Basta, sono stanco!

Breakdown of Basta, sono stanco!

essere
to be
stanco
tired
basta
enough!, stop it!

Questions & Answers about Basta, sono stanco!

Why does the sentence use basta for "enough"?
Basta actually comes from the verb bastare, which means "to be enough" or "to suffice". When used on its own like this, it acts as a common exclamation meaning "That's enough!" or "Stop it!".
Where is the word for "I" in this sentence?
In Italian, you usually don't need to say io (I) because the verb form sono (am) already tells us exactly who is speaking. Saying io sono stanco is grammatically correct, but leaving io out is much more natural.
If a woman is saying this, does the word stanco change?
Yes! Italian adjectives change their endings to match the gender of the person they describe. If a man is speaking, he says sono stanco (ending in -o). If a woman is speaking, she would change the ending to an -a and say sono stanca.
Does stanco mean the same thing as being sleepy?
Not exactly. Stanco means you are physically or mentally tired or exhausted. If you specifically mean you are sleepy and want to go to bed, Italians use a different phrase: ho sonno (literally, "I have sleep").

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