Italian question words like chi(who), dove (where), and perché (why) are important to know because they are among the most practical parts of Italian grammar. Learn them alongside Italian greetings and some common Italian hand gestures, and you’ll have the three magic tools to kickstart any conversation in Italy.
Nothing makes you feel more lost as a tourist than trying to ask locals who don’t speak English where the train station is, when a shop opens, or how to get to that museum you’ve been dying to see. Luckily, there’s an easy fix. Mastering Italian question words is your first step from tourist to regular.
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What are Italian question words?
Question words are words you use to ask for information. In English, these are “who,” “what/which,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and “how.” Italian has its own set of interrogatives that can be Italian pronouns or Italian adjectives. While many have a direct counterpart in English and are easy to learn, others change depending on gender or number.
The following chart offers a quick overview of question words in Italian.
| Italian Question Words | Pronunciation | English Translation |
| che cosa/che/cosa | keh koh-sah/keh/koh-sah | what |
| chi | kee | who |
| come | KOH-meh | how |
| dove | DOH-veh | where |
| perché | pehr-KEH | why |
| quale/quali | KWAH-leh/KWAH-lee | which |
| quando | KWAHN-doh | when |
| quanto/quanta/quanti/quante | KWAHN-toh/KWAHN-tah/KWAHN-tee/KWAHN-teh | how much/how many |
How to use question words in Italian
Each Italian question word has its own nuances. Use examples, notes on usage in direct and indirect questions, and a few exceptions to help you understand them all.
1. Che/cosa/che cosa? (What?)
“What” is one of those words you’ll use every day, from talking about the weather to asking the time in Italian or the meaning of the word aperitivo. You can do it with three expressions that all mean “what”:
- Che cosa?
- Che?
- Cosa?
These Italian words are basically interchangeable. For example, you can use any of them to ask “What are you watching?” or “What are you looking at?”
- Che cosa guardi?
- Cosa guardi?
- Che guardi?
Stylistically, che? is more casual, so you’ll mostly hear it in spoken Italian, especially in Central Italy. Asking cosa is preferred in Northern Italy, while che cosa is a safe, neutral choice that sounds complete and works in all situations.
Another important feature of che is that, before a noun, it functions as an interrogative adjective, meaning “which” or “what kind of.”
- Che tempo fa? = What is the weather like?
- Che ore sono? = What time is it?
These exact words also appear in indirect questions:
- Non è chiaro che cosa significhi questo segnale. = It is unclear what this sign means.
- Non so che cosa dobbiamo preparare per la festa. = I don’t know what we should make for the party.
2. Chi? (Who?)
With a similar spelling to che, but with a different meaning, chi is the interrogative pronoun you use to ask about people. It means “who” in Italian and, like in English, it stays the same for both the singular and plural.
- Chi sei? = Who are you?
- Chi è il tuo insegnante? = Who is your teacher?
- Chi sono i loro colleghi? = Who are their coworkers?
- Chi chiami? = Who are you calling?
You’ll often hear chi inside indirect questions paired with Italian verbs like sapere (to know), chiedersi (to wonder), or ricordare (to remember).
- Mi chiedo chi sia il suo insegnante. = I wonder who his teacher is.
- Non ricordo chi c’era quella sera. = I don’t remember who was there that evening.
3. Come? (How?)
Come means “how,” and it’s another Italian question word that is easy to learn because it is invariable. You can use it when directly enquiring about a manner or a condition.
- Come vai al lavoro? = How do you get to work?
- Scusi, come arrivo al museo? = Excuse me, how do I get to the museum? (formal)
- Come si dice “wine”? = How do you say “wine”?
It also works in indirect questions:
- Non so proprio come aiutarti. = I don’t know how I can help you.
This little word is especially handy because it is part of many common polite questions in Italian. But be aware: Come? isn’t always the correct translation for the English sentences with “how.”
- Come stai? = How are you?
- Lei come sta? = How are you? (formal you)
- Come ti chiami? = What is your name?
- Lei come si chiama? = What is your name? (formal you)
- Come si chiama questo in italiano? = What is this called in Italian?
4. Dove? (Where?)
Do you want to ask an Italian speaker where the best restaurants in Positano are, or where to stay on the Amalfi coast? The word you are looking for is dove (where). You use it to ask about a location or destination, in other words, when you want to know where something or someone is, was, or will be.
- Dove sono le mie chiavi? = Where are my keys?
- Tu dove abiti? = Where do you live?
- Dove vai? = Where are you going?
- Dove possiamo andare in barca a vela? = Where can we sail?
- Dove pranziamo? = Where should we eat lunch?
When an Italian word ends with a vowel, and the next word starts with the same vowel, the final vowel must be replaced by an apostrophe. This elision also happens with words like cosa (what), dove (where), and come (how) when the verb è (is) from essere (to be) follows them.
- Che cos’è? = What is this?
- Dov’è il bagno? = Where is the restroom?
5. Perché? (Why?)
Perché is the Italian equivalent of “why” and “because,” so you can use the same word whether you are asking a question or explaining.
As one of the Italian question words, perché works very similarly to “why” in English. You can use it alone when asking for a reason that is clear from context, or you can follow it with the thing you are asking about.
- Perché? = Why?
- Perché no? = Why not?
- Perché vai in Italia? = Why are you going to Italy?
- Non è chiaro perché le macchine si siano fermate. = It is unclear why the cars are stopped.
Asking “why” in Italian is also very common as a reply when you don’t understand the reason for the question.
- Cosa hai fatto oggi? = What did you do today?
- Perché me lo chiedi? = Why are you asking me that?
You’ll hear perché in rhetorical questions, too, where the speaker doesn’t really expect an answer.
- È tutto organizzato. Perché dovrei preoccuparmi? = Everything is organized. Why should I worry?
- Non vedo perché dovrei preoccuparmi. = I don’t see why I should worry.
6. Quale/quali? (Which?)
Quale is an Italian question word that changes form between singular and plural. Quale is the singular form, while quali is the plural one, and both mean “which” in English.
These two words can cover two different Italian parts of speech. Sometimes they function as interrogative pronouns.
- Ci sono tante maglie. Quali preferisci? = There are so many sweaters. Which ones do you prefer?
- Mi hai chiesto le chiavi, ma quali sono? = You asked me about the keys, but which ones are they?
When they precede a noun, they are interrogative adjectives.
- Quale parte di questo film preferisci? = What is your favorite part of this movie?
- Quale camicia ti piace di più? = Which shirt do you like more?
- Quali sono i tuoi colori preferiti? = What are your favorite colors?
In indirect questions, they look like.
- Mi chiedo quale sia la soluzione migliore. = I wonder what the best solution is.
- Mi domandò quali fossero le mie intenzioni. = He asked me what my intentions were.
A common mistake is to replace the last -e of quale before the verb è (is), like you do with com’è (how is) or dov’è (where is). In this case, you just remove it, because the word qual actually exists in Italian.
- Qual è la minestra del giorno? = What is the soup of the day?
7. Quando? (When?)
Back to the invariable Italian question words, quando is another essential word to know if you want to ask “when.”
- Quando vi siete sposati? = When were you married?
- Quando andrai in montagna? = When are you going to the mountains?
- Quando hai conosciuto Daniele? = When did you meet Daniel?
- *Quando la finirete di costruire? = When will you finish building it?
*This sentence is a perfect example of how intonation can change the meaning in Italian. If pronounced with the typical rising intonation of questions, it simply asks when the construction work will be complete. However, if said in a flatter tone, it can be a rhetorical question expressing frustration and meaning, “When will you stop overbuilding?”
8. Quanto/quanta/quanti/quante? (How much?/How many?)
Quanto means “How much?” in Italian, but it is a bit more complex than its English counterpart and the other Italian question words because it changes depending on the number (singular or plural) and follows the Italian gender rules to match the noun it refers to.
In singular, you have:
- quanto (masculine) and quanta (feminine)
- Quanto latte vuoi? = How much milk do you want?
- Quanta febbre ha il bambino? = What is the baby’s temperature? (lit. how much fever)
- Mi chiedo quanto possa durare il volo per l’Italia. = I wonder how long the flight to Italy will take.
The plural forms are:
- quanti (masculine) and quante (feminine)
- Quanti anni ha il Suo bambino? = How old is your baby? (formal you)
- Quante bottiglie d’acqua sono rimaste? = How many bottles of water are left?
- Chissà se qualcuno ricorda quanti panini abbiamo comprato. = I wonder if anyone remembers how many sandwiches we bought.
There’s also a special rule to keep in mind: When quanto comes before a verb, you always use the masculine singular.
- Quanto costa l’ingresso al museo? = How much does it cost to get into the museum?
How to use question words with Italian prepositions
Italian question words often come with Italian prepositions to include more details. While English places prepositions at the end of a question, they always come before the question words in Italian.
- A che ora arrivate? = What time are you arriving?
- Tu con chi ceni? = Who are you eating dinner with?
- Di che cosa parla la storia? = What is the story about?
- Per quale azienda lavora? = What company do you work for?
How to form questions in Italian
Building questions in Italian is surprisingly easy! Unlike English, where question structure often changes, Italian keeps things straightforward, and the word order usually stays the same.
- Lei parla italiano? = Does she speak Italian?
- Lei parla italiano. = She speaks Italian.
As you can see, the words are in the same order in Italian for the question and the statement above. In writing, the only thing that shows it’s a question is the punto di domanda (question mark) at the end. And if you’re unsure, remember that Italians themselves often ask for clarification.
- È una domanda? = Is that a question?/Are you asking me?
Tips to make Italian questions sound more natural
Once you know how to use Italian question words, the next step is learning to make your questions sound natural. Besides intonation, here are three tips that can help you sound like a native speaker.
- Drop the subject pronoun. Italians often leave out words like io (I), tu (you), and other pronouns because the verb ending already makes the subject clear.
- Perché
tumi hai chiamato? = Why did you call me?
- Perché
- Move the subject or question word to the end for emphasis. This shift sometimes confuses learners, but Italians do it very often to grab attention.
- Mary è in Italia? → È in Italia Mary? = Is Mary in Italy?
- Come sei arrivato a scuola? → Sei arrivato a scuola, come? = How did you get to school?
- Use question tags like “Right?” for confirmation.
- Vieni alla festa, vero? = You’re coming to the party, right?
- È un po’ tardi, no? = It’s a bit late, isn’t it?
From basic questions to speaking fluently with Rosetta Stone
Asking questions is essential when learning Italian. They’re conversation starters and a powerful way to explore the language and the culture. But don’t just memorize Italian question words in static sentences; while that helps initially, it can limit you later on. Study them in context instead! Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method teaches grammar through real-life situations, helping you to start speaking Italian naturally from day one.
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