Mescola la zuppa finché non bolle.

Sentence Discussions Italian
#1
English Translation

Stir the soup until it boils.

Mescola la zuppa finché non bolle - Stir the soup until it boils
I’m struggling with this one. Does this really mean what it says it means?
In my mind this looks like “stir the soup so it doesn’t boil” !
I totally understand that different languages express things differently, but I just can’t get a handle on this one.

1 Like
#2

Everybody struggles with “finché non” = “until”.
See e.g.

Mio padre ha lucidato la macchina finché non brillava.

5 Likes
#3

Thanks MRgK - it never occured to me that “finché non” was a phrase in itself! You learn the meaning of a word (non) and then you unlearn it! :rofl: Grazie per la risposta.

#4

Perfetto MRgK, finché non is one of my favourites.