“Where” is a really important word to know in Italian.
You need it for all kinds of things, like asking directions, getting recommendations (like which bar does the best Spritz😉) and making small talk.
You’ll find out the very important difference between dove and dov’è . You’ll also get some common, ready-to-use phrases for your next trip to Italy.
How Do You Say “Where” in Italian?
To say “where” in Italian, you almost always say:
| Dove | DOH-veh |
You can use it to ask practical things, like where things are located, or for making small talk.
For example:
Dove andiamo a cena? -Where shall we go for dinner?
Dove vivi? -Where do you live?
Dove ti piace andare in vacanza? -Where do you like going on vacation?
Dove is a really useful question word. If you want more question words like dove, you can see our blogpost on common Italian question words .
Dove andiamo a mangiare? Io voto per il pesce! - Where should we go to eat? I vote fish!
What Does Dov’è Mean in Italian?
Dov’è is a really important phrase in Italian because it’s used all the time.
It’s formed of the word dove (“where”) and è (“is). They get squished together, a bit like how in English we can say “where’s”.
You can see there’s a little line (or accent) above the letter e in dov’è . This means that it’s the most important part of the word and we have to emphasise it with our voice.
So it’s:
| Dov’è | Doh-VEH |
Here’s how you might use it:
Dov’è il bagno?* -Where’s the bathroom?
Dov’è l’ascensore? -Where’s the elevator?
*You can see how important dove is, especially when things start getting, well, a bit desperate! If you also want to understand the reply when you ask dov’è il bagno? , you can read it on our post on how to ask to use the bathroom in Italian .
Where in Italian: Useful Phrases Using Dove
Now that you know how to use dove and dove + è (dov’è ), here are some useful phrases you can take with you on your next trip to Italy.
You can use them to chat with Italians to find out more about them, or to save yourself from tricky situations, like getting lost.
| Dov’è la stazione? | Where’s the station? | Doh-VEH lah stah-tsyoh-NEH? |
| Dov’è la fermata della metro? | Where’s the subway station? | Doh-VEH lah fehr-MAH-tah DEL-lah MEH-troh? |
| Dov'è l'entrata? | Where’s the entrance? | Doh-VEH len-TRAH-tah? |
| Dov'è l'uscita? | Where’s the exit? | Doh-VEH loo-SHEE-tah? |
| Dov'è la biglietteria? | Where’s the ticket office? | Doh-VEH lah beel-lyeh-teh-REE-ah? |
| Dov’è la cassa? | Where’s the cash register? | Doh-VEH lah kahs-sah? |
| Dov’è il binario 5? | Where’s platform 5? | Doh-VEH eel bee-nah-ry-oh cheen-kweh? |
| Dov’è il supermercato più vicino? | Where’s the nearest supermarket? | Doh-VEH eel soo-per-mer-KAH-toh pyOO vee-CHEE-noh? |
| Dov’è una buona pizzeria? | Where’s a good pizzeria? | Doh-VEH oo-nah bwah-nah pee-tseh-ree-ah? |
| Di dove sei? | Where are you from? | Dee DOH-veh SEH-ee? |
| Dove vuoi andare? | Where do you want to go? | DOH-veh VWOH-ee an-DAH-reh? |
| Dove devo pagare? | Where do I have to pay? | DOH-veh DEH-voh pah-GAH-reh? |
| Dove posso comprare i biglietti? | Where can I buy the tickets? | DOH-veh POS-soh kom-PRAH-reh ee bee-LYET-tee? |
| Dove posso prendere un taxi? | Where can I take a taxi? | DOH-veh POS-soh PREHN-deh-reh oon TAK-see? |
| Dove inizia la fila? | Where does the line start? | DOH-veh ee-nee-tsee-ah lah fee-lah? |
Where in Italian: You’d Be Lost (Literally) Without It: Review
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Dove is the Italian word for “where”. It’s a really useful question word to help you get around Italy and connect with Italians.
For example:
Dove andiamo a cena? -Where shall we go for dinner?
Dove vivi? -Where do you live?
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Dov’è means “where’s” in Italian. It’s formed by putting together dove (“where”) and è (“is”) squished together.
For example:
Dov’è il bagno? -Where’s the bathroom?
Dov’è l’ascensore? -Where’s the elevator?
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to “Learn Italian with Joy of Languages”.
In today’s episode, we’re looking at the Italian word for “where”. It’s so common, you might have come across it before already.
M: But it’s a word that lots of learners don’t realise they’re not saying correctly, so you’ll also find out how to say it the right way.
K: And you’ll get some handy phrases using “where” in Italian that will really help you when you’re in Italy.
Before we get started, can we ask you a quick favore? If you’re listening to this on your podcast app, could you click the subscribe or follow button? This way you’ll get notified when we release a new episode and you’ll help our podcast grow so we can keep making free lessons like this. Grazie!
M: The Italian word for “where” is:
Dove (x2)
For example, you could say:
Dove andiamo a cena? - Where shall we go for dinner? Literally:
Dove - where
Andiamo - we go
A - to
Cena - dinner
Dove andiamo a cena?
K: Or if you wanted to chat to an Italian and get to know a bit more about them, you could ask:
M: Dove vivi? - Where do you live? Literally:
Dove - where
Vivi - you live
Dove vivi?
M: Or another very useful question would be:
Di dove sei? - Where are you from?
Di - from
Dove - where
Sei - you are
Di dove sei?
The literal translation isn’t the same as English, but this is the most natural way to ask “where are you from” or “where do you come from?”. Italians like to ask you this question as well.
K: And to get the pronunciation right for dove you want to make sure not to say “dove-AY”, but “dov-eh”. A lot of learners add that “AY” sound because English vowels tend to be longer, but in Italian, they’re much shorter. Basically, just make sure dove doesn’t rhyme with say or hay .
M: Dove (x2)
M: We mentioned at the start of the episode that when you want to say “where is” in Italian, we have to say it differently to how you might expect.
The word for “where is” in Italian is: dov’è (x2)
K: Dov’è is the word dove (Italian for “where”) and è (Italian for “is”) squished together. So instead of saying dove è , you say it together quickly and it’s dov’è. It’s a bit like how in English we can say “where’s” as a quicker way to say “where is”. Dov’è is spelt d-o-v apostrophe -e. The “e” on the end has an accent, that apostrophe looking punctuation mark on top of some Italian letters.
M: Dov’è is really common in Italian. Putting the words “where” and “is” together makes it smoother and easier to say.
K: Let’s look at some useful phrases with dov’è that you can take with you on your next trip to Italy.
M: You might say:
Dov’è il bagno ? - Where’s the bathroom?
Dov’è - Where’s
Il - the
Bagno - bathroom
Dov’è il bagno?
K: You can imagine that this one’s a phrase you might really, REALLY, need to know.
M: And now you know dov’è, you can put other words after, for example
Dov’è la stazione? - Where’s the station?
Dov’è- Where’s
La- The
Stazione- station?
Dov’è la stazione?
K: If you’re not used to them, the words “where” and “where is” might sound quite similar at first in Italian.
M: Dove - where, dov’è - where is
K: But there’s a difference. You’ll start to hear it the more you practice. When you say dov’è, “where is”, there’s a little line above the letter e. This means that it’s the most important part of the word and we have to emphasise it with our voice.
M: See if you can hear the difference in a sentence:
Dove vivi - where do you live?
Dov’è il bagno? - where’s the bathroom?
Dove vivi? Dov’è il bagno? (repeated)
K: Let’s see if you can remember some of the common phrases with “where” in Italian.
First, what’s the word for “where” in Italian?
[...]
M: Dove (x2)
K: Putting that in a sentence, how could you say “where do you live?”
M: Dove vivi? (x2)
K: And, “where are you from”? Lit. from where you are?
M: Di dove sei? (x2)
K: What about if you wanted to say “where is”?
[...]
M: Dov’è . Remember, we emphasise the second part of the word. Dov’è.
K: And how would we say “where is the bathroom?”
M: Dov’è il bagno (x2)
K: There are loads more useful phrases that you’ll want to use in Italy that we haven’t spoken about.
M: On our blog, you’ll find a list of phrases you’ll actually use in Italy, like how to ask locals for a great pizzeria or where to buy train tickets.
K: To see the full list head over to our website by clicking on the link in the description. Or you can go to italian.joyoflanguages.com/podcast and search for episode 185.
M: See you next time.
K: Or as we say in Italian.
Alla prossima!
Time to check your understanding and remember everything you just learned! Below you’ll find a mini-quiz and some vocabulary cards to help it all go in.
Quiz: Where in Italian
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: Where in Italian
Vocabulary
Dov’è il bagno? = Where’s the bathroom?
Dov’è l’ascensore? = Where’s the elevator?
Dove andiamo a cena? = Where shall we go for dinner?
Dove vivi? = Where do you live?
Dove ti piace andare in vacanza? = Where do you like going on vacation?
Dov’è una buona pizzeria? = Where’s a good pizzeria?
Dov’è il supermercato più vicino? = Where’s the nearest supermarket?
Dove inizia la fila? = Where does the line start?
Dov’è la stazione? = Where’s the station?
Di dove sei? = Where are you from?
Flashcards: Where in Italian
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
