You’ve probably used the phrase “let’s go” a lot in English. It’s just as common in Italian, so it’s worth learning. You’re likely to hear it often while you’re in Italy.
There’s one main way to say “let’s go” in Italian, and it’s actually even simpler than the English version.
But there are also a few other useful phrases Italians use in similar situations. It’s a short list, and once you know them, you’ll start noticing them everywhere. You can use them too if you want to sound more natural when speaking Italian.
So, let’s get going! (See what we did there 😁)
How to Say “Let’s Go” In Italian: The Simple Way
Andiamo! - Let’s go!
Pronunciation: ahn-dee-AH-moh
The most common way to say “let’s go” in Italian is andiamo.
Italian learners often wonder how to translate “let’s” in Italian, but in Italian it’s even easier than English, because there’s no separate word for “let’s”.
To say “let’s go” in Italian you just use the same word as “we go”: andiamo. It’s easy to tell from the context which one you’re trying to say.
You can use andiamo to say “let’s go” when you’re talking about going to a particular place.
For example:
Andiamo al cinema! -Let’s go to the cinema!
Andiamo a casa! -Let’s go home!
You can also use andiamo to say “let’s go” when you’re suggesting doing something.
For example:
Andiamo a mangiare una pizza! -Let’s go eat a pizza!
Andiamo a vedere la piazza! -Let’s go see the square!
Here we’ve focused on “we go” or “let’s go”. If you want to know how to say “go” for other people (like “I go”, “you go”, etc.) you can read our blogpost on the verb andare in Italian .
💡Good to know: Now that you know that “we go” and “let’s go” are the same in Italian, did you know this works for other verbs as well? For example, parliamo! (“let’s speak!”) and mangiamo! (“let’s eat!”). You’ve just learnt a whole new set of words 😉
Other Really Useful Ways to Say “Let’s Go” in Italian
You might want to use a different word “for let’s go” depending on the situation. Here are some other really useful ways to say “let’s go” in Italian.
Dai - Let’s go, come on
Pronunciation: Dye
Dai is a word that Italians use all the time, so it’s a really natural expression.
There’s not an exact translation for dai in English because it can have a few different meanings, depending on the situation. If you want to find out more about the other meanings of dai , you can have a look at our blog post on common Italian slang words .
You can use dai to say “let’s go” if you’re enthusiastic about doing something, a bit like the English “let’s go for it”.
For example:
-Vuoi andare al teatro? -Do you want to go to the theater?
-Sì, dai! -Yes, let’s go!
Or you can also use dai in front of andiamo to add extra emphasis, a bit like saying “I’m really up for that”. In fact, it’s really common to hear dai used this way in Italian.
For example:
-Vuoi andare al teatro? -Do you want to go to the theater?
-Sì, dai! Andiamo! -Yes, let’s go for it! Let’s go!
Dai can also be used in front of andiamo to mean “come on” if you want to hurry someone. The meaning changes depending on how you say it. If you sound more impatient, it comes across as “Hurry up!” rather than “Let’s go for it.”
For example:
Dai, andiamo! Se no perdiamo il treno. -Come on, let’s go! If not, we’ll miss the train.
Muoviti - Let’s go, get moving
Pronunciation: Mwoh-VEE-tee
Another way to say “let’s go” in the sense of “get a move on” is muoviti.
The ti on the end of the word means “yourself”, so it literally means “move yourself”. You use this expression when you’re just talking to one person.
For example:
Muoviti, dobbiamo andare! -Get a move on, we have to go!
Muoviti, siamo in ritardo! -Get a move on, we’re late!
Muoviamoci - Let’s go, let’s get moving
Pronunciation: Mwoh-vee-AH-moh-chee
If you want to say “let’s go” and you mean that everyone needs to get going, yourself included, you can use muoviamoci. The ci on the end of the word means “ourselves”, so it literally means “move ourselves”.
For example:
Muoviamoci! Il museo chiude alle 6. -Let’s get a move on! The museum closes at 6.
Muoviamoci! Siamo in ritardo! -Let’s get a move on! We’re late!
Forza - Let’s go, come on
Pronunciation: FOR-tsa
Forza can be used to mean “let’s go” when you want to hurry someone. For example:
Forza! Non abbiamo molto tempo. -Let’s go! We don’t have a lot of time.
You can also use forza to mean “let’s go” in the sense of cheering or encouraging someone, like if they’re participating in a sport.
For example:
Forza Matteo! -Let’s go / come on Matteo!
Forza Inter! -Let’s go / come on Inter!
💡Good to know: Forza is informal, so it’s one to use with people you know well.
Su - let’s go, come on
Pronunciation: Soo
You can use su to say “let’s go” if you want to hurry someone.
For example:
Su, il taxi è già qui! -Let’s go, the taxi’s already here!
You can also use su to say “let’s go” in Italian to cheer or encourage someone.
For example:
Su! Sei quasi alla fine! -Let’s go / come on! You’re almost at the end!
How to Say and Use “Let’s Go” in Italian: Review
Now you know the common ways to say “let’s go” in Italian. Let’s review what you’ve learnt.
-
The most common way to say “let’s go” in Italian is andiamo.
Andiamo a casa! -Let’s go home!
Andiamo a mangiare una pizza! -Let’s go eat a pizza!
-
You can use dai as a way of saying “let’s go” if you’re enthusiastic about something, or want to hurry someone.
-Vuoi andare al teatro? -Do you want to go to the theater?
-Sì, dai! Andiamo! -Yes, let’s go for it! Let’s go!
Dai, andiamo! Se no perdiamo il treno. -Come on, let’s go! If not, we’ll miss the train.
-
Muoviti (lit. “move yourself”) can be used to say “let’s go” in the sense of “get a move on”. You use this when you’re speaking to one person.
Muoviti, siamo in ritardo! -Get a move on, we’re late!
-
Muoviamoci (lit. move ourselves) means “let’s go” or “let’s get a move on” and is used to say that both you and others need to get going.
Muoviamoci! Il museo chiude alle 6. -Let’s get a move on! The museum closes at 6.
-
Forza and su work as a way of saying “let’s go” or “come on” if you want to hurry someone or cheer them on.
Forza Matteo! -Let’s go / come on Matteo!
Su! Sei quasi alla fine! -Let’s go / come on! You’re almost at the end.
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to “Learn Italian with Joy of Languages”.
M: In this episode, you’ll learn how to say “let’s go in Italian” and how you can use it in everyday sentences.
K: 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 most common way to say “let’s go” in Italian is: Andiamo! (x2)
K: If you’re thinking, I’ve heard andiamo before, I thought it meant “we go”, you’re not wrong. It does mean “we go” as well. So to say “let’s go” all you have to do is say the same word as “we go”. When Italian learners try to say “let’s go” in Italian, they often get stuck on how to translate “let’s.” But Italian doesn’t have a separate word for “let’s.”
M: So, andiamo in Italian means “let’s go” or “we go”. It’s easy to tell from the context which one you’re trying to say.
K: Like if Matteo is trying to hurry me along because we need to go out and I’m still caught up with work, he’d say:
M: Andiamo! This is a common occurrence in our house.
K: You can also use andiamo with places that you want to go.
M: For example: Andiamo al cinema! - let’s go to the cinema. Literally:
Andiamo - we go
Al - to the
Cinema - cinema
M: Or Andiamo al museo! - let’s go to the museum. Literally:
Andiamo - we go
Al - to the
Museo - museum
M: Or, at the end of a busy day, andiamo a casa! - let’s go home. Literally:
Andiamo - we go
A - to
Casa - home
K: By the way, if an Italian uses this last one, be prepared for them to say it a few times before they actually decide to leave. In Italy, announcing you’re leaving is just the first step—it usually takes a long time before people actually go. Why is that?
M: [...]
K: You can also use andiamo with things you want to do.
M: For example, you could say:
Andiamo a mangiare una pizza! - let’s go eat a pizza.
Literally:
Andiamo - we go
A - to
Mangiare - eat
Una - a
Pizza - pizza
Andiamo a mangiare una pizza!
K: I wonder why you gave that sentence as an example?
M: [...] Or we could say:
Andiamo a vedere la piazza! - let’s go see the square. Literally:
Andiamo - we go
A - to
Vedere - see
La - the
Piazza - square
Andiamo a vedere la piazza!
K: There’s also a little Italian word that you hear all the time with andiamo. It can mean different things depending on the situation, so there’s not an exact English translation for it, but if you use this word with andiamo, we can translate it as “come on”.
M: The word is dai! For example:
Dai, andiamo - Come on, let’s go. Literally:
Dai - you give
Andiamo - we go
K: You can start using it like this as well to sound really Italian if you’re trying to hurry someone. I use it a lot with Brody, our dog – if any of you are familiar with golden retrievers, you’ll know they can be quite stubborn and only go when and where they want to go!
You can also use dai to say “come on, let’s go” to show you’re excited to do something. You just have to change the tone of your voice to show that you’re excited instead of frustrated.
M: For example, if Katie asked me if I wanted to go out for breakfast, I might say:
Sì, dai! Andiamo! - Yes, come on, let’s go! Literally:
Sì - yes
Dai - give
Andiamo - we go
K: So this is a great one to know to show your enthusiasm, that you really want to do what an Italian friend suggests.
M: Now that you’ve heard how to say “let’s go” in Italian, let’s see what you can remember about how you might use it or hear it in Italian.
K: How do you say “let’s go” in Italian, like if you’re ready to leave the house and you’re hurrying someone along?
M: Andiamo! (x2)
K: How would you use “let’s go” in Italian if you’re talking about going to a particular place, like the museum?
M: Andiamo al museo! (x2)
K: And what about if you wanted to go and do something? Like let’s go eat a pizza?
M: Andiamo a mangiare una pizza! (x2)
K: Finally, what’s a word that Italians use all the time with “let’s go”?
M: The word is dai , so altogether it’s dai, andiamo!
K: By the way, now that you know that “let’s go” and “we go” in Italian are the same, you can use this same rule for other verbs too, so you’ve just learnt a whole set of extra words.
M: For example, parliamo , means “we speak”, but you can also use it to say “let’s speak”, like if you say parliamo italiano! - let’s speak Italian. Or if you know “we eat” in Italian, now you also know “let’s eat”, which is mangiamo!
K: There are more tips like this on our blogpost, plus some extra ways that you can say “let’s go” in Italian. There aren’t many, so you can easily get comfortable with all the expressions that Italians use.
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 188.
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: How to Say and Use “Let’s Go” in Italian
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: How to Say and Use “Let’s Go” in Italian
Vocabulary
Dai, andiamo! Se no perdiamo il treno = Come on, let’s go! If not, we’ll miss the train
Muoviti, dobbiamo andare! = Get a move on, we have to go!
Muoviamoci! Siamo in ritardo! = Let’s get a move on! We’re late!
Forza! Non abbiamo molto tempo = Let’s go! We don’t have a lot of time
Su, il taxi è già qui! = Let’s go, the taxi’s already here!
Andiamo al cinema! = Let’s go to the cinema!
Andiamo al museo! = Let’s go to the museum!
Andiamo a casa! = Let’s go home!
Andiamo a mangiare una pizza! = Let’s go eat a pizza!
Andiamo a vedere la piazza! = Let’s go see the square!
Flashcards: How to Say and Use “Let’s Go” in Italian
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
