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Lascia perdere, non è importante.

Lascia perdere, non è importante.
Let it go, it is not important.
From Lesson 211:Letting someone do something (lasciare + infinito)·Italian

Breakdown of Lascia perdere, non è importante.

importante
important
lasciare perdere
to drop it, to let it go

Questions & Answers about Lascia perdere, non è importante.

Why does this sentence use perdere to mean "go"?
The phrase lasciare perdere is a very common idiom. While lasciare means "to let" or "to leave" and perdere means "to lose", together they form a set phrase meaning "to let it go", "to forget about it", or "to drop it". It is a great example of the permissive construction (lasciare + infinitive) acting as a single concept.
Why does the verb lascia end in an -a here?
This is the informal imperative (command) form for tu. For regular -are verbs like lasciare, the affirmative tu command ends in -a. This can be tricky because it looks exactly like the lui/lei (he/she) present tense form, rather than the normal tu present tense form (lasci).
Where is the word for "it" in lascia perdere?
In English, we say "let it go" or "forget it", which requires a direct object pronoun. In Italian, the idiom lasciare perdere stands perfectly on its own without needing a pronoun like lo (it). You can just say lascia perdere to tell someone to drop a subject.
Why is there no word for "it" before non è importante?
Italian is a language that drops its subject pronouns when the context is clear. You do not need a direct translation for "it" here. Non è importante translates literally to "not is important", which naturally means "it is not important" in English.

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