abbastanza

Abbastanza is an Italian adverb used to express sufficiency or moderate degree, corresponding to English enough or quite. It can indicate that something meets a necessary limit (enough of something) or that it is more than a little, but not excessive, depending on context. It commonly precedes adjectives or adverbs, as in abbastanza grande (quite large) or abbastanza bene (quite well), and can appear with verbs in phrases that describe sufficiency, such as ho studiato abbastanza (I studied enough).

As a pronoun or determiner, abbastanza can stand on its own to refer to an amount previously mentioned: ne ho abbastanza (I have enough of it). It also appears in constructions with per or da to indicate adequacy for a purpose, for example, è abbastanza per me (it’s enough for me). In informal speech, abbastanza is frequently used to soften statements or to avoid overstatement.

Etymology and history: the word derives from bastare, the Italian verb meaning to be enough. The form abbastare or abbastanza appears in older and regional varieties, with abbastanza becoming the standard adverbial form in modern Italian. Its use is well established in classical and contemporary Italian dictionaries.

Usage notes: abbastanza is invariable when used as an adverb and does not agree with gender or number. When translating, English equivalents depend on context and may be “enough,” “sufficient,” or “quite,” as in enough time, sufficiently large, or quite interesting. It is often contrasted with molto (much) or poco (little) to calibrate degree.

See also: bastare, sufficiente, grado.