{"id":70033,"date":"2018-10-31T20:38:46","date_gmt":"2018-11-01T00:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/italian-question-words\/"},"modified":"2025-02-04T01:33:03","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T06:33:03","slug":"italian-question-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/italian\/italian-question-words\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Italian Question Words [with Examples and Audio]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Question words are a key piece of figuring out any language. After all, how\u00a0can you communicate effectively<\/a>\u00a0if you can never ask anything?<\/p>\n

Italian question words (also known as “Italian interrogatives”) are\u00a0pretty similar to English: Who, what, when, where, why, how, which<\/em> and how much\/many<\/em>. Discover\u00a0everything you need to know about the eight main question words in Italian and how to use them to get all your questions answered.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Italian Question Words<\/h2>\n

Here are the eight main Italian question words that you should know:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Italian<\/th>English<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Chi? <\/a>\n <\/td>Who?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Perch\u00e9? <\/a>\n <\/td>Why?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dove? <\/a>\n <\/td>Where?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Come? <\/a>\n <\/td>How?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Che? <\/a>\n <\/td>What?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Quando? <\/a>\n <\/td>When?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Quale? <\/a>\n <\/td>Which?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Quanto? <\/a>\n <\/td>How many?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

In the sections below, I’ll explain how to use each of these words and share some examples so you can see them in context.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chi?<\/em> \u2014 Who?<\/h3>\n

Chi<\/em> functions as a standard question word. For “whose,” you use the phrase di chi.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Let’ see some examples of both:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Italian<\/th>English<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Chi<\/strong> \u00e8 Lei? <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Who are you?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Chi<\/strong>\u00a0\u00e8 quella persona? <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Who is that person?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Di chi<\/strong>\u00a0\u00e8 quello? <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Whose is that?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

With a slight change to che<\/em>, <\/em>it can also be used as a relative pronoun<\/a><\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Lui\u00a0\u00e8 la persona che<\/strong> legge. <\/em>(He’s that person who\/that reads.)<\/p>\n

Che<\/em> is a homophone that has a few other meanings, which we’ll get to later on.<\/p>\n

Perch\u00e9? <\/em>\u2014 Why?<\/h3>\n

The word\u00a0perch\u00e9\u00a0<\/em>is a little tricky because it’s actually a homophone. It commonly means “why,” but it can also mean “because.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

This might get a little confusing in sentences, so be sure to take note of the context <\/strong>to deduce which version is being used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Italian<\/th>English<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Perch\u00e9<\/strong>\u00a0sei qui? <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Why are you here?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Perch\u00e9<\/strong> solo? <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Why is he\/she alone?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sono felice perch\u00e9<\/strong> \u00e8 luglio. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>I'm happy because it's July.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Dove? <\/em>\u2014 Where?<\/h3>\n

Dove<\/em> will stand alone except when used before a verb that begins with an “e,” in which case you simply follow this formula:\u00a0dove + \u00e8 = dov’\u00e8.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Let’s see both forms in some example questions:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Italian<\/th>English<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Da dove<\/strong> vieni? <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Where are you from? [Literally: From where do you come?]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dove<\/strong> sono loro? <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Where are they?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dov'\u00e8<\/strong> il treno? <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Where is the train?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Come? <\/em>\u2014 How?<\/h3>\n

You might be familiar with this word from the well-known Italian greeting Come stai?<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(How are you?). If you’re asking how something is,\u00a0<\/em>be sure to write it as com’\u00e8,\u00a0<\/em>as with\u00a0dov’\u00e8.<\/em><\/p>\n

Come<\/em> can also be used to mean “as with” or “like.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Take a look at how these different uses work in practice:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Italian<\/th>English<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Com'\u00e8<\/strong> il tempo? <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>How's the weather?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Come<\/strong> lo sa? <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>How does he know?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00c8 rosso come<\/strong> una mela. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>It's red like an apple.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00c8 intelligente come<\/strong> sua madre. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>She's smart like her mother.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Che?\/Cosa? <\/em>\u2014 What?<\/h3>\n

You might remember from earlier that che<\/em> can be used to mean “who” as a relative pronoun. In the context of a question, however, it means “what.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can also tack on the word cosa<\/em> to indicate a single question all on its own:\u00a0Che cosa?<\/strong> <\/em>(What?)<\/p>\n

Remember that cosa<\/em> as a noun means “thing” or “it,” such as in the sentence “Non mi piace questa cosa”<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>(“I don’t like this thing”).<\/p>\n

While che<\/em>\u00a0and cosa<\/em>\u00a0can both mean “what” individually and together,<\/strong> the context in which they’re used can vary. Certain parts of Italy may opt to use che,<\/em>\u00a0while others tend to prefer cosa.<\/em> It all depends on where you are and the regional dialect<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The end of\u00a0cosa\u00a0<\/em>can also change to\u00a0cos’\u00e8\u00a0<\/em>when that form of “is” comes after.<\/p>\n

Let’s take a look at a few of the many ways to say “what”:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Italian<\/th>English<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Cosa <\/strong>vuoi?<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>What do you want?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Che cosa<\/strong> fai oggi?<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>What are you doing today?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cos'\u00e8<\/strong> quello?<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>What is that?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Quando? <\/em>\u2014 When?<\/h3>\n

For use as a relative pronoun,\u00a0quando\u00a0<\/em>is pretty simple and tends to not change.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Check out these examples:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Italian<\/th>English<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Quando<\/strong> andiamo? <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>When are we going?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Quando<\/strong>\u00a0sta visitando? <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>When is she visiting?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Andiamo quando<\/strong> il tempo\u00a0\u00e8 bello. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>We go when the weather is good.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Quale? <\/em>\u2014 Which?<\/h3>\n

Note that both “which”\u00a0<\/em>and “who”\u00a0<\/em>as relative pronouns change into\u00a0che<\/em> in Italian.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This means that “The one which is blue” becomes “La cosa che<\/strong>\u00a0\u00e8 blu,”<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>just like it would be if the English sentence had used “who” or “that” instead of “which.”<\/p>\n

Like question words such as\u00a0come<\/em> and\u00a0dove,<\/em>\u00a0quale\u00a0<\/em>becomes\u00a0qual \u00e8\u00a0<\/em>when used with the\u00a0verb\u00a0\u00e8.\u00a0<\/em>It’s incorrect to use an apostrophe between the two words<\/strong> so although it’s often done, don’t make it your habit!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Italian<\/th>English<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Quale<\/strong> vuoi? <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Which one do you want?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Qual\u00a0\u00e8<\/strong> la sua casa? <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Which is her house?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Quale<\/strong> libro leggi tu? <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Which book are you reading?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Quanto? <\/em>\u2014 How many?<\/h3>\n

This one may look a lot like quando,<\/em> and they may be pronounced similarly,\u00a0<\/em>but these two words have very different meanings. Be sure to listen closely and take note of that one-letter difference!<\/p>\n

Because\u00a0quanto<\/em> can be used to refer to multiple things, make sure to change the ending<\/a> to reflect the number<\/a> and gender <\/a>of the subject.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For example, “How many apples?” becomes “Quante mele?”<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>while “How many dogs?” becomes “Quanti cani?” <\/em><\/p>\n

Note that this rule does not<\/em> apply to the phrase “Quanto costa?”<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>as\u00a0quanto<\/em> becomes an adverb when placed next to a verb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Italian<\/th>English<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Quanti<\/strong> anni hai? <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>How old are you? [Literally: how many years do you have?]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Quanto<\/strong> costa? <\/a>\n (How much does it cost?)<\/em><\/td>How much does it cost?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Quante<\/strong> persone ci sono? <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>How many people are there?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

 <\/p>\n

With some review and practice, you’ll be asking questions in Italian like a pro in no time at all!<\/p>\n

To see these question words used in the context of authentic Italian media<\/strong>, you can check out a language learning program like FluentU<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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