verb

bastare

enough · be enough · have

Essere sufficiente o adeguato a soddisfare un bisogno o una necessità.

Meaning (in English)

Bastare means “to be enough / to suffice”. It expresses that something is sufficient in quantity, quality, or intensity, or that something is all that is needed.

Common translations:

to be enough
to suffice
to be sufficient
sometimes: to do / to be enough to achieve something (“this will do”)

Examples of use (for sense clarity):

Basta così. = “That’s enough (like this).”
Mi bastano dieci euro. = “Ten euros are enough for me.”
Non basta dire ‘scusa’. = “It’s not enough to say ‘sorry’.”

Parts / structure

bast- = the verb root
-are = typical infinitive ending for first-conjugation Italian verbs

Related forms you often see:

basta = “it’s enough / stop”
bastare a + infinitive = “to be enough to (do something)”
Basta studiare un po’. = “It’s enough to study a bit.”

Italian synonyms (similar meaning)

Depending on context:

essere sufficiente
essere abbastanza
suffire (more formal/less common)
fare al caso (di qualcuno) (fits someone’s needs; “is just right”)
andare bene (colloquial: “to be fine / to do”)

Italian antonyms (opposites)

non bastare (the direct opposite: “not to be enough”)
essere insufficiente
mancare (to be lacking / missing)
servire di più (to need more)

Notes on multiple meanings

The core meaning is consistent (“to suffice”), but it appears in two frequent patterns:

Quantity/need: Mi basta… (“…is enough for me”)
Requirement/condition: Basta + infinitive / Basta che… (“It’s enough to… / It’s enough that…”)