Dire is a really useful verb to know in Italian. It’s not only a very common verb, but it also means two things: to say and to tell. So you get two words in one!
But because dire is an irregular verb, it doesn’t follow the normal pattern, so it’s easy to make mistakes. Here, you’ll see how it works in the present, future and past tense so you’ll know how to use it the right way in Italian.
Dire in the present tense
You use the present tense in Italian to describe what’s happening at the moment or what you do regularly. It can also be used to talk about things you’re planning to do soon in the future.
A little reminder: in Italian, we usually leave out pronouns like “I” and “you” because the verb ending already shows who’s speaking.
| Dico | I say ; I tell | DEE-koh |
| Dici | You say ; you tell | DEE-chee |
| Dice | S/he says ; s/he tells You (formal) say ; you (formal) tell | DEE-cheh |
| Diciamo* | We say ; we tell | Dee-CHYAH-moh |
| Dite | You (plural) say ; you (plural) tell | DEE-teh |
| Dicono | They say ; they tell | DEE-koh-noh |
For example:
L’hotel dice che c’è un parcheggio per gli ospiti. -The hotel says that there’s a parking lot for guests.
Dicono che il vino qui è molto buono. -They say that the wine here is very good.
Ti* dico com’è l’hotel quando arrivo. -I’ll tell you what the hotel’s like when I arrive.
*You often use dire with these little words like “you” and “me” to explain who you’re telling something to. If you want to understand more about how this works in Italian, you can read our blogpost on indirect object pronouns .
*Diciamo can also mean “let’s say” in Italian, so it’s really useful for giving your opinion. For example, diciamo che preferisco il vino - let’s say I prefer wine.
Dire in the passato prossimo
The passato prossimo is a past tense in Italian. You use it when you’re talking about what you’ve done recently, or any one-off action in the past.
When you use dire in the passato prossimo, you use the verb avere (“to have”) and then add detto (“said” or “told”).
| Ho detto | I said ; I told | Oh DET-toh |
| Hai detto | You said ; you told | Aye DET-toh |
| Ha detto | S/he said ; s/he told You (formal) said ; you (formal) told | Ah DET-toh |
| Abbiamo detto | We said ; we told | Ahb-BYAH-moh DET-toh |
| Avete detto | You (plural) said ; you (plural) told | Ah-VEH-teh DET-toh |
| Hanno detto | They said ; they told | AHN-no DET-toh |
For example:
Il receptionist mi ha detto che la colazione è inclusa -The receptionist told me that breakfast is included
Ho detto ai miei amici dove andiamo in Italia. -I told my friends where we’re going in Italy.
Hanno detto che il vigneto è lontano -They said that the vineyard is far away
Dire in the imperfect ( imperfetto )
The imperfetto can be tricky because there’s not a direct English equivalent. But it’s used for actions that are repeated in the past. It’s similar to how we say “used to say” or “was saying” in English.
| Dicevo | I was saying ; I was telling | Dee-CHEH-voh |
| Dicevi | You were saying ; you were telling | Dee-CHEH-vee |
| Diceva | S/he was saying ; s/he was tellingYou (formal) were saying ; you (formal) were telling | Dee-CHEH-vah |
| Dicevamo | We were saying ; we were telling | Dee-cheh-VAH-moh |
| Dicevate | You (plural) were saying ; you (plural) were telling | Dee-cheh-VAH-teh |
| Dicevano | They were saying ; they were telling | Dee-CHEH-vah-noh |
For example:
Dicevano che il ristorante è chiuso oggi. -They were saying that the restaurant is closed today.
Scusa, dicevi? -Sorry, you were saying?
Mio nonno diceva che Roma è la città più bella. -My grandfather used to say that Rome is the most beautiful city.
Dire in the future tense
| Dirò | I will say ; I will tell | Dee-ROH |
| Dirai | You will say ; you will tell | Dee-RYE |
| Dirà | S/he will say ; s/he will tellYou (formal) will say ; you (formal) will tell | Dee-RAH |
| Diremo | We will say ; we will tell | Dee-REH-moh |
| Direte | You (plural) will say ; you (plural) will tell | Dee-REH-teh |
| Diranno | They will say ; they will tell | Dee-RAHN-noh |
For example:
Dirò al cameriere che sono vegetariano. -I’ll tell the waiter that I’m vegetarian.
Dirai alla guida che siamo in ritardo? -Will you tell the guide that we’re late?
Mi diranno quando la camera sarà pronta. -They’ll tell me when the room is (lit. will be) ready.
Useful Phrases with Dire
| Dimmi* | Tell me (informal) | DEEM-mee |
| Mi dica | Tell me (formal) | MEE DEE-kah |
| Come si dice…in italiano? | How do you say…in italian? | KOH-meh see DEE-cheh een ee-tah-LYAH-noh? |
| Cosa vuol dire… | What does…mean? (lit. what does it want to say) | KOH-sah vwool DEE-reh |
| Voglio dire | I mean (lit. I want to say) | VOH-lyoh DEE-reh |
| Dici? | Do you think so? (lit. “you say?”) | DEE-chee? |
For example:
Come si dice “beach” in italiano? -How do you say “beach” in Italian?
-Il cibo è più buono in Sicilia -The food is better in Sicily
-Dici? -Do you think so? (lit. you say?)
Dici che il museo non è aperto? -Do you think (lit. you say) that the museum isn’t open?
Cosa vuol dire “biglietteria”? -What does “biglietteria” mean? (lit. what does “ticket office” want to say)
Voglio dire che tre euro sono tanti per un caffè -I mean (lit. I want to say) that three euros is (lit. are) a lot for a coffee
💡Good to know
* Dimmi (“tell me” informal) and mi dica (“tell me” formal) are used a bit differently in Italy. You can use them to invite someone to speak, a bit like saying “go ahead” or “what can I do for you?”. Although “tell me” sounds direct in English, it’s not rude to use it in this way in Italian.
For example:
-Ho una domanda. -I have a question.
-Dimmi. -Go ahead (lit. tell me)
-Buongiorno signora, mi dica. -Good morning ma’am, what can I do for you? (lit. tell me)
A common mistake with dire
In Italian, we always say or tell something TO someone. Sometimes learners forget this because we don’t always have the “to” in English.
For example:
❌ Dico il cameriere che sono vegetariano - I tell the waiter that I’m vegetarian
But instead:
✅ Dico al cameriere che sono vegetariano - I tell the waiter (lit. to the waiter) that I’m vegetarian.
Italian Conjugation of Dire (To Say, To Tell): Review
| Presente | Passato Prossimo | Imperfetto | Futuro |
| Dico | Ho detto | Dicevo | Dirò |
| Dici | Hai detto | Dicevi | Dirai |
| Dice | Ha detto | Diceva | Dirà |
| Diciamo | Abbiamo detto | Dicevamo | Diremo |
| Dite | Avete detto | Dicevate | Direte |
| Dicono | Hanno detto | Dicevano | Diranno |
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to “Learn Italian with Joy of Languages”.
M: In today’s episode, you’ll learn how to use the verb, or doing word, dire .
K: Dire is the Italian word for “to say.” It’s a word that comes up all the time in conversation. But because it doesn’t follow the normal pattern, it can be hard to remember, so hearing it in a few natural Italian phrases really helps it stick.But 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: In the conversation between me and Katie, you’ll hear lots of different forms of the verb dire . See how many you notice.
K: At the beginning, we mention a famous Italian chef called Gualtiero Marchesi. Just so you know who we’re talking about.
K: Interessante… Matteo, sai cosa dice Gualtiero Marchesi?
M: Cosa?
K: Dice che la carbonara con la panna va bene… proviamo?
M: No, grazie
K: Ma dici sempre che è difficile fare la carbonara a casa.
M: Dico che è difficile avere la cremosità giusta.
K: Allora proviamo!
M: No. Io e gli altri italiani diciamo no!
K: I said to Matteo:
M: Interessante… Matteo, sai cosa dice Gualtiero Marchesi? - Interesting, Matteo, do you know what Gualtiero Marchesi says? Literally: Interessante - Interesting
Matteo
Sai - you know
Cosa - what
Dice - says
Gualtiero Marchesi? - Gualtiero Marchesi, who is the famous chef
K: You’ve just heard the first form of dire :
M: Dice - he or she says. Dice.
K: This one is really useful for repeating what someone has said. Maybe because they’re giving you useful information or giving their opinion.
M: For example, you’d use this if you said something like “the receptionist says”, which in Italian is il receptionist dice (x2). Or for a female receptionist: La receptionist dice.
K: Dice also means “you say” using the formal you, for Italian adults that you don’t know well. The formal you has the same endings as he and she in Italian. So dice means “he says”, “she says” and “you say” in the formal address.
Then Matteo was curious to know what Gualtiero Marchesi says, so he said:
M: Cosa? - What?
K: Then I explained chef Gualtiero Marchesi’s controversial idea:
M: Dice che la carbonara con la panna va bene - He says that carbonara with cream works. Literally:
Dice - he says
Che - that
La - the
Carbonara - carbonara
Con - with
La - the
Panna - cream
Va - goes
Bene - well
K: And then I added:
M: proviamo? - Shall we try? Or literally, we try. Proviamo. To make it a question, as in “shall we try”, we just say it with a question tone: Proviamo?
K: There are a few different theories about where carbonara comes from, but it’s usually considered a Roman dish and if you go to Rome you see it a lot on the menu there.
M: The traditional carbonara just has five ingredients: spaghetti, egg, pecorino cheese, black pepper and guanciale, or pork cheek.
K: Italian cuisine is usually very simple with lots of fresh ingredients, so it’s not common for Italians to change traditional recipes by adding lots of extra ingredients. Although in Gualtiero Marchesi’s recipe, there is cream. Matteo shared his thoughts on that:
M: No, grazie
K: No, thank you. Then I said:
M: Ma dici sempre che è difficile fare la carbonara a casa - But you always say that it’s difficult to make carbonara at home. Literally:
Ma - but
Dici - you say
Sempre - always
Che - that
È - it’s
Difficile - difficult
Fare - to make
La - the
Carbonara
A - at
Casa - home, or house
K: Earlier, you heard “he says”, which is the same as “she says” and “you say” in the formal address:
M: Dice (x2)
K: And now you’ve heard “you say”, in the informal address, that you can use with younger Italians and people you know well:
M: Dici (x2)
K: Dice (he, she or you formal says) has a letter “e” on the end, pronounced “eh”
M: Dice (x2)
K: Dici (you say, in the informal address) has a letter “i” on the end, pronounced “ee”
M: Dici (x2)
K : You also heard that like in English, we often use the word “that” with “say” in Italian to introduce the thing that someone says.
M: And “that” in Italian is che (x2). For example, here, we said “you say that”, dici che.
K: Then Matteo explained why it’s difficult to make carbonara at home.
M: Dico che è difficile avere la cremosità giusta - I say that it’s difficult to have the right creaminess. Literally:
Dico - I say
Che - that
È - it is
Difficile - difficult
Avere - to have
La - the
Cremosità - creaminess
Giusta - right
M: When you make carbonara, it can be difficult to get the consistency of the egg mixture right. You don’t want it to be too runny, but then you also don’t want to cook it too much so that they become like scrambled eggs. The idea is that it has a thick, creamy texture.
K: You also heard another form of the verb dire: dico . I say.
M: Dico (x2)
K: So you’ve heard he, she says, which is also “you formal say”:
M: Dice (x2)
K: You’ve heard you say, in the informal address:
M: Dici (x2)
K: And now you’ve heard I say:
M: Dico. With an “o” on the end. Dico . And you heard me say it with the word “that” again: dico che.
K: Since Matteo said it was hard to get the right creaminess, I thought we should try Gualtiero Marchesi’s recipe, so I said:
M: Allora, proviamo - So, let’s try! Literally:
Allora - so
Proviamo - we try
K: And then he said:
M: No. Io e gli altri italiani diciamo no! - No! I, and other Italians, say no! Literally:
No - No
Io - I
E - and
Gli - the
Altri - other
Italiani - Italians
Diciamo - we say
No - no
K: Matteo used another form of the word “to say”.
M: Diciamo. We say. Diciamo.
K: This one’s really useful because it can also mean “let’s say”. So you can use it before you give your opinion about something, often if you’re trying to sound a bit less harsh.
M: For example, if an Italian asked you if you liked Rome, you could say “yes, but let’s say… I prefer Florence”, which in Italian is sì, diciamo che preferisco Firenze. Literally:
Diciamo - let’s say
Che - that
Preferisco - I prefer
Firenze - Florence
K: Now that you’ve heard the different forms for dire in Italian, let’s see what you can remember.
What’s the Italian for “he or she says”? It’s also the word for “you (formal) say” in Italian.
[...]
M: Dice (x2) . For example, dice che la carbonara con la panna va bene - He says that carbonara with cream works.
[...]
K: And how do you say “you say?” in the informal?
[...]
M: Dici (x2). For example, dici sempre che è difficile fare la carbonara a casa - you always say that it’s difficult to make carbonara at home.
K: And what about I say?
[...]
M: Dico (x2). For example, dico che è difficile avere la cremosità giusta - I say that it’s difficult to have the right creaminess.
K: And what about “we say”?
[...]
M: Diciamo (x2). For example, io e gli altri italiani diciamo no! - I, and other Italians, we say no!
K: Let’s hear the whole conversation again:
K: Interessante… Matteo, sai cosa dice Gualtiero Marchesi?
M: Cosa?
K: Dice che la carbonara con la panna va bene… proviamo?
M: No, grazie
K: Ma dici sempre che è difficile fare la carbonara a casa.
M: Dico che è difficile avere la cremosità giusta.
K: Allora proviamo!
M: No. Io e gli altri italiani diciamo no!
K: You’ve seen how Italians use dire to mean “to say.” But did you know it can also mean “to tell”?
M: You can see how it works in some common Italian phrases on our blogpost, including a special way that Italians say “tell me” when they want to offer to help you. It’s a phrase you’ll hear a lot in Italy.
K: On our blogpost, you’ll also find all of the information on dire in one place, with handy tables so you can see everything written out clearly.
M: Just click the link in the description to head over to our website, or go to italian.joyoflanguages.com/podcast and search for episode 207.
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: Italian Conjugation of Dire (To Say, To Tell)
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: Italian Conjugation of Dire (To Say, To Tell)
Vocabulary
Dicono che il vino qui è molto buono = They say that the wine here is very good
Il receptionist mi ha detto che la colazione è inclusa = The receptionist told me that breakfast is included
Ho detto ai miei amici dove andiamo in Italia = I told my friends where we’re going in Italy
Scusa, dicevi? = Sorry, you were saying?
Mi diranno quando la camera sarà pronta = They will tell me when the room is (lit. will be) ready
Dico = I say
Dici = You say
Dice = He/she says
Diciamo = We say
Diciamo che preferisco Firenze = Let’s say that I prefer Florence
Flashcards: Italian Conjugation of Dire (To Say, To Tell)
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
