Asking Questions in Italian: Chi, Che, Dove, Quando, Come, Perché
The Italian question words, how to turn a statement into a yes/no question, and the everyday questions to use with new people.
Questions are easy to form in Italian: often you just change your intonation. The question words are worth learning as a set.
Question words
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| chi | who |
| che, che cosa, cosa | what |
| dove | where |
| quando | when |
| come | how |
| perché | why (and because) |
| quanto / quanta / quanti / quante | how much, how many |
| quale / quali | which |
Quanto agrees with the noun: quanto tempo?, quanta acqua?, quanti anni?, quante persone?
Yes/no questions
You don't need to change the word order. Raise your voice at the end:
- Parli italiano. — You speak Italian.
- Parli italiano? — Do you speak Italian?
- Hai fame? — Are you hungry?
You can also add vero? or no? at the end: È bello, vero?
Everyday questions
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Come ti chiami? | What's your name? |
| Di dove sei? | Where are you from? |
| Dove abiti? | Where do you live? |
| Quanti anni hai? | How old are you? |
| Che cosa fai? | What are you doing? |
| Che lavoro fai? | What's your job? |
| Quanto costa? | How much does it cost? |
| Che ore sono? | What time is it? |
| Dov'è il bagno? | Where's the bathroom? |
| Come si dice ... in italiano? | How do you say ... in Italian? |
Perché
Perché means both "why" and "because":
- Perché sei triste? — Why are you sad?
- Sono triste perché piove. — I'm sad because it's raining.
Quale
Quale is used with nouns and before è without an apostrophe:
- Quale libro preferisci? — Which book do you prefer?
- Qual è il tuo numero? — What's your number?
Useful polite forms
- Scusi, mi può aiutare? — Excuse me, can you help me?
- Può ripetere, per favore? — Can you repeat, please?
- Parla più lentamente, per favore. — Speak more slowly, please.
Tips
- Learn question words as a set.
- Practise the everyday questions.
- Use the dictionary for related phrases.
English Italian Dictionary
Offline English–Italian dictionary with noun gender and accents handled properly
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