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francamente

frankly

adverb frahn-kah-MEN-teh Rare
Communication Expressions

Also means

honestly

Usage Note

Francamente is a sentence adverb used to signal blunt honesty — francamente, non lo so ('frankly, I don't know'). It can open a sentence as a discourse marker (much like English 'honestly' or 'to be frank') or modify a verb directly (ha risposto francamente — 'he answered frankly'). It is widely used in both formal and informal registers. Note that francamente comes from franco ('frank, direct'), not from francese ('French').

Examples

"Francamente, non capisco la sua decisione."

Natural Translation

Frankly, I don't understand his decision.

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