“Some” is a really useful word to know in Italian. You need it in lots of everyday situations in Italy, like when you’re ordering “some wine” ( del vino ) or buying “some souvenirs” ( dei souvenir ).
But while in English there’s just one word for “some”, in Italian there are several. So it can be a bit complicato to know which one to use.
In this blogpost, you’ll see how to say “some” in Italian with the words del, dell’, dello, degli, dei and delle . It seems like a lot, but here you’ll learn the rules for when to use each one and you can keep coming back to visit the post as many times as you need.
Del
Compro del vino per stasera? -Shall I buy some wine for this evening?
Vuoi del gelato? -Do you want some ice-cream?
Chiedo del pane. -I’ll ask for some bread.
You use del to say “some” in Italian in front of words like vino or gelato, which are masculine and singular
Masculine, singular words in Italian often end in -o, or sometimes -e.
Della
Prepariamo della pizza? -Shall we make (lit. prepare) some pizza?
Mettiamo della musica di sottofondo. -Let’s put on some background music.
You use della to say “some” in Italian in front of words like pizza and musica because they’re feminine and singular.
Feminine, singular words in Italian often end in -a, or sometimes -e.
Dello
Posso avere dello zucchero? -Can I have some sugar?
Dobbiamo comprare dello shampoo. -We need to buy some shampoo.
Vorrei dello yogurt con frutta per colazione. -I’d like some yogurt with fruit for breakfast.
You use dello to say “some” in Italian in front of masculine, singular words starting with s + consonant, z, y, ps, or gn.
Dell’
Vorrei dell ’acqua frizzante. -I’d like some sparkling water.
Posso avere dell ’olio d’oliva? -Can I have some olive oil?
Aggiungo dell 'origano? -Shall I add some oregano?
You use dell’ to say “some” in Italian in front of words like acqua and olio because they’re singular and start with a vowel.
The apostrophe is there to say that we’ve taken a vowel away and squished the two words together. Just because it makes it easier to say that way.
For example, instead of della acqua (“some water”) we’d say dell’acqua. And instead of dello olio (“some olive oil”), we’d say dell’olio.
Dei
Ci sono dei piatti locali buonissimi qui. -There are some delicious local dishes here.
Ho dei problemi con il WIFI. -I’m having some problems with the WIFI.
Cerco dei souvenir per i miei nipoti. -I’m looking for some souvenirs for my grandchildren.
You use dei to say “some” in Italian in front of words like piatti and problemi because they’re masculine, plural words.
Delle
Ci sono delle opzioni vegetariane? -Are there some vegetarian options?
Ho delle amiche che vivono qui. -I have some (female) friends who live here.
Chiedo delle patatine e delle olive. -I’ll ask for some potato chips and some olives.
You use delle to say “some” in Italian in front of words like amiche and patatine because they’re feminine, plural words.
Degli
Mangiamo degli gnocchi stasera? -Shall we eat some gnocchi (potato dumplings) this evening?
Prendiamo* degli antipasti? -Shall we have (lit. take) some starters?
Hanno degli sconti per gruppi. -They have some group discounts.
You use degli to say “some” in Italian in front of masculine, plural words if they start with a vowel or if they have the letters s + consonant, z, y, ps, or gn.
*You usually use prendere (lit. “to take”) in Italian to talk about having or ordering food and drink. You can read more about how it works on our blogpost on prendere: why you need to know this Italian verb .
How “Some” Works in Italian for Grammar Nerds
If you already know how to say “the” in Italian, you might notice that these form the endings of how to say “some” in Italian. They combine with the word di (of), which becomes de .
Here’s how it works:
-
Di + il → del
-
Di + la → della
-
Di + lo → dello
-
Di + l’ → dell’
-
Di + i → dei
-
Di + le → delle
-
Di + gli → degli
| il | la | lo | l’ | i | le | gli | |
| di | del | della | dello | dell’ | dei | delle | degli |
If you want a refresher on the different words for “the” in Italian, you can read our post on how to say “the” in Italian .
How to Say Some in Italian With Words Like Dei, Delle…: Review
We wouldn’t expect you to remember all the different words and rules for “some” in Italian all at once. There’s a lot to take in!
The more you hear and use these words in common sentences, the more your ear will get used to which one sounds right.
You can also use this table below as a quick guide and keep coming back to it whenever you need a reminder.
| Some in Italian | Used for | Example |
| Del | Masculine singular nouns starting with most consonants | Compro del vino per stasera? -Shall I buy some wine for this evening? |
| Della | Feminine singular nouns starting with consonants | Mettiamo della musica di sottofondo. -Let’s put on some background music. |
| Dello | Masculine singular nouns starting with letters s + consonant, z, y, ps, or gn | Posso avere dello zucchero? -Can I have some sugar? |
| Dell’ | Masculine or feminine singular nouns starting with a vowel | Vorrei dell ’acqua frizzante. -I’d like some sparkling water. |
| Dei | Masculine plural nouns starting with most consonants | Cerco dei souvenir per i miei nipoti. -I’m looking for some souvenirs for my nephews. |
| Delle | Feminine plural nouns | Chiedo delle patatine e delle olive. -I’ll ask for some potato chips and some olives. |
| Degli | Masculine plural nouns starting with vowels or letters s + consonant, z, y, ps, or gn | Hanno degli sconti per gruppi. -They have some group discounts. |
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 use the different words for “some” in Italian.
K: We wouldn’t expect you to memorise every single word for “some” in one go (there are quite a few!), but in this episode, you’ll learn the rules so you know the logic behind when to use them. And you’ll also hear how they’re used in real, everyday situations, like ordering snacks for an aperitivo , so you’ll have some useful words and phrases you can use next time you’re in Italy.
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: You’re going to hear a conversation between me and Katie where we’re talking about getting some food for an aperitivo , that typical Italian thing where you have a drink and maybe some snacks in the evening.
K: See if you can hear the different words for “some” that we use. A little hint: they all start with the letter “d”.
K: Vado a chiedere degli stuzzichini?
M: Vado io. Cosa chiedo, delle patatine?
K: Sì. E delle olive.
M: Ok...
K: Ah, anche dei taralli.
M: Va bene. Allora chiedo delle patatine, delle olive e dei taralli. “Solo” questo?
K: Ah, anche della pizza se c’è…e dell’acqua
M: Ok... vai tu a chiedere!
K: I started by asking: M : Vado a chiedere degli stuzzichini? - Shall I go ask for some snacks? Literally:
Vado - I go
A - to
Chiedere - ask
Degli - some
Stuzzichini - snacks
M: Chiedere can mean to ask, or to ask for. It can also be used as a word for “to order”.
K: You also just heard the first word for “some”.
M: Degli (x2)
K: I used this when I was asking for some snacks.
M: Degli stuzzichini (x2) . Stuzzichini comes from the word stuzzicare, which means to poke or pick at. And usually when you add the ending -ini to a word in Italian, it means “little”. So it gives the idea of nibbles instead of a big plate of food. K: It’s really common for Italians to have snacks with their drinks and depending on the type of snack, they’re often included in the price of the drink. Sometimes the waiter just brings them out automatically, but not always. So if you think you’d like some snacks, you can use this word, stuzzichini, to ask for them.
M: We choose the word for “some” based on the word that comes after it. In this case, we were talking about “some stuzzichini ”, and that means that the only correct option to use is degli.
K: We started with the most difficult word for “some”, because there’s a fiddly little rule to learn. Snacks or nibbles in Italian is a plural masculine word: stuzzichini. When we have a plural masculine word that starts with S plus consonant, like the S+T in st-uzzichini, we say degli. So to say “some snacks” we say:
M: Degli stuzzichini (x2)
K: The gli in degli can be a bit tricky to pronounce – push your tongue flat against your mouth, gli (x2)
M: Degli. Another word like this would be spaghetti. So if you wanted to say “some spaghetti”, in Italian you’d say
[...] degli spaghetti (x2).
K: If you’re still with us, well done, we’re glad we haven’t scared you away yet. That’s the hardest one, so don’t worry, hopefully it will be downhill from here!
K: Then Matteo said: M: Vado io. Cosa chiedo, delle patatine? - I’ll go. What shall I ask for, some potato chips, or crisps as we say in the U.K. Literally:
Vado - go
Io - I
Cosa - what
Chiedo - I ask
Delle - some
Patatine - potato chips
K: You heard another word for “some”.
M: Delle (x2) .
K: We use this because we’re talking about patatine. It’s a plural word and it’s feminine.
M: For feminine plural words, we always use delle. Some potato chips: delle patatine (x2).
K: When Matteo was offering his help to go and order the food, he also phrased it in a certain way that you hear a lot in Italy.
M: I said vado io. Literally:
Vado - go
Io - I
K: In Italian, when you put the “I” on the end, it’s a way of emphasising that you’ll do something instead of somebody else. Like if I said, “I’ll go and get some bread from the bakery”, Matteo could say vado io - I’ll go. It’s like saying, don’t worry, I’ll go instead.
M: Or more realistically, Katie says “I’ll take Brody out for a walk”, I’ll often say vado io . Just because I know I’ll probably be the one doing it anyway, since you’re busy with work, so I may as well offer.
K: [...]
K: After Matteo asked me if I wanted delle patatine , I answered:
M: Sì. E delle olive. - Yes. And some olives. Literally:
Sì - yes
E - and
Delle - some
Olive - olives
K: You heard that same word for some again before the word “olives”.
M: Delle (x2) . For delle olive.
K: We’re again using this word for “some” because “olives”, or olive , in Italian is feminine and plural. Some olives:
M: Delle olive
K: If you already know how to say “the” in Italian, you might notice that the endings of these words: degli, delle etc. sound very similar. And you’d be right! If you'd like to learn more about how that works, you can see a table on our website, by clicking the link in the description. Then Matteo said:
M: Ok… - Ok
K: This is used like the English ok, but if you want to sound Italian when you say it, you have to make the “K” have a kind of “yuh” sound on the end.
M: Ok (x2)
K: And then I added:
M : Ah, anche dei taralli - Ah, also some taralli. Literally:
Anche - also
Dei - some
Taralli - taralli
K: Taralli are a really common snack to have in Italy, like at an aperitivo, or a get together with friends or family. They’re originally from Puglia, in the south of Italy, and they’re a bit like a cracker or breadstick.
M: They’re delicious. When you’re in Italy, you should definitely try them. Although a lot of our English friends don’t like them because they say they’re dry! It’s a good excuse to have a drink with them.
K: And you heard another word for some
M: Dei (x2) .
K: Dei, which is spelt d-e-i, is the word for “some” that you use in front of a word that’s masculine and plural. So if we had another masculine, plural word, like pomodori , tomatoes, pomodori. How do you think we would say “some tomatoes”.
M: Dei pomodori (x2)
K: Then Matteo repeated my order.
M: Va bene. Allora chiedo delle patatine, delle olive e dei taralli. - That works. So I’ll ask for some potato chips, olives and some taralli. Literally:
Va - it goes
Bene - well
Allora - so
Chiedo - I ask
Delle - some
Patatine - potato chips
Delle - some
Olive - olives
E - and
Dei - some
Taralli - taralli
K: Va bene is a really common expression in Italian, you might have even heard it already. It can mean “that works” or you can use it as another way of saying “ok”.
Then Matteo, jokingly, asked:
M: “ Solo” questo? - is that all? Literally:
Solo - only
Questo - this?
K: I tend to order a lot when I’m hungry and think I can eat it all (I usually can!), so I also added:
M: Ah, anche della pizza se c’è…e dell’acqua - Ah, and also some pizza if there’s any…And some water. Literally:
Anche - also
Della - some
Pizza - pizza
Se - if
C’è - there is
E - and
Dell’ - some
Acqua - water
K: You now heard two other words for “some” in Italian.
M: The first one was della (x2) .
K: We use della in front of words that are feminine and singular. So how do you think we’d say other feminine words, like “some mozzarella” or “some cake”?
M: It would be della mozzarella. Some mozzarella. Della mozzarella. Or della torta . Some cake. Della torta.
K: The next word for some was dell’, which is d-e-l-l and then an apostrophe.
M: Katie used this to say dell’acqua. Some water. Dell’acqua. D-e-l-l apostrophe acqua.
K: If the next word starts with a vowel, like acqua, starts with an A, we say del. Spelt d-e-l-l apostrophe.
M: For example, dell’aranciata. Some fizzy orange juice. Dell’aranciata.
K: Or some oil? Oil is olio (x2)
M: Dell’olio (x2)
K: Then, since I wanted to ask for so much food, Matteo didn’t want the embarrassment of asking for all that, especially as it’s often free so it feels a bit cheeky. So he said:
M: Ok... vai tu a chiedere! - Ok…You go ask. Literally:
Ok - ok
Vai - you go
Tu - you
A - to
Chiedere - ask
K: Matteo’s again doing the Italian thing of putting “you” at the end of the sentence. In English, we’d probably just stress the word with our voice, like saying “No, you go.” But Italians put the word “you” at the end of the phrase to give the same emphasis.
M: Vai tu
M: Now you’ve heard some of the different ways to say “some” in Italian, let’s see if you can remember them and when you should use them.
K: What’s the word for “some” that we use with words like stuzzichini , or snacks?
[...]
M: Degli (x2). It’s for masculine plural words that start with s plus consonant. For example, degli stuzzichini . Some snacks. Or we could also say degli spaghetti, some spaghetti.
K: And what about the word for “some” that we use with words like patatine “potato chips” and olive, “ olives”.
[...]
M: Delle (x2) . This is for feminine plural words. For example, delle olive , some olives. Or delle patatine , some potato chips.
K: How would we say “some” in front of a word like taralli, the crackery, bread sticky snack snack. Or in front of a word like pomodori, tomatoes.
[...]
M: Dei (x2). This is for normal masculine plural words. For example, dei taralli. Or dei pomodori.
K: What’s the word for “some” that we use in front of words like pizza?
[...]
M: Della (x2). For example, della pizza.
K: And what about the word for “some” that we’d use in front of a word like acqua, or “water” in Italian?
M: Dell’ (x2) . For example, dell’acqua.
K: Let’s listen to the whole conversation again.
K: Vado a chiedere degli stuzzichini?
M: Vado io. Cosa chiedo, delle patatine?
K: Sì. E delle olive.
M: Ok...
K: Ah, anche dei taralli.
M: Va bene. Allora chiedo delle patatine, delle olive e dei taralli. “Solo” questo?
K: Ah, anche della pizza se c’è…e dell’acqua
M: Ok... vai tu a chiedere!
K: You’ve heard a lot of different words for “some” in this episode, which is a lot to remember. Don’t worry, it takes a lot of repetition to learn them (and people will still understand you if you get the wrong), so you can take your time. Listen to this episode as many times as you need, and if you want some visual help to make them stick, you can find them on our website, altogether in a handy table.
M: There, you’ll also find some other words for “some” that we haven’t mentioned in this episode, really there are more! Mi dispiace. Sorry! But not many more, and they’re helpful if you want to say “some ice-cream” or “some wine”.
K: To see all the words for “some”, plus some more practical phrases you can use in Italy, just click the link in the description to head over to our website, or go to italian.joyoflanguages.com/podcast and search for episode 219.
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 Some in Italian
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: How to Say Some in Italian
Vocabulary
Vorrei dell’acqua frizzante = I’d like some sparkling water.
Ci sono dei piatti locali buonissimi qui = There are some delicious local dishes here.
Ci sono delle opzioni vegetariane? = Are there some vegetarian options?
Chiedo delle patatine e delle olive = I’ll ask for some potato chips and some olives.
Prendiamo degli antipasti? = Shall we have some starters?
Hanno degli sconti per gruppi = They have some group discounts.
Degli stuzzichini = Some snacks.
Chiedo delle patatine, delle olive e dei taralli = I’ll ask for some potato chips, some olives and some taralli.
Della pizza = Some pizza.
Dell’acqua = Some water.
Flashcards: How to Say Some in Italian
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
