L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2026 www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano C o m e m a i ( c o h - mai mah-ee) is o n e o f t h o s e expressions you hear all the time in Italian, often without real- ly noticing it; it tends to slip e a s i l y i n t o c o n v e r s a t i o n , especially when something doesn't quite match what you expected. In English, the closest equivalent is "how come," though sometimes " w h y i s i t t h a t " w o r k s a s well, depending on the tone. I f y o u b r e a k i t d o w n , come means "how," and mai adds emphasis, something like "at all" or "ever." The word mai comes from Latin magis ("more"), and over time, it picked up this inten- sifying role in Italian. Put together, come mai becomes a way of asking "how is it p o s s i b l e t h a t … ? " b u t i n a much lighter, more conver- sational tone. W h a t m a k e s o u r c o m e mai slightly different from a simple perché ("why") is that it carries a hint of surprise within… It's not just about asking for a reason; it also suggests that, in your mind, things were supposed to go differently. For example, if you hear someone say: Come mai sei arrivato così presto? 1 ladder; stairs 4 here (less precise) 6 (we) learn 7 (feminine of) silent 8 (he/she) exits 10 (we) look 12 needle 13 friends Using the provided meanings as clues, search for the appropriate Italian word in the grid 1 (plural of) on the 2 (they) wait 3 (I) open 4 any 5 love 7 (feminine of) skinny, thin 9 (he/she) hates 11 (you/tu) hate ("How come you arrived so early?"), the question isn't neutral, it implies the speak- er didn't expect the other person that early. As an expression, come m a i i s v e r y c o m m o n a n d you hear it a lot in everyday situations, often in a very casual way: Come mai non v i e n i a l l a f e s t a ? ( " H o w come you're not coming to the party?"). It also works well when you're observing something around you, as in: Come mai questa strada è così vuota oggi? ("How come this street is so empty today?"). Can you see it? T h e r e ' s t h a t s e n s e t h a t things are a bit off compared t o w h a t y o u ' d n o r m a l l y expect. In spoken Italian, come mai feels natural and fre- quent. It's the kind of phrase people use without thinking, e s p e c i a l l y i n i n f o r m a l o r s e m i - f o r m a l c o n t e x t s . I n more formal writing, you're more likely to see perché or expressions like per quale motivo, which sound more structured and less conver- sational. Come mai hai cambiato lavoro? "How come you changed jobs?" C o m e m a i : t h e e x p r e s s i o n t h a t explains it all! © Rawpixelimages | Dreamstime.com 1 to hold 2 light 3 one 4 bird 5 book 6 to talk 7 friend 8 woman 9 home 10 hand 11 head 12 two 13 table 14 river A C R O S S D O W N ITALIAN WORD SEARCH The solution to these word games will be available on the next edition. Games courtesy of Lexis Rex LA VITA ITALIANA TRADIZIONI STORIA CULTURA

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