Reading between the lines

Question

What are the Italian equivalents of the English expression "reading between the lines"? One could say "intravedere le vere motivazioni o i veri sentimenti di qualcuno" but I'm not sure if there are better ways to say it. Thanks.

score 10 · Accepted Answer · answered May 03 '16 at 01:14

10

Quite simply we say leggere tra le righe.

leggere tra le righe

Riuscire a capire anche quello che non viene chiaramente espresso oppure deliberatamente taciuto, riferito a uno scritto, a un discorso e simili.

answered May 03 '16 at 01:14

Denis Nardin

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This is, I would say, one of the rare occasions in which there is a literal translation between an Italian saying and its English equivalent. :) – Andrea Lazzarotto May 06 '16 at 21:59
@AndreaLazzarotto, not that rare really, they all seem to pop up in here – Erik vanDoren May 11 '16 at 13:37

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered May 22 '16 at 18:56

Yes... The meaning is Leggere tra le righe but actually it is used in so many ways... For example:

You are having an argument with your girlfriend, and she says: "Devi anche saper leggere tra le righe! Una donna non dice sempre tutto!"

In this case your Italian GF wants you to understand something that she WANTS but she doesn't want to tell you...

Sometimes it is used when someone is disappointed!

Reading between the lines

2 Answers2