Learn Italian: Chissà che cosa ci sarà nell'astuccio! - Who knows what might be in the case!

This is the epistemic future being taught in this lesson. In Italian, you can use the future tense to express a guess, doubt, or probability about something happening in the present. So instead of meaning what will be in the case in the future, it means what might be in the case right now.

What role does ci play in ci sarà?

It works just like the ci in c'è (there is) and ci sono (there are). Ci sarà is simply the future tense of c'è. Literally, it means there will be, but because we are making a guess about the present here, it translates to there might be.

Where does the word Chissà come from?

Chissà is a combination of chi (who) and sa (knows, from the verb sapere). It is written as a single word with an accent on the last vowel to keep the stress on the final syllable. It means who knows or I wonder, and it pairs perfectly with the epistemic future for making guesses.

Can I just say cosa instead of che cosa?

Yes! To ask what in Italian, you can use che, cosa, or che cosa. They are all grammatically correct and interchangeable in everyday Italian, though che cosa is considered the most complete version.