Infatti, difatti and in effetti look very similar in Italian and it can be a little bit confusing at first remember when to use one in place of the other. So, today I’m going to explain how to use infatti, difatti and in effetti in Italian.
In effetti
In effetti is a word we use when we want to confirm what someone has told us or as an answer when we agree with something that someone has just said.
Examples:
a. Marco mi aveva detto che questo ristorante era eccellente e, in effetti, aveva ragione!
a. Marco told me this restaurant was excellent and, actually, he was right!
b. + Secondo me il tavolo starebbe meglio al centro della stanza
b. + I think the table looks better in the center of the room
– In effetti…
– Actually, I think you’re right
Infatti, difatti
Infatti and difatti are synonyms. I would say that infatti is maybe a little bit more common than difatti.
Infatti and difatti are used to explain or support something you’ve just said.
Examples:
c. Oggi fa caldo e infatti/difatti sono tutti in pantaloncini
c. Today’s hot and, as you can see/indeed, everyone is wearing shorts
d. Lucia sta male e infatti/difatti non è venuta al lavoro
d. Lucia is sick and, for this reason/as such/indeed, she didn’t come to work
As an answer, infatti is used to support something someone has just said.
Examples:
e. + Questo divano a me sembra un po’ troppo caro…
e. + This cough seems a little bit too expensive to me…
– Sì, infatti! Non compriamolo!
– Yes, I agree! We won’t buy it!
f. + Questo programma è noiosissimo!
f. + This show is super boring!
– Sì, infatti! Cambiamo canale!
– Yes, I agreed, Let’s change channel!
Finally, infatti can also be used to express something ironically.
Example:
g. Mi ha detto che mi avrebbe restituito i soldi a giugno e, infatti…non s’è più visto
g. He told me he would give me my money back in June and, clearly…I’ve never seen him again
Small difference between in effetti and infatti
Sometimes it might seem that in effetti and infatti are used as synonyms but, in reality, I think there’s a small difference in how we Italians use these two words.
Let’s take two of the previous examples.
h. + Questo programma è noiosissimo!
h. + This show is super boring!
– Sì, infatti! Cambiamo canale!
– Yes, I agreed, Let’s change channel!
In this case, my friend thinks the show is boring and I think the same thing, so I use infatti to express my agreement.
Now, let’s try to use in effetti in the same example.
i. + Questo programma è noiosissimo!
i. + This show is super boring!
– Sì, in effetti…
– Yes, actually, I think you’re right
In this case, my friend always thinks that the show is boring. However, I didn’t think that the show was boring before he mentioned it. Maybe because I didn’t realize it or because I wasn’t really paying attention. After he said the show was boring, I started to think and I ended up with the same conclusion.
Let’s take two more examples:
l. Marco mi aveva detto che questo ristorante era eccellente e, in effetti, aveva ragione!
l. Marco told me this restaurant was excellent and, actually, he was right!
In this example, I wasn’t sure that the restaurant was really excellent until I tried it and I realized that Marco was right, it was excellent.
m. Marco mi aveva detto che questo ristorante era eccellente e, infatti, aveva ragione!
m. Marco told me this restaurant was excellent and, as I expected, he was right!
Finally, in this last example Marco told me that the restaurant was excellent and I expected him to be right, maybe because I really trust Marco, or because Marco is a chef so he knows what he’s talking about or for some other reasons, fact is I knew he was right even before trying the food in the restaurant. So, in this case, I use infatti to express my agreement.
I really hope this article helped you clarify a little bit the difference between in effetti and infatti. If you found this article enlightening, don’t forget to share it!
Credits
Original image by Engin_Akyurt
Isabella di Morra and the castle of Valsinni
