This week’s phrase is another easy one. Here is it:

Non è da te!

which means:

That’s not like you!

In our episode of Il Commissario Manara, Ginevra, the medical examiner, has just told Luca that she’s a bit envious, to which he replies:

Rosmini, non è da te, eh?
Rosmini, that’s not like you, is it?

Now, you can say this to your friends, but remember, you can also use it to talk about yourself, you and your friends, or other people. It’s just a matter of swapping the pronoun! Here’s some examples to get you started.

Questo comportamento non è da te.
You’re not acting like yourself.
(This behavior isn’t like you.)

Non è da te gettare la spugna.
It’s not like you to throw in the towel.

Non è da te lottare per una causa persa.
It’s not like you to fight for a lost cause.

Non è da noi rinunciare alla speranza.
It’s not like us to give up hope.

È imbarazzante e non è da noi.
It’s embarrassing and it’s not like us.

Non è da lei comportarsi così.
It’s not like her to act like this.

Fingere una malattia non è da lei.
It’s isn’t like her to fake an illness.

Non è da lui ignorarmi così a lungo.
It isn’t like him to ignore me so long.

Non è da lui essere in ritardo.
It’s not like him to be late.

Non è da loro sparire e basta, potrebbe esserci qualcosa che non va.
It isn’t like them to just disappear, something could be wrong.

Non è da loro, non scapperebbero così.
It’s not like them, they wouldn’t run away like this.

E veramente non è da me essere in ritardo con la frase della settimana!

So, how will you use this weeks phrase? Tell us on Facebook.

Wait... what language is THAT?

Yabla Italian is an excellent tool to help you develop an ear for spoken Italian. (I use Yabla personally to study three different languages.) With Yabla Italian you will have:

• verbatim subtitles in Italian
• access to English subtitles when you need them
• the ability to turn the subtitles off as you improve
• quizzes to gauge how well you're doing

And… this is especially useful… you can slow the video down! Yes! We all know how fast the Italians talk. You know a lot of the words. If you just had a little more time to process them…. Well, now you do!

If you feel your Italian is good enough to watch without Italian (or English) subtitles, this episode of Il Commissario Manara is also available for free from RAI. You will need to fast forward to exactly 48 minutes for the start of Un morto di troppo.