magari

Magari is wonderfully slippery. On its own, as an exclamation, it means if only! — a sigh of longing for something you'd love but doubt will happen.

Drop it into a sentence and it softens to maybe or perhaps: "Magari ci vediamo domani" — maybe we'll see each other tomorrow.

The trick is the tone. Said wistfully, it's a dream. Said lightly, it's a possibility. Italians let context do the work.