confortiamo

Confortiamo is the first-person plural present tense form of the Italian verb confortare, meaning to comfort, console, or reassure someone. The same form can also serve as the present subjunctive first-person plural (that we comfort), since for -are verbs the subjunctive present 1st plural shares the same spelling as the indicative in this tense.

Etymology and related forms: Confortare derives from Latin confortare, from con- (together, with) + fortis (strong). The sense shifted from “to strengthen” or “to encourage” to the modern meaning of comforting or consoling. The related noun is conforto, meaning comfort or consolation.

Conjugation notes: Present indicative: io conforto, tu conforti, lui conforta, noi confortiamo, voi confortate, essi confortano. Present subjunctive: che io conforti, che tu conforti, che lui conforti, che noi confortiamo, che voi confortiate, che essi confortino. The form confortiamo thus appears in both moods for the first-person plural.

Usage: Confortare is transitive and takes a direct object, as in “Confortiamo i nostri amici dopo la notizia” (We comfort our friends after the news). It can also be used in reflexive form, “confortarsi,” meaning to comfort oneself or to reassure oneself, as in “ci confortiamo con parole gentili.” Common synonyms include rassicurare, incoraggiare, consolare.

See also: conforto (noun), confortare (the infinitive form), and related verbs such as consolare and rassicurare. The term is standard Italian and widely used in everyday and literary language to describe offering solace or encouragement.