Shopping online

The twentieth entry is convenire, and every English word that looks like it points the wrong way. On this page the verb is impersonal and it is about money: conviene aspettare i saldi means it is worth waiting for the sales, and non mi conviene says the sums do not work out for me. Nothing in it is about calling a meeting, so « to convene » is no help whatever, and nothing in it is about what is proper either. The adjective is where the trap closes. Conveniente means cheap, good value, worth the outlay: un albergo conveniente is one that costs little, and il prezzo più conveniente is the lowest on the screen. « Convenient » in English means handy, well placed, easy to fit in, so a shop advertising prezzi convenienti is saying nothing at all about its opening hours. The noun follows the adjective rather than the English one: la convenienza is the advantage in a bargain, not somebody’s comfort. And when handiness really is meant, Italian reaches for a different word altogether, comodo.