# Neapolitan: A da passà a nuttata



## MariaMinerva

Read this phrase on a blog:     A da passà a nuttata
I think that it has something to do with the passing of nighttime, but I am confused by the conjugation of what I think is "passare."
Ideas?


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## anglomania1

MariaMinerva said:


> Read this phrase on a blog: A da passà a nuttata
> I think that it has something to do with the passing of nighttime, but I am confused by the conjugation of what I think is "passare."
> Ideas?


 
Hello, 
I think you'll find this isn't Italian but some kind of dialect!!
Anglo


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## Paulfromitaly

That's not Italian, as Anglo has just pointed out.

*to get through another day*


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## effeundici

It's not italian. It's neapolitan dialect.

It's the title of a famous theatre comedy by Eduardo de Filippo.


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## Alan7075

It is a dialectal form for "deve passare la nottata" which means "it can't be night/dark forever", "It can't rain forever"

Ciao Ciao


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## MariaMinerva

Ah, Neopolitan! Thanks very much!


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## federicoft

Just to add that this expression is well know and largely understood even in the rest of the country.


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## anglomania1

federicoft said:


> Just to add that this expression is well know and largely understood even in the rest of the country.


I've never heard it, but then, I am English and Piacenza is quite far from Naples!
I'll ask my husband if he knows it, 
Anglo


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## federicoft

I live quite far from Naples too , but I think it has entered popular culture (it's a quote from an Eduardo de Filippo's play).


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## Azazel81

Ma tra l'altro non dovrebbe essere "ha da passa a nuttata"?


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## Tellure

effeundici said:


> It's not italian. It's neapolitan dialect.
> 
> It's the title of a famous theatre comedy by Eduardo de Filippo.



Buongiorno a tutti! 

Volevo solo precisare che non si tratta del titolo, ma di una frase della famosissima e bellissma commedia di Eduardo De Filippo "Napoli Milionaria".


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## Tellure

Riprendo questo vecchio thread per dare un contributo alla traduzione che ho trovato in un interessante articolo online:


*How would you translate adda passa' 'a nuttata?*

At the ACT of San Francisco, where Napoli Milionaria is being currently performed by an excellent cast including Marco Barricelli and Serena McKenna, on a translation  by skilled translator Beatrice Basso, they choose to translate it into "the night has to go by". Since then a number of Italians living in San Francisco have offered their own translation:

Let's wait for the night to go by

The night must pass

Let's wait for the night to pass

The night shall pass

This night must pass

And some more. The issue may seem superfluous to Italians and Neapolitans living in Italy, but for the members of the Italian, and Neapolitan community living in San Francisco, it is not small thing. In effect the phrase reflects Neapolitan's outlook on life and ultimately Eduardo's take on a city and country suffering the scars of war and facing the challenge of rebuilding itself. [...]
How would you translate adda passa' 'a nuttata?


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## Jonathan7891

Currently playing the role of Don Gennaro in Napoli Milionaria. It means 'We must see the night through.'


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