The Italian word altrove (al-troh-vai) translates to “elsewhere” in English. It is a compound of altro, meaning “other” or “another,” and ove, an archaic form of dove, meaning “where.” Thus, altrove literally means “another where” or “somewhere else.”
Altrove is commonly used to indicate a different place or location. It can be used in various contexts, from everyday conversation to literature, to express the concept of being in or moving to a place that is not the current one. For example, let’s say you and your wife are looking for the car keys and you see her searching the kitchen drawer you already checked: that’s when you say, Lì ho già guardato, meglio cercare altrove! (“I’ve already checked there, better look somewhere else!”).
In everyday conversations, you can say, Non sono qui, sono altrove (“I’m not here, I’m elsewhere”), while in a book you may find something like: Il protagonista desiderava fuggire dalla sua vita monotona e cercare avventure altrove (“The protagonist wished to escape his monotonous life and seek adventures elsewhere”).
The use of ove in the word is particularly interesting as it reflects the historical linguistic evolution in Italian. Ove was once commonly used in place of dove to indicate “where,” but it has since fallen out of everyday use, remaining in the language primarily through words like altrove.
Altrove is a term rich in history and meaning, that you can use in all contexts in Italian: it’s easy to remember and a touch poetic, just what you’d expect from an Italian word!
Vado sempre in Francia in vacanza, quest’anno vorrei andare altrove
I always go to France on holiday, but this year I’d like to go somewhere else
Pensi che il denaro ti darà tutto, ma la felicità vera sta altrove
You believe that money will give you everything, but real happiness is somewhere else
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