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Questo luogo ha un'aura speciale e un che di indescrivibile.

Questo luogo ha un'aura speciale e un che di indescrivibile.
This place has a special aura and a certain indescribable something.
From Lesson 429:Expressing undefinable qualities (un che di)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Questo luogo ha un'aura speciale e un che di indescrivibile.

What exactly does the phrase un che di mean in this sentence?
It translates to "a certain something" or an undefinable quality. In this expression, che acts as an indefinite noun rather than its usual role as a relative pronoun like "that" or "which". It is a fixed phrase used to describe a trait you can sense but struggle to pinpoint.
Why is the preposition di placed before the adjective indescrivibile?
Whenever you use indefinite pronoun structures like un che or qualcosa followed by an adjective, Italian requires the preposition di to connect them. You can think of it literally as "a something of indescribable".
Why does un'aura have an apostrophe, while un che does not?
Because aura is a feminine noun starting with a vowel, the feminine indefinite article una drops its final letter and takes an apostrophe. However, in the phrase un che, the word che is treated as a masculine noun, so it takes the standard masculine article un, which never takes an apostrophe.
Could I use un qualcosa di instead of un che di here?
Yes, you could say un qualcosa di indescrivibile and the meaning would be exactly the same. However, un che di sounds slightly more poetic and elegant, which perfectly matches the mystical feeling of describing a luogo (place) with an aura speciale.

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