{"id":59853,"date":"2026-05-13T07:26:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:26:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/?p=59853"},"modified":"2026-05-13T07:45:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:45:00","slug":"italian-altrui-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/italian-altrui-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian Altrui: How to Say &#8220;Someone Else&#8217;s&#8221; in One Elegant Word (B2)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Walk past a Catania apartment building and you might see a small sign by the entrance: <em>rispetta il riposo altrui<\/em>. Open an Italian newspaper and you find a headline about <em>l&#8217;appropriazione di idee altrui<\/em>. Read Manzoni and the word floats up again and again, in moments when characters worry about other people&#8217;s property, other people&#8217;s reputations, other people&#8217;s pain. That single word, doing all this work, is <strong>italian altrui<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This guide takes <strong>italian altrui<\/strong> from courtroom to dinner table. You will learn what it actually means, why it never changes form, where it sits in a sentence, and the one question every learner asks sooner or later: when can I drop it in conversation without sounding like a notary reading a will?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" \/>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-toc-59853\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-toc-head-59853 gb-headline-text\">Cosa impareremo oggi<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">&#x1F446;&#x1F3FB;<br>Jump to sections<\/p>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" \/>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#one-liner\">Italian altrui in one line<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#form\">Why it never changes form<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#placement\">Where altrui sits in the sentence<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#degli-altri\">Altrui vs degli altri<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#pronominal\">L&#8217;altrui as a noun<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#where\">Three places you will meet altrui<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#idioms\">Idioms and proverbs<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#mistakes\">Common mistakes<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#vs-proprio\">Altrui vs proprio<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#pronunciation\">How to pronounce altrui<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#cheat-sheet\">Cheat sheet<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#dialogue\">Dialogue at a law office<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#faq\">FAQ<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-one-liner-59853 gb-headline-text\" id=\"one-liner\">Italian altrui in one line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine an Italian friend telling you about a colleague who keeps reading the office mail of the rest of the team. In English they might say &#8220;he&#8217;s always reading other people&#8217;s emails&#8221;. In Italian they have a choice: <em>legge sempre le email degli altri<\/em> (everyday) or <em>legge sempre la corrispondenza altrui<\/em> (the version that ends up in the company disciplinary report).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Italian altrui<\/strong> means &#8220;of others&#8221;, &#8220;of other people&#8221;, &#8220;someone else&#8217;s&#8221;. It is a single invariable word that replaces the longer phrase <em>degli altri<\/em> or <em>di qualcun altro<\/em>. Same meaning, higher register, fewer syllables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Non giudicare le scelte altrui.<\/em> (Don&#8217;t judge other people&#8217;s choices.)<\/li>\n<li><em>Rispetto la libert\u00e0 altrui.<\/em> (I respect other people&#8217;s freedom.)<\/li>\n<li><em>Leggere la corrispondenza altrui \u00e8 reato.<\/em> (Reading someone else&#8217;s mail is a crime.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-form-59853 gb-headline-text\" id=\"form\">Why it never changes form<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The first thing that surprises learners is that <em>altrui<\/em> refuses to bend. Most Italian adjectives have four endings (<em>rosso, rossa, rossi, rosse<\/em>); possessives have at least two (<em>mio, mia, miei, mie<\/em>). <em>Altrui<\/em> has one. The word entered modern Italian as a fossil from medieval times, frozen in shape, and never picked up the agreement habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The practical consequence: whether you talk about one woman&#8217;s idea or many men&#8217;s ideas, the form on the page stays the same. No masculine, no feminine, no singular, no plural to track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>l&#8217;opinione altrui<\/em> (one person&#8217;s opinion) \/ <em>le opinioni altrui<\/em> (other people&#8217;s opinions)<\/li>\n<li><em>il libro altrui<\/em> (someone else&#8217;s book) \/ <em>i libri altrui<\/em> (other people&#8217;s books)<\/li>\n<li><em>la casa altrui<\/em> (someone else&#8217;s house) \/ <em>le case altrui<\/em> (other people&#8217;s houses)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Compare with <em>degli altri<\/em>, which requires the article to match (<em>delle, dei, dell&#8217;<\/em>). With <em>altrui<\/em> you skip all that. One word, zero endings to remember. For a writer, this concision is precisely the appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-placement-59853 gb-headline-text\" id=\"placement\">Where altrui sits in the sentence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Open a contract, a moral essay, or a newspaper editorial. You will almost always see <em>altrui<\/em> in the same spot: right after the noun. <em>La roba altrui<\/em>, <em>le opinioni altrui<\/em>, <em>i diritti altrui<\/em>. This is the default position and the one you should reach for every time you write the word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also place it before the noun: <em>l&#8217;altrui opinione<\/em>, <em>l&#8217;altrui sofferenza<\/em>, <em>l&#8217;altrui ricchezza<\/em>. The meaning does not change, but the register climbs another step. Pre-nominal <em>altrui<\/em> lives in poetry, philosophy, nineteenth-century novels, and old legal prose. If you are not writing one of those, stick to the post-nominal position.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-task-altrui-1\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n\n<p>\ud83c\udfaf <strong>Mini-task:<\/strong> Place <em>altrui<\/em> in its natural spot in each phrase.<\/p>\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>la felicit\u00e0 ___ (altrui)<\/li>\n<li>i diritti ___ (altrui)<\/li>\n<li>le scelte ___ (altrui)<\/li>\n<li>la libert\u00e0 ___ (altrui)<\/li>\n<li>il rispetto della propriet\u00e0 ___ (altrui)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n<details><summary><strong>\ud83d\udc49 Show answers<\/strong><\/summary>\n<p>1. la felicit\u00e0 altrui \u00b7 2. i diritti altrui \u00b7 3. le scelte altrui \u00b7 4. la libert\u00e0 altrui \u00b7 5. il rispetto della propriet\u00e0 altrui<\/p>\n<p>All five take <em>altrui<\/em> after the noun. Default position, every time.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-degli-altri-59853 gb-headline-text\" id=\"degli-altri\">Altrui vs degli altri: same meaning, different rooms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Picture two friends in a Lecce kitchen complaining about a third one who never minds her business. They would never say <em>\u00absi fa i fatti altrui\u00bb<\/em>. They would say <em>\u00absi fa sempre i fatti degli altri\u00bb<\/em>. The second is the natural choice for spoken Italian. The first sounds like the friend opened a law textbook between sentences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The two forms mean exactly the same thing. They live in different rooms of the language. <em>Degli altri<\/em> is the everyday workhorse: friends, family, casual emails, voice notes. <em>Altrui<\/em> is the dressed-up cousin who turns up in essays, contracts, sermons, philosophy class, and one famous commandment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<table>\n<thead><tr><th>Context<\/th><th>Natural choice<\/th><th>Why<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr><td>Chatting with friends<\/td><td><em>la macchina degli altri<\/em><\/td><td>altrui sounds stiff<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Legal contract<\/td><td><em>beni altrui<\/em><\/td><td>register matches the genre<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Newspaper headline<\/td><td><em>opinioni altrui<\/em><\/td><td>concise, elegant in print<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Philosophy essay<\/td><td><em>la sofferenza altrui<\/em><\/td><td>standard academic style<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Text message<\/td><td><em>le idee degli altri<\/em><\/td><td>altrui would feel odd<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n<p>A safe rule for <strong>italian altrui<\/strong>: when speaking, default to <em>degli altri<\/em>. When writing something a stranger will read, <strong>italian altrui<\/strong> becomes a real option. When writing a law, a thesis, or a love letter pretending to channel Petrarca, <em>altrui<\/em> is almost expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-pronominal-59853 gb-headline-text\" id=\"pronominal\">L&#8217;altrui as a noun<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Ten Commandments translated into Italian include the line <em>non desiderare l&#8217;altrui<\/em>. No noun follows. The article and the word stand alone, meaning &#8220;what belongs to others&#8221;. This is the pronominal form, and it is the most literary face of the word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You will meet <em>l&#8217;altrui<\/em> almost only in old prose, philosophy, and the kind of writing that wants to sound classical on purpose. In modern conversation it has practically vanished. People say <em>la roba degli altri<\/em>, <em>le cose altrui<\/em>, <em>quello che \u00e8 di altre persone<\/em>. Recognise <em>l&#8217;altrui<\/em> when you read it, file it under &#8220;high literary&#8221;, and do not imitate it unless you are writing a sermon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Non desiderare l&#8217;altrui.<\/em> (Do not covet what belongs to others.)<\/li>\n<li><em>Vive dell&#8217;altrui.<\/em> (He lives off other people&#8217;s stuff.)<\/li>\n<li><em>Si \u00e8 impossessato dell&#8217;altrui senza vergogna.<\/em> (He took what belonged to others without shame.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-where-59853 gb-headline-text\" id=\"where\">Three places you will actually meet altrui<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Knowing a word matters less than knowing where it lives. <em>Altrui<\/em> has three natural habitats, and once you spot them you start seeing the word everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h3-law-59853 gb-headline-text\">1. Legal Italian<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Italian contracts and the criminal code lean heavily on <em>altrui<\/em>. <em>Cosa altrui<\/em>, <em>beni altrui<\/em>, <em>diritti altrui<\/em>, <em>denaro altrui<\/em>. Legal writing wants precision and brevity, and the word delivers both at once. A lawyer in Catania defending a corporate client will use <em>altrui<\/em> three times before the first coffee break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>impossessarsi di beni altrui<\/em> (to take possession of someone else&#8217;s property)<\/li>\n<li><em>l&#8217;appropriazione indebita di denaro altrui<\/em> (misappropriation of someone else&#8217;s money)<\/li>\n<li><em>la violazione del domicilio altrui<\/em> (trespass on another person&#8217;s home)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h3-philo-59853 gb-headline-text\">2. Ethics and philosophy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When Italian writers talk about empathy, moral duty, or the relation with other people, <em>altrui<\/em> is the word that does the abstract work. Primo Levi reaches for it when he writes about <em>la dignit\u00e0 altrui<\/em>. A philosophy student in Padova taking notes on Levinas will write <em>l&#8217;etica altrui<\/em>. The word allows a clean, general statement without naming any specific person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>la sofferenza altrui<\/em> (the suffering of others)<\/li>\n<li><em>l&#8217;altrui dignit\u00e0<\/em> (the dignity of others)<\/li>\n<li><em>non turbarsi per le opinioni altrui<\/em> (not to be troubled by other people&#8217;s opinions)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h3-prov-59853 gb-headline-text\">3. Proverbs, commandments, public signs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Italian Ten Commandments use <em>altrui<\/em>: <em>non desiderare la donna altrui<\/em>, <em>non desiderare la roba altrui<\/em>. Polite public signs use it too: <em>rispetta il riposo altrui<\/em> in apartment buildings, <em>rispetto della propriet\u00e0 altrui<\/em> in parks. Italian moralising naturally reaches for this word because it sounds clean and impersonal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-idioms-59853 gb-headline-text\" id=\"idioms\">Idioms and proverbs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A handful of fixed expressions keep <em>altrui<\/em> alive in the modern ear, even for Italians who never open a law book. Learn these six and you will spot the word instantly in any text or conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>vivere alle spalle altrui<\/em> (to live off other people)<\/li>\n<li><em>farsi i fatti altrui<\/em> (to mind other people&#8217;s business)<\/li>\n<li><em>non desiderare la roba altrui<\/em> (do not covet other people&#8217;s stuff, the commandment)<\/li>\n<li><em>parlare male alle spalle altrui<\/em> (to badmouth people behind their back)<\/li>\n<li><em>godere delle disgrazie altrui<\/em> (to take pleasure in other people&#8217;s misfortune)<\/li>\n<li><em>rispetto della propriet\u00e0 altrui<\/em> (respect for other people&#8217;s property)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Look at the list again. Almost every idiom describes a slightly negative behaviour: gossip, envy, intrusion, freeloading. This is not an accident. <em>Altrui<\/em> has a faint moralising aura, which is why it fits commandments, proverbs, and slightly disapproving conversation so well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-mistakes-59853 gb-headline-text\" id=\"mistakes\">Common mistakes with altrui<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Three predictable errors show up when learners discover <em>altrui<\/em>. None are catastrophic, but each one flags a writer who has memorised the word without absorbing its social weight. Each takes about thirty seconds to unlearn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Trying to inflect it.<\/strong> Learners from French, Spanish, or German often try to make <em>altrui<\/em> agree with the noun. They produce <em>altrue<\/em>, <em>altrua<\/em>, or strange plurals. There is one form. <em>Le opinioni altrui<\/em>, never <em>le opinioni altrue<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Doubling the possessive.<\/strong> Writing <em>il mio libro altrui<\/em> is incoherent. A book cannot be both yours and someone else&#8217;s at the same time. If you mean &#8220;one of the others&#8217; books in my collection&#8221;, you write <em>uno dei libri altrui nella mia biblioteca<\/em>, with <em>uno dei<\/em> doing the partitive work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Using it casually.<\/strong> Drop <em>altrui<\/em> into a WhatsApp message and Italians will smile, repeat your sentence with <em>degli altri<\/em>, and move on. The grammar is fine, the register is wrong. The mistake is not the word, it is the room you chose for it. A useful test: would the same sentence sound natural in a contract or a newspaper editorial? If yes, <em>altrui<\/em> fits. If you can only picture it on a kitchen table with friends, switch to <em>degli altri<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>One smaller mistake worth flagging: putting <em>altrui<\/em> with food or drink. <em>Il caff\u00e8 altrui<\/em> exists technically but sounds odd, because food belongs to the domestic register where <em>altrui<\/em> is out of place. Italians say <em>il caff\u00e8 di qualcun altro<\/em> instead. The rule of thumb: the smaller and more everyday the object, the worse <em>altrui<\/em> fits. Rights, freedoms, ideas, property, suffering, opinions: <em>altrui<\/em> fits naturally. Coffee, sandwich, keys, scarf, phone charger: <em>altrui<\/em> sounds wrong, even though grammatically nothing forbids it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-vs-proprio-59853 gb-headline-text\" id=\"vs-proprio\">Altrui vs proprio: the moral pair<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Italian has another possessive that loves to keep <em>altrui<\/em> company: <em>proprio<\/em>, meaning &#8220;one&#8217;s own&#8221;. The two are opposites, and Italian writers like to set them against each other to build moral statements. Open any newspaper editorial about ethics or freedom and you will find the pair within three paragraphs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>antepone il proprio interesse a quello altrui.<\/em> (He puts his own interest before that of others.)<\/li>\n<li><em>la propria libert\u00e0 finisce dove inizia la libert\u00e0 altrui.<\/em> (One&#8217;s own freedom ends where the freedom of others begins.)<\/li>\n<li><em>difendere i propri diritti senza calpestare i diritti altrui.<\/em> (Defend your own rights without trampling on others&#8217; rights.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Three differences to keep in mind. <em>Proprio<\/em> inflects (<em>proprio, propria, propri, proprie<\/em>); <em>altrui<\/em> never does. <em>Proprio<\/em> can sit before or after the noun with equal ease; <em>altrui<\/em> wants the post-nominal slot. <em>Proprio<\/em> works in casual conversation; <em>altrui<\/em> in casual conversation still sounds slightly bookish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-pronunciation-59853 gb-headline-text\" id=\"pronunciation\">How to pronounce altrui<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Three syllables: <em>al-TRU-i<\/em>. The stress falls on the second syllable, on the <em>u<\/em>, which is pronounced as a clean &#8220;oo&#8221; like in English &#8220;boot&#8221;. The final <em>i<\/em> is a separate syllable, not a glide. You give it its own small beat at the end, not the diphthong English ears want to make of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>English speakers tend to make two mistakes. They pronounce the <em>au-<\/em> as in English &#8220;auto&#8221;, flattening it into a single vowel. In Italian, <em>a<\/em> and <em>l<\/em> stay separate: <em>AHL<\/em>, not <em>AWL<\/em>. And they swallow the final <em>i<\/em>, turning a three-syllable word into a two-syllable one. Practice with <em>la libert\u00e0 alTRUi<\/em>, <em>i diritti alTRUi<\/em>, <em>la roba alTRUi<\/em>, keeping the <em>u<\/em> long and the final <em>i<\/em> audible.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-task-altrui-2\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n\n<p>\ud83c\udfaf <strong>Mini-task:<\/strong> Rewrite each casual sentence in formal register using <em>altrui<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Margherita non vuole interferire nelle storie degli altri.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Tommaso legge le mail degli altri, \u00e8 insopportabile.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>I filosofi stoici dicevano di non preoccuparsi delle opinioni degli altri.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>L&#8217;avvocato sostiene che il suo cliente non ha preso i beni di altre persone.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Caterina rispetta sempre la libert\u00e0 delle altre persone.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n<details><summary><strong>\ud83d\udc49 Show answers<\/strong><\/summary>\n<p>1. <em>Margherita non vuole interferire nelle vicende altrui.<\/em><br>\n2. <em>Tommaso legge la corrispondenza altrui, \u00e8 insopportabile.<\/em><br>\n3. <em>I filosofi stoici dicevano di non preoccuparsi delle opinioni altrui.<\/em><br>\n4. <em>L&#8217;avvocato sostiene che il suo cliente non si \u00e8 impossessato di beni altrui.<\/em><br>\n5. <em>Caterina rispetta sempre la libert\u00e0 altrui.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>All five raise the register by one notch without changing the meaning.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-cheat-59853 gb-headline-text\" id=\"cheat-sheet\">Italian altrui at a glance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<table>\n<thead><tr><th>Question<\/th><th>Answer<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr><td>What does it mean?<\/td><td>other people&#8217;s, someone else&#8217;s, of others<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Does it change?<\/td><td>No. Invariable.<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Where in the sentence?<\/td><td>Usually after the noun: <em>la roba altrui<\/em><\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Casual equivalent?<\/td><td><em>degli altri<\/em> \/ <em>di qualcun altro<\/em><\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Pronominal form?<\/td><td><em>l&#8217;altrui<\/em>, very literary<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Register?<\/td><td>Formal, written, legal, philosophical<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Pronunciation?<\/td><td>al-TRU-i, stress on second syllable, three beats<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Common idioms?<\/td><td><em>vivere alle spalle altrui<\/em>, <em>farsi i fatti altrui<\/em><\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-dialogue-59853 gb-headline-text\" id=\"dialogue\">Dialogue at a law office in Catania<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Federica is a lawyer in Catania. Her client Niccol\u00f2 has come in to discuss an unfair competition case. Notice how naturally <strong>italian altrui<\/strong> appears in her speech: this is its natural habitat. Niccol\u00f2 is not a lawyer, so he keeps asking what the word means.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-dlg-altrui\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83e\uddb0 <strong>Federica:<\/strong> <em>Quindi, secondo l&#8217;accusa, la sua azienda si sarebbe appropriata di informazioni altrui.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffd\u200d\ud83e\uddb1 <strong>Niccol\u00f2:<\/strong> <em>Scusi, \u00abinformazioni altrui\u00bb significa di un&#8217;altra azienda?<\/em><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83e\uddb0 <strong>Federica:<\/strong> <em>Esatto. Nel diritto \u00abaltrui\u00bb vuol dire \u00abdi un altro soggetto\u00bb, persona o azienda che sia.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffd\u200d\ud83e\uddb1 <strong>Niccol\u00f2:<\/strong> <em>E perch\u00e9 non dite semplicemente \u00abdegli altri\u00bb?<\/em><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83e\uddb0 <strong>Federica:<\/strong> <em>Perch\u00e9 \u00abaltrui\u00bb \u00e8 pi\u00f9 preciso e pi\u00f9 breve. Nei testi giuridici la precisione vale tutto.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffd\u200d\ud83e\uddb1 <strong>Niccol\u00f2:<\/strong> <em>Capisco. Quindi anche \u00abbeni altrui\u00bb \u00e8 la stessa cosa.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83e\uddb0 <strong>Federica:<\/strong> <em>S\u00ec. E \u00abla violazione della propriet\u00e0 altrui\u00bb \u00e8 il reato che le contestano.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffd\u200d\ud83e\uddb1 <strong>Niccol\u00f2:<\/strong> <em>Va bene. Per\u00f2 fuori dallo studio non lo user\u00f2 mai, suona troppo da avvocato.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83e\uddb0 <strong>Federica:<\/strong> <em>Saggia decisione. In famiglia dica pure \u00abla roba degli altri\u00bb.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Three things to notice. Federica uses <em>altrui<\/em> three times, always in legal formulas (<em>informazioni altrui<\/em>, <em>beni altrui<\/em>, <em>propriet\u00e0 altrui<\/em>). Niccol\u00f2 asks for translation because the word lives outside his everyday vocabulary. Federica herself recommends <em>degli altri<\/em> for family conversation. That gap between legal Italian and kitchen Italian is the whole lesson of this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-faq-59853 gb-headline-text\" id=\"faq\">FAQ on italian altrui<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Six honest questions B2 learners ask when they first meet <strong>italian altrui<\/strong>. Short answers, no detours.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-altrui-1\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">What does italian altrui mean?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>It means &#8216;other people&#8217;s&#8217;, &#8216;of others&#8217;, &#8216;someone else&#8217;s&#8217;. It is a possessive adjective that replaces the longer phrase &#8216;degli altri&#8217; or &#8216;di qualcun altro&#8217;.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-altrui-2\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Does altrui change for gender or number?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>No. Altrui is invariable. The same form works for masculine, feminine, singular and plural: la casa altrui, le case altrui, il libro altrui, i libri altrui.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-altrui-3\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Where does altrui go in the sentence?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Default position is after the noun: la roba altrui, le opinioni altrui. The pre-noun position (l&#8217;altrui opinione) exists but is more literary and less common.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-altrui-4\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Can I use altrui when speaking Italian?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>You can, but it will sound formal or bookish to native ears. In casual speech Italians prefer degli altri or di qualcun altro. Keep altrui for written and formal contexts.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-altrui-5\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">What is the difference between altrui and degli altri?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>They mean the same thing. Altrui belongs to formal, written, legal, philosophical Italian. Degli altri belongs to everyday spoken Italian. Pick the one that matches your register.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-altrui-6\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">What does l&#8217;altrui mean as a noun?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>L&#8217;altrui is the pronominal form meaning &#8216;what belongs to others&#8217;. It is highly literary and rare in modern conversation, found mostly in old prose, philosophy, and the commandment &#8216;non desiderare l&#8217;altrui&#8217;.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-related-59853 gb-headline-text\" id=\"related\">Related guides<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If <strong>italian altrui<\/strong> caught your interest, three neighbouring guides round out the picture. Start with <a href=\"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/italian-possession-di\/\">Italian possession with di<\/a> for the everyday way to say &#8220;Marco&#8217;s car&#8221; without an apostrophe: it is the baseline construction that <em>altrui<\/em> sits above on the register ladder. Then read <a href=\"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/italian-inalienable-possession\/\">why Italians don&#8217;t say &#8220;my&#8221; with body parts<\/a>, where the language drops possessives entirely in favour of indirect object pronouns: same instinct as <em>altrui<\/em>, which prefers concision over agreement. Finally, see <a href=\"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/italian-hanging-theme-tema-sospeso\/\">the Italian hanging theme<\/a>, a C1 structure that lives in the same literary register as pre-nominal <strong>italian altrui<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the dictionary angle, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.treccani.it\/vocabolario\/altrui\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Treccani entry on altrui<\/a> is the most reliable single reference, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.treccani.it\/enciclopedia\/aggettivi-possessivi_(La-grammatica-italiana)\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Treccani page on possessive adjectives<\/a> gives the wider picture. Both are written for native speakers but a B2 reader can follow them comfortably.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Walk past a Catania apartment building and you might see a small sign by the entrance: rispetta il riposo altrui. Open an Italian newspaper and you find a headline about l&#8217;appropriazione di idee altrui. Read Manzoni and the word floats up again and again, in moments when characters worry about other people&#8217;s property, other people&#8217;s &#8230; <a title=\"Italian Altrui: How to Say &#8220;Someone Else&#8217;s&#8221; in One Elegant Word (B2)\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/italian-altrui-meaning\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Italian Altrui: How to Say &#8220;Someone Else&#8217;s&#8221; in One Elegant Word (B2)\">Read more \u226b<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10020,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1866,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-b2","category-lingua","no-featured-image-padding","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10020"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59853"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59866,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59853\/revisions\/59866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}