‘Dai’: many meanings one Italian word

Today’s word isn’t so much a word as a sound: dai, pronounced – approximately – ‘dye-yuh!’ Luckily it’s simpler to translate than it is to transcribe phonetically: it means something like ‘come on’. 

Dai, andiamo! Come on, let’s go! It’s beautifully versatile for one little word. You can yell it at your favourite team to encourage them (or to tell them they need to do better), whisper it to a friend to invite them to go ahead, or whine it pleadingly to get someone to give in. 

Dai, sbrigatevi! Come on, hurry up!

Dai, resta ancora un po’. Go on, stay a bit longer. 

Dai, dai, ti prego Papà! Oh go on, go on, please Dad! 

Grammatically, ‘dai’ is either a preposition (preposizione articolata: da + i). The meaning of ‘dai’ when used as a preposition varies according to the context/ sentence. Example: Andiamo dai nonni. In this case ‘dai’ means ‘to’; or also the second person present indicative or the second person imperative of the verb dare (to give). Example: Dai un osso al cane. 

Its various tones are hard to pinpoint, but according to one Italian dictionary, adding ‘but’ in front of it makes it sound incredulous… 

– Io preferisco la pizza americana. – Ma dai! 

– I prefer American pizza. – Oh come on! 

… while prefacing it with ‘and’ indicates irritation and impatience. 

– Non è giusto però! – E dai! Smettila. 

– But it’s not fair! – Come on! Stop that. 

With a pronunciation not unlike a drawn out English “die,” it may sound initially off-putting as you hear it shouted between sweet Italian children and little old ladies. But “dai” just means “Come on!” as in, “Please, oblige me.” Use it when someone refuses: “Let’s go to Sicily.” “No.” “Dai!” Or to push someone to do something: “One more shot of limoncello, dai!” It can also be similar to “stop it!” Someone’s stealing bites of your gelato? Knock them in line with a “dai!” 

However you use “dai,” do it with conviction. You can stretch out its vowels as long as you dare, and if you wish to repeat it a few times for emphasis or accompany it with an exasperated flourish of the hand, well, we