l'ho incontrato mentre entravo nel negozio

1. cong

1) (temporale) while, as

2) (avversativo) whereas, while

2. sm

while

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mentre cong.

1 (temporale) while, whilst; (quando) as, when: è accaduto mentre eravamo in vacanza, it happened while (o whilst) we were on holiday; mentre stavano giocando, cominciò a piovere, while they were playing, it began to rain; lo incontrai mentre uscivo dal portone, I met him as I was going through the front door; lo videro mentre parcheggiava l'auto, they saw him while he was parking the car; mentre parlava gli tremava la voce, his voice trembled as he spoke; lavora sempre a maglia mentre guarda la televisione, she always knits while watching TV; mentre era povero, nessuno si curava di lui, when he was poor, nobody took care of him

2 (avversativo) whereas, while, whilst: a lui piace viaggiare, mentre io amo la vita sedentaria, he likes travelling whereas I like staying where I am; continua a lavorare, mentre dovrebbe stare a riposo, he's still working, whereas he ought to retire; il contenuto del tema è buono, mentre la forma lascia a desiderare, the content of the essay is good, while (o whilst) the form could be better

3 (finché) while, as long as: fallo mentre sei in tempo, do it while you're still in time; mentre era lui a capo del partito, non ci furono dissidi interni, while (o as long as) he was party leader, there was no in-fighting

◆ s.m.: in quel mentre, (in quel momento) at that moment, (nel frattempo) meanwhile (o in the meantime o meantime) // nel mentre che, (fam.) while.

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1. cong

1) (temporale) while, as

2) (avversativo) whereas, while

2. sm

* * *

1) (nel tempo in cui) while, as

2) (invece) while, whereas

3) (finché) while

4) in quel mentre at that very moment, just then

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mentre

/'mentre/

congiunzione

 1 (nel tempo in cui) while, as; è arrivato proprio mentre stavo andando via he arrived just as I was leaving; puoi passare a prendere il latte mentre torni a casa? could you pick up some milk on the way home?

 2 (invece) while, whereas; a lei piacciono i cani mentre io preferisco i gatti she likes dogs whereas I prefer cats

 3 (finché) while; mentre è ancora giorno while it's still light; mentre sei lì chiudi la porta close the door while you're at it

 4 in quel mentre at that very moment, just then.