Italian Phrase
Così c'è tempo per le scartoffie.
Meaning
The sentence means ‘So there’s time for the paperwork.’ It signals that, after a previous activity, there is still enough time left to handle the required documents.
When to use
Use this phrase in informal work or office settings when you want to point out that you still have a window of time to complete paperwork, often after a meeting, a call, or a task that finished earlier than expected.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Cosìc'ètempoperlescartoffie
Così (adverb)
Used to mean 'so', 'thus', or 'in this way', often linking cause and effect.
c'è (ci è)
Contraction of 'ci è', meaning 'there is/there are' for singular nouns.
tempo (noun)
Means 'time' and can refer to available time or a period.
per (preposition)
Introduces purpose or destination: 'for', 'to'.
le (definite article)
Plural feminine article, matching the noun 'scartoffie'.
scartoffie (noun, informal)
Colloquial term for paperwork, documents, or bureaucratic forms; always used in the plural.
🗨In Conversation
Abbiamo finito la riunione prima del previsto, così c'è tempo per le scartoffie.
We finished the meeting earlier than expected, so there's time for the paperwork.
Perfetto, allora possiamo sistemare i documenti adesso.
Great, then we can sort the documents right now.
✕Common Mistakes
Così c'è tempo per le scartoffia.
‘Scartoffia’ does not exist; the word is always plural ‘scartoffie’.
Quindi c'è tempo per le scartoffie.
Using ‘così’ when you mean ‘quindi’ can sound odd in very formal contexts; prefer ‘quindi’ in written business Italian.
Così c'è tempo per scartoffie.
Dropping the article ‘le’ makes the phrase ungrammatical because ‘scartoffie’ is a countable noun.
↔Alternatives
Allora c'è tempo per le pratiche.
Then there's time for the procedures.
Quindi abbiamo tempo per la burocrazia.
So we have time for the bureaucracy.
Perciò possiamo occuparci delle scartoffie.
Therefore we can take care of the paperwork.
Cultural Tip
‘Scartoffie’ is a colloquial, slightly humorous word for paperwork. It’s perfectly fine among colleagues, but avoid it in formal emails or official documents where you’d use ‘documenti’, ‘pratiche’ or ‘burocrazia’. Also, Italians often use ‘così’ to link cause and effect in spoken language, making the sentence sound natural and conversational.