When you travel in Italy, it’s normal to have lots of questions. Like: where’s the best ice-cream shop or why are Italians always so well-dressed? You might even have questions for Italians to make small talk and connect with them.
Here, you’ll find all the Italian question words you need.
Key Italian Question Words
Here are the 8 question words in Italian that you’ll need for almost any type of question.
| Che / Cosa | What | KEH / KOH-zah |
| Chi | Who | Kee |
| Come | How | KOH-meh |
| Dove | Where | DOH-veh |
| Perché | Why | Pehr-KEH |
| Quando | When | KWAHN-doh |
| Quale | Which | KWAH-leh |
| Quanto | How much/how many | KWAHN-toh |
Che / Cosa - What
To ask “what” in Italian you can say che or cosa. You can also put both of them together and say che cosa, which literally means “what thing”.
For example:
Che cosa vuoi vedere oggi? -What do you want to see today? (lit. what “thing” do you want to see today)
So if there are three words for “what” in Italian ( che , cosa , and che cosa ), how do you know which one to use?
Great news! You can use any three of them. They’re usually interchangeable.
Here’s how you might say “what” in Italian:
Che cosa c’è in questo piatto? -What is there in this dish?
Cosa mi consiglia? -What do you (formal) recommend?
Che vuoi vedere oggi? -What do you want to see today?
Chi - Who
The Italian word for “who” is chi (pronounced “kee”). Here’s how you might say “who” in Italian:
Chi è la guida? -Who is the guide?
Chi è il contatto per il tour? -Who is the contact for the tour?
Chi vuole un gelato? -Who wants an ice-cream?
Come - How
Come in Italian means “how”.
You might have already seen it in the very common question:
Come stai? -How are you?
Here are some other ways you might say “how” in Italian:
Come si dice “ticket” in italiano? -How do you say “ticket” in Italian?
Come posso prenotare? -How can I book?
Come arrivo in centro? -How do I get to the center?
Dove - Where
If you’re trying to get around Italy (without getting lost) the word for “where” is a very important one. To say “where” in Italian it’s dove.
Here’s how you might use “where” in Italian:
Dove posso comprare i biglietti? -Where can I buy the tickets?
Dov’è la fermata dell’autobus? -Where is the bus stop?
Dov’è la stazione? -Where is the station?
Notice how dove has been spelt in two different ways: dove and dov’è ? That’s because when dove gets put in front of è (is) in Italian, the two words get squished together and become dov’è . Similar to how “where” and “is” can go to “where’s” in English.
Perché - Why
Perché is a really useful question word in Italian because it means “why”, but it can also mean “because”. So you can use it to both ask and answer a question in Italian.
For example:
Perché il supermercato è chiuso? -Why is the supermarket closed?
Perché è domenica. -Because it’s Sunday.
You just change the tone of your voice to emphasise whether or not you’re asking a question.
Here are some other ways you might use “why” in Italian:
Perché non andiamo al mare? -Why don’t we go to the seaside?
Perché devo prenotare online? -Why do I have to book online?
Perché il treno è in ritardo? -Why is the train late?
You can find a full breakdown of perché in our blog posts all about “why” and all about “because” in Italian.
Quando - When
Quando is the Italian word for “when”. It’s very useful for planning, whether you’re asking about schedules or figuring out when to meet up with friends.
Here’s how you might use “when” in Italian:
Quando parte l’autobus? -When does the bus leave?
Quando comincia il tour? -When does the tour start?
Quand’è l’ultimo treno? -When is the last train?
Like we saw with dov’è (dove + è), when you have quando in front of è (is) it becomes quand’è.
Quale - Which
To say “which” in Italian, it’s quale .
For example:
Quale autobus devo prendere? -Which bus do I need to take?
Qual è l’ultima fermata? -Which is the last stop?
Like with dov’è and quand’è, when quale is next to è (is) it gets abbreviated and becomes qual è. Only in this case there’s no apostrophe.
There’s just one tricky difference between Italian and English with this question word.
Quale ristorante consiglia? -Which restaurant do you (formal) recommend?
Quali ristoranti consiglia? -Which restaurants do you (formal) recommend
Did you notice how in these examples the last letter of quale changed?
That’s because in Italian, if you are asking about “which” and the next word is plural, you have to change the last letter of quale from an “e” to an “i”.
Quanto - How much/ how many
Quanto is Italian for “how much” or “how many”.
It’s in the very useful question:
Quanto costa? -How much does it cost?
Here’s how it’s also used:
Quanto zucchero vuole? -How much sugar do you (formal) want?
Quanta pasta devo comprare? -How much pasta should I buy?
Quanti biglietti vuole? -How many tickets do you (formal) want?
Quante persone ci sono alla festa? -How many people are at the party?
Notice how in each of these sentences with quanto, there’s a different letter on the end. That’s because you have to make quanto agree in gender and number with the word after it. Here’s how it works:
| Quanto | How much (masculine singular) | KWAN-toh |
| Quanta | How much (feminine singular) | KWAN-tah |
| Quanti | How many (masculine plural) | KWAN-tee |
| Quante | How many (feminine plural) | KWAN-teh |
How to Ask Questions in Italian: The 8 You Need: Review
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Che / Cosa / Che cosa
All three are words for “what” in Italian and are usually interchangeable.
For example:
Che / cosa / che cosa c’è in questo piatto? -What is there in this dish?
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Chi
Chi is used to ask about people. It’s Italian for “who”.
For example:
Chi è la guida? -Who is the guide?
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Come
Come is Italian for “how”.
For example:
Come posso prenotare? -How can I book?
-
Dove
Dove is Italian for “where”. You’ll need it to ask for directions.
For example:
Dov’è la stazione? -Where is the station?
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Perché
Perché is Italian for both “why” and “because”
For example:
Perché il supermercato è chiuso? -Why is the supermarket closed?
Perché è domenica. -Because it’s Sunday.
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Quando
Quando (meaning “when”) is the question word you need for scheduling and planning.
For example:
Quando parte l’autobus? -When does the bus leave?
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Quale
Quale is Italian for “which”. We change the “e” to an “i” if the word is plural. For example:
Quale ristorante consiglia? -Which restaurant do you (formal) recommend?
Quali ristoranti consiglia? -Which restaurants do you (formal) recommend
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Quanto
Quanto means “how much” or “how many”. We change the final letter depending on the gender and number of the word after it.
For example:
Quanto zucchero vuole? -How much sugar do you (formal) want?
Quanta pasta devo compare? -How much pasta should I buy?
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to “Learn Italian with Joy of Languages”.
In today’s episode we’re going to look at common question words in Italian. Once you learn a question word, you can reuse it in lots of situations. For example, if you know how to ask “Where is...?”, you can just change the place to ask “Where’s the train station?” or “Where’s the nearest pizzeria?”
M: That last question is very important.
K: To help you learn these question words, we’re going to play a bit of Italian trivia. I’ll ask Matteo if he knows some fun facts about Italy, and as you listen, you can see how many you already know!
M: And after each trivia question, we’ll also give you some example questions that will be useful to you in Italy. Kind of like having a mini phrasebook.
K: Ok, first question is: Quale città è famosa per Romeo e Giulietta?
M: Quale - which
Città - city
È - is
Famosa - famous
Per - for
Romeo - Romeo
E - and
Giulietta - Juliet
M: [Matteo’s answer]
K: Yes, it’s Verona. You can even go and visit Juliet’s balcony there [...]
So the first question word is quale. It means “which”.
M: Quale (x2)
To give you an example you might use in Italy, you could say: Quale treno va a Firenze - which train goes to Florence?
Quale - Which
Treno - train
Va - goes
A - to
Firenze - Florence
Quale treno va a Firenze?
K: There’s just one tricky difference between Italian and English with this question word. In Italian, if you are asking about which and the next word is plural, you have to add an “i” on the end.
M: So if you were saying “which museums” you would say quali musei. For example:
Quali musei sono aperti oggi - which museums are open today?
Quali - which
Musei - museums
Sono - are
Aperti - open
Oggi - today
Quali musei sono aperti oggi
K: Next question. Dov’è l’università più vecchia in Europa? - Where is the oldest university in Europe. Literally:
Dove - where
È - is
L’università - the university
Più - most
Vecchia - old
In - in
Europa - Europe
M: [Matteo’s answer]
K: That’s right, the oldest university in Europe is in Bologna. They started teaching there in 1088.
So the word for “where” in Italian is dove.
M: Dove (x2)
K: When you’re using “where” in Italian and the next word is “is”, the two words get squished together.
M: So it’s not dove è for where is, but dov’è (x2) .
You’d also see this in a sentence like:
Dov’è la stazione - where is the station?
Dov’è - where (dove) and is (è), squished together
La - the
Stazione - station
Dov’è la stazione?
Ok, third question: chi è l’italiano più famoso nel mondo - Who is the most famous Italian in the world? Literally:
M: Chi - who
È - is
L’italiano - the Italian
Più - most
Famoso - famous
Nel - in the
Mondo - world
M: [Matteo’s answer]
K: The first most well-known Italian is Leonardo da Vinci. In second place, it’s Julius Caesar. Ever heard of him?
M: [...]
K: So to say “who” in Italian, it’s chi , spelt c-h-i.
M: Chi (x2) .
For example, you might say chi è la guida? - who is the guide
Chi - who
È - is
La - the
Guida - guide
Chi è la guida?
K: Next question: Quanta pasta mangiano gli italiani all’anno - how much pasta do Italians eat a year. Literally:
M: Quanta - how much
Pasta - pasta
Mangiano - eat
Gli - the
Italiani - Italians
All’ - at the
Anno - year
M: [...]
K: The correct answer is about 60 pounds of pasta a year. By the way, if you think that eating pasta more than a few times a week is a lot, there are lots of Italians who eat it every day, sometimes twice a day, for lunch and dinner.
[...]
So, to say “how much” or “how many” in Italian, it’s quanto.
M: Quanto (x2) .
There’s a very useful question in Italian with these words:
Quanto costa - how much does it cost?
Quanto - how much
Costa - it costs
Quanto costa
K: But we didn’t say quanto , we said quanta when talking about “how much pasta”, quanta pasta . This is because quanto agrees in gender and number with the word that follows it. Like most words ending in “a”, pasta is a feminine word. So, since pasta is feminine, we use quanta to match it.
K: Next question: Perché ci sono così poche linee della metro a Roma - why are there few metro lines in Rome
M: Perché - why
Ci - there
Sono - are
Così - so
Poche - few
Linee - lines
Della - of the
Metro - metro
A - at
Roma - Rome
Perché ci sono così poche linee della metro a Roma
M: [Matteo’s answer]
K: As you can imagine in a place like Rome, once you start digging things up, you start to come across important ruins, so that puts a stop to any more building work. So that’s why progress on building metro lines is slow.
K: Perché is a really useful word in Italian because it means both why and because.
M: So you could say Perché il supermercato è chiuso? - why is the supermarket closed.
Perché - why
Il - the
Supermercato - supermarket
È - is
Chiuso - closed
And then to answer you, some might say perché è domenica - because it’s Sunday.
Perché - because
È - it is
Domenica - Sunday
K: So perché can mean why or because, you just have to change the intonation in your voice to show whether or not you’re asking a question.
Next question: Che cosa mangiano i genovesi a colazione - what do the Genovese eat for breakfast? Literally:
M: Che - what
Cosa - thing
Mangiano - eat
I - the
Genovesi - genovese
A - at
Colazione - breakfast
M: [Matteo’s answer]
K: Yes, it’s focaccia. Even though focaccia is a savoury bread with lots of olive oil and salt, some Genovese locals also dip it into their coffee in the morning. I’d like to try it, I think it could work
M: [...]
K: So to say “what” in Italian you can use two words: che cosa.
M: che cosa (x2)
For example: Che cosa c’è in questo piatto - what is there in this dish? Literally:
Che - what
Cosa - thing
C’è - there is
In - in
Questo - this
Piatto - dish
K: When Italians say “what”, sometimes you might hear them say “che cosa”, but sometimes you might hear them say just “che” or just “cosa”. What’s the difference?
M: Most of the time they all mean the same thing. For example, you could say che cosa c’è in questo piatto , or you could say cosa c’è in questo piatto or che c’è in questo piatto for what is there in this dish. K: That last one with “che” is quite direct and informal, so if you’re talking to a waiter, for example, it’s best just to say “che cosa” or “cosa”.
K: Final question: Quand’è la settimana della moda primavera/estate a Milano? - When is spring/summer fashion week in Milan? Literally:
Quando - when
È - is
La - the
Settimana - week
Della - of the Moda - fashion
A - in
Milano - Milan
M: [...]
K: This year, it starts il 23 settembre, 23rd of September. But there are lots of different fashion weeks in Milan, it can be hard to keep up!
So the question word we heard was quando. As we saw earlier with dove , if quando is in front of the word è (is) it gets shortened to quand’è .
M: Quand’è (x2)
Like Quand’è l’ultimo treno? - when is the last train?
Quando - when
È - is
L’ultimo - the last
Treno - train Quand’è l’ultimo treno?
K: Let’s see how many of the question words you can remember. How would I say: “which” in Italian?
[...]
M: Quale (x2), like we saw in the phrase: Quale treno va a Firenze - which train goes to Florence. Just remember it’s quali if you’re talking about more than one thing, like quali musei - which museums.
K: How would I say “where” in Italian? M: Dove (x2) . For example, dov’è la stazione - where is the station? And remember with dove (where) and è (is) they get squished together and it becomes dov’è.
K: How would you say “who” in Italian?
[...]
M: Chi (x2). For example, chi è la guida - who is the guide?
K: How would I say “how much” or “how many” in Italian? M: You can say quanto , like we see in the phrase quanto costa - how much does it cost. But if you use a feminine word next you have to change the ending to make it agree. So for “how much pasta” it’s quanta pasta .
K: What about the question word that can mean both “why” and “because”?
[...]
M: Perché (x2) . For example: Perché il supermercato è chiuso oggi - why is the supermarket closed today?
K: And how would you say when?
M: Quando . Quand’è l’ultimo treno? - when is the last train?
K: And last question: how do you say “what” in Italian? Triple points if you can remember the three different ways.
M: You can say cosa, che cosa , or che . For example: che cosa c’è in questo piatto - what is there in this dish?
K: There are lots more useful questions and question words for traveling around Italy, including ones that help you connect with Italians while you’re here, so as well as doing the practical stuff, you can have little chats as you go about your day.
M: Like asking where they live or what they like to do in their free time.
K: To see everything you just learned written down, and learn some questions like these, click the link in the description or visit italian.joyoflanguages.com/podcast and search for episode 177.
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: Question Words in Italian
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: Question Words in Italian
Vocabulary
Dov’è la stazione? = Where is the station?
Chi è la guida? = Who is the guide?
Quanto costa? = How much does it cost?
Quanta pasta devo compare? = How much pasta should I buy?
Perché il supermercato è chiuso? = Why is the restaurant closed?
Che cosa c’è in questo piatto? = What is there in this dish?
Quando parte l’autobus? = When does the bus leave?
Quand’è l’ultimo treno? = When is the last train?
Come posso prenotare? = How can I book?
Come arrivo in centro? = How do I get to the center?
Quale treno va a Firenze?= Which train goes to Florence?
Flashcards: Question Words in Italian
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
