Su Pallosu, la spiaggia dei gatti in Sardegna

“Circa” vs “verso”

“Su questa spiaggia vivono circa 60 gatti”
(On this beach live about 60 cats)

“Circa” and “verso” have a common meaning (= approximately), but they’re used in different contexts.

1. CIRCA: it can be used to indicate any QUANTITY: people, objects, hours ecc.

• Sono CIRCA le 12 (It’s AROUND 12 o’clock)
• Ci sono CIRCA 40 studenti (There are ABOUT 40 students)

2. VERSO: it is used to talk about an approximate TIME (with any verb except “essere”):

• Ti chiamo VERSO le 8 di sera (I’ll call you AROUND 8 p.m.)

Note: If the verb that precedes the time is ESSERE, then you must use “circa“:

• Erano CIRCA le 8 quando ha chiamato (It was ABOUT 8 when he called)
• BUT: Ha chiamato VERSO le 8 (He called AROUND 8 o’clock)

3. CIRCA can also mean “A PROPOSITO DI” (= about/ as regards):

• Per maggiori dettagli CIRCA i costi di spedizione, cliccare qui (For further details CONCERNING shipping costs, click here)

4. VERSO can be also used to indicate a DIRECTION:

• Vado VERSO la scuola (I’m going TOWARDS the school)