomatic phrases and sayings. If you feel like it, please take a look at my channel page, so that you get an idea of the type of videos I typically publish.

If you truly want to improve your Italian, please consider subscribing to my channel.

That being said, today I'd like to discuss an idiomatic phrase which is very easy to explain, incredibly easy, as easy as it gets.

This idiom is not only easy to explain, but also easy to understand. This idiomatic phrase is crystal clear, so this video will be very short, for better or worse.

The Italian idiom is: "Aspetta e spera". Keep in mind that it is very important how you pronounce this phrase, that is, your intonation.

This phrase is used sarcastically in 99.9% of cases. I'm sure you know what sarcasm is, so I'm not gonna explain to you what we mean by "sarcasm".

This phrase as such doesn't even need to be explained, because you surely know the verb "aspettare", you surely know the verb "sperare" - well, you should know them. These are among the first verbs people typically learn. You know what "aspettare" means, you know what "sperare" means, so I don't need to explain it to you.

Basically, we have two imperative forms: "aspetta!" and "spera!". That is, while you are waiting, hope! This phrase is usually written with an exclamation point, that is, "aspetta e spera!" (exclamation point).

In life, we may at times find ourselves in situations where there is not much that we can do, we can only wait and hope that it will be fine.

Like I said, though, this idiom is used in a rather peculiar way. This is a phrase which is used sarcastically in 99.9% of cases.

When do we use it?

For example, let's imagine that we asked a favour to a friend of ours (male or female friend). Time goes by, and this male or female friend doesn't do the favour they promised they will do.

That is, when we asked him or her such favour, this person said: "Yes, sure, it's ok, I'm gonna do that". Time has passed, we keep waiting, and this person hasn't done anything yet.

For example, I don't know, let's pretend that I gave a text to a friend of mine, right? And I asked her to correct it for me. When I gave it to her, she told me: "Ok, it's fine, I will correct it". And I told her: "Ok, once you've corrected it, send it back to me, I'll be waiting for it".

Time moves forward and I don't receive anything.

Let's pretend that, after a while, I talk with another friend of mine, explain to him the situation, and tell my friend "That's it, I gave her the text that should be corrected and I'm waiting for her to correct it.

You may be wondering: "Yo Luca, what kind of example was that?! Why would you give your friend a text to correct?!" Whatever! Let's leave this example aside. That's not the point. I tell my friend "I gave her the text and I'm waiting".

My friend replies: "Yeah, sure! Aspetta e spera!"

What does it mean? It means that my friend thinks that it will be a long wait. Or rather, he probably thinks that at the end of the day this friend will not do me that favour. Or in any case, even if she will, she will after a really long, long time.

Usually, when someone says "aspetta e spera" they have in mind the situation where one is waiting, they keep waiting, but in the end nothing happens. Usually, when someone says "aspetta e spera" they mean: you can wait as long as you want, but you won't get what you are looking for. Those who say "aspetta e spera" typically have this in mind.

I mean, "aspetta e spera" is closer in meaning to: you can wait as long as you want, but in the end you won't get anything. Rather than: I have a feeling that it will be a long wait.

So on the one hand we have "aspetta e spera" and on the other "I think it will be a long wait". The phrase "aspetta e spera" is closer in meaning to: you can wait as long as you want, but regardless, I mean, you won't get what you want even after three years.

So now you understand what I meant when I said that this idiom is used sarcastically. Because this phrase is used by those people who don't believe that waiting will yield any results.

Basically, those who say "aspetta e spera" think that waiting is useless. Because, in any case, in the end you won't get anything out of it.

I'll give you another example!

Let's pretend that a certain political party during the electoral campaign promises that they will lower the taxes, ok?

Then, when a friend of mine tells me "Yo, they said that, if they are elected, they will lower the taxes", I could reply to my friend "Yes, sure! Aspetta e spera!"

Meaning that I don't believe that they will ever lower the taxes. And it's not about waiting. Meaning that we can wait for many years, but in the end they are not gonna lower the taxes.

Let's do another example!

Let's imagine that a friend of mine lost her job, she has been fired. And then she talked with our common friend, let's say that his name is, I don't know, Daniele. And she asked Daniele to recommend her in his company.

I mean, she asked Daniele to talk with his boss and ask him to hire her. Daniele told her: "Yes, sure, I'll take care of that".

Time passed, and Daniele hasn't done anything.

So my friend comes to me and says: "Look, Luca, I talked about it with Daniele, and he told me he will try to speak to his boss".

And I could reply to her: "Yes, sure, aspetta e spera!". What does it mean? It means that I think that, in the end, in my opinion, Daniele isn't gonna do anything. He is not gonna talk with his boss; that is, Daniele, yes, he said he would do that, but I think he won't.

Basically, with this phrase I make it clear that I'm skeptical. I make it clear that in my opinion this ain't not gonna happen. Basically, I'm telling my friend that in my opinion waiting is useless, because she can wait for as long as she wants, she can wait even two, three years, but in the end nothing will happen.

I guess that this phrase as a whole is clear. Like I said, this phrase is very, very clear. You just need to understand that it is used sarcastically, not literally.

I don't know if you know the phrase "Campa cavallo!". Well, the phrase "Campa cavallo!" and the phrase "Aspetta e spera!" are similar.

Some months ago I made a video about the phrase "Campa cavallo!". If you don't know this phrase, you might wanna watch this video. In the top corner I'm gonna add a card to it! If you want, check it out!

That is it! I think I said everything. If you are unsure about something or have any queries, leave a comment below! That being said, bye! May the force of advanced Italian be with you!