scambiare

to exchange; to mistake for

verb skahm-BYAH-reh Less Common

Origin: From 'scambio' (exchange), from a Germanic root.

Usage Note

Scambiare means both 'to exchange' (scambiare regali = to exchange gifts, scambiare opinioni = to exchange views) and 'to mistake one thing for another' (ho scambiato Marco per suo fratello = I mistook Marco for his brother). The second usage always takes the structure scambiare A per B. It takes avere in compound tenses.

Examples

"Abbiamo scambiato i numeri di telefono."

Natural Translation

We exchanged phone numbers.

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