“This”, or “these” if you’re talking about more than one thing, is a really useful word to know in Italian when you want to make it clear what you’re asking for or talking about.
For example, if you’re in a shop, restaurant or café, you can point at something and say “this sandwich” or “these shoes”.
It’s also handy when you don’t know the Italian word for something. You can point and ask “what’s this?” (you’ll see how to say this in Italian later in the blog post).
The tricky part is that there isn’t just one way to say “this” in Italian. There are actually four. Here, you’ll learn when to use each one.
Questo - this
Questo vino è buonissimo. -This wine is delicious (lit. very good).
Vorrei questo formaggio. -I’d like this cheese.
You use questo to say “this” in Italian in front of words like vino and formaggio , which are masculine and singular. Masculine nouns in Italian usually end in -o, or sometimes -e.
A few more examples:
Prendo questo panino. -I’ll have (lit. take) this sandwich.
Questo piatto è tipico della zona. -This dish is typical of the area.
Questo treno va a Venezia? -Does this train go to Venezia?
Before a vowel, questo gets shortened to quest’. For example:
Andiamo in Toscana quest’inverno. -We’re going to Tuscany this winter.
You can also use questo to mean “this one”.
For example:
-Questo è perfetto per la spiaggia. (questo = l’asciugamano) -This one’s perfect for the beach. (This one = the towel).
Or:
- Quale vino preferisce? -Which wine do you (formal) prefer?
-Mi piace di più questo, grazie! -I like this one more, thank you.
And:
-Vorrei questo cornetto per favore. -I’d like this croissant please.
-Questo? -This one?
💡Good to know: If you don’t know the word for something in Italian, you can point and ask the question cos’è questo - what is this?
Questa - This
Questa vista è bellissima. -This view is very beautiful.
Quanto costa questa borsa? -How much does this bag cost?
You use questa to say “this” in Italian in front of words like vista and borsa because they’re feminine and singular.
Feminine, singular words in Italian often end in -a, or sometimes -e.
A few more examples:
Questa camicia è troppo piccola per me. Avete un’altra taglia? -This shirt is too small for me. Do you (plural) have another size?
È questa la strada per il Duomo? -Is this the road to the Cathedral?
È questa la fila per comprare un biglietto? -Is this the line to buy a ticket?
If the next word starts with a vowel, questa gets shortened to quest’. For example:
Quest’isola è vicina a Napoli. -This island is near Naples.
You can also use questa to mean “this one”.
For example:
Quale torta vuole, questa? -Which cake do you (formal) want, this one?
Prendi questa pizza o questa? -Are you having (lit. taking) this pizza or this one?
Questa costa meno. (Questa = la borsa) -This one costs less. (This = the bag)
Questi - These
Questi antipasti sono da condividere. -These starters are to share.
Questi treni non vanno in centro. -These trains don’t go to the centre.
You use questi to say “these” in Italian in front of words like antipasti and treni because they’re masculine, plural words. Masculine, plural things in Italian often end in an -i.
A few more examples:
Posso provare questi pantaloni? -Can I try on these trousers?
Questi posti sono liberi? -Are these seats free?
Questi sono vegetariani? (Questi = antipasti) -Are these vegetarian? (These = starters)
You can also use questi to say “these ones”
For example:
Questi sono i miei preferiti. (Questi = gusti di gelato) -These ones are my favourite. (These = ice-cream flavours).
Queste - These
Queste sono le chiavi della camera. -These are the keys for the room.
Possiamo prendere queste sedie? -Can we take these chairs?
You use questa to say “these” in Italian in front of words like chiavi and sedie because they’re feminine, plural words.
A few more examples:
Queste ceramiche sono di Spoleto. -These ceramics are from Spoleto.
Queste sono le foto dei miei nipoti. -These are the photos of my grandchildren.
You can also use queste to say “these ones”.
For example:
Queste sono belle! (Queste = scarpe) -These ones are nice (lit. beautiful!). (These = shoes)
Queste sono fatte a mano (Queste = ceramiche) -These ones are handmade (These = ceramics)
A very Italian way to say “this”
Questo qui - This one here
Sometimes Italians add qui (“here”) after questo , questa , questi and queste to check that they’ve understood which thing you want.
For example:
Quale panino vuole? Questo qui? -Which sandwich do you (formal) want? This one here?
Quale maglietta preferisci? Questa qui? -Which t-shirt do you prefer? This one here?
You could also use questo qui to make it clear which thing you’re talking about.
For example, if there are lots of something, like lots of different croissants, you might want to point and show which one you want.
So instead of:
Vorrei questo. -I'd like this one.
You could make it clearer with:
Vorrei questo qui. -I'd like this one here.
Sto and Sta
In spoken, informal Italian, questo and questa sometimes get shortened to sto and sta .
For example:
Sto ragazzo -This boy
Sta macchina -This car
You might already know one very common example of this: stasera (“this evening”). It originally comes from questa sera , but Italians say it so often that the shortened version has become completely normal. There are few other examples like this too.
For example: Stamattina -This morning
Stanotte -Tonight (lit. this night)
Stavolta -This time
How to Say This in Italian With Words Like Questo and Questa: Review
| English | Italian | Pronunciation | Used with | Example |
| this | questo | KWEH-stoh | masculine singular nouns | questo vino (this wine) |
| this | quest’ | kwehst | masculine singular nouns starting with a vowel | quest’inverno (this winter) |
| this | questa | KWEH-stah | feminine singular nouns | questa pizza (this pizza) |
| this | quest’ | kwehst | feminine singular nouns starting with a vowel | quest’isola (this island) |
| these | questi | KWEH-stee | masculine plural nouns | questi pantaloni (these trousers) |
| these | queste | KWEH-steh | feminine plural nouns | queste scarpe (these shoes) |
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to Learn Italian with Joy of Languages.
M: In a moment, you’ll hear the four different ways to say “this” in Italian in everyday phrases, so you’ll have phrases you can use straight away in places like shops, markets and restaurants.
K: 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 talk about what I should wear to a wedding.
K: As you listen to the conversation, see if you can catch the four different ways of saying “this” in Italian.
M: Cosa metti per il matrimonio?
K: Questo vestito… credo. E tu?
M: Questa camicia e questi pantaloni
K: Ok
M: E ho comprato queste scarpe... molto belle.
K: Sì…uh… sì!
K: Matteo started by asking me:
M: Cosa metti per il matrimonio? -What are you wearing for the wedding? Literally: Cosa - what Metti - you put on Per - for Il - the Matrimonio - wedding
K: Just as a little aside, you might know the verb mettere as “to put”, but it can also mean “to put on” or “wear”, when you’re talking about clothes.
Then I replied to Matteo:
M : Questo vestito… credo. E tu? - This dress… I think. And you? Literally: Questo - this Vestito - dress Credo - I think or I believe E - and Tu - you
K: So you just heard the first word for “this”.
M: Questo (x2).
K: Questo , with an -o on the end, is the word for “this” that we use in Italian in front of masculine words. So usually words that end in -o. Just a little aside here, the word dress, vestito, is masculine. The gender of a word has no correlation between whether it’s a typically female or male item of clothing. Often the gender of words in Italian is arbitrary, and unfortunately it’s something that you just need to learn over time.
M: The good news is that, even if you get the gender wrong, Italians will usually understand you.
K: And when you listen to a lot of Italian, over time you start to just know the gender automatically, based on what sounds natural to you. Let’s come back to “questo”. This dress, again is:
M: Questo vestito.
K: Cheese, formaggio, is also masculine. This cheese is:
M: Questo formaggio.
M: For example, if you were at the market, you could point and say, vorrei questo formaggio, I’d like this cheese, vorrei questo formaggio.
K: Questo is also a really useful word because you can use it to ask what something is if you don’t know the Italian word for it.
M: For example, you could say cos’è questo? What’s this? Cos’è questo?
K: And when you hear the reply, it’s a way of learning Italian words you didn’t know before.
Then Matteo said what he was going to wear:
M: Questa camicia e questi pantaloni - This shirt and these trousers. Literally: Questa - this Camicia - shirt E - and Questi - these Pantaloni - trousers
K: So you heard another word for “this” in Italian:
M: Questa (x2)
K: Questa, with an -a on the end, is the word to use before a feminine word. In Italian feminine words usually end in an -a. Cammicia , shirt, is feminine. So to say “this shirt”, we say:
M: Questa cammica.
K: Another feminine word is borsa , bag. This bag is:
M: Questa borsa. You could say quanto costa questa borsa? How much does this bag cost? Quanto costa questa borsa?
K: And Matteo used a word for “these”, so the plural of this, when he was talking about his pantaloni, or trousers.
M: Questi (x2).
K: You use questi , with an -i, pronounced ee on the end, when you’re talking about something masculine and plural. In Italian masculine, plural words usually end in an -i, pronounced ee. I pantaloni, is a masculine plural. So these trousers:
M: Questi pantaloni.
K: The word posto, means “place”. Italians also use it to mean “seat” when you’re talking about a train, a plane, or any kind of seat that you buy a ticket for. The plural of posto would be posti. These places, or these seats:
M: Questi posti (x2)
M: For example, you could say questi posti sono liberi? Are these seats free? Questi posti sono liberi?
K: Coming back to the conversation, when Matteo told me about the shirt and trousers he was going to wear I answered:
M : Ok - Ok
K: And then Matteo added:
M: E ho comprato queste scarpe... molto belle. - And I bought these shoes….which are very nice. Literally: E - and Ho - I have Comprato - bought Queste - these Scarpe - shoes Molto - very Belle - beautiful
K: So now you heard another word for “these”
M: Queste (x2).
K: Queste, with an -e on the end, pronounced “eh”, is the word for “these” that we use when the word after is feminine and plural. Usually feminine plural words end in -e, pronounced “eh”. The word pizza, for example, in the plural is pizze(x2).
M: For example, you could say queste pizze sono vegetariane? Are these pizzas vegetarian? Queste pizze sono vegetariane?
K: And when Matteo asked me if I liked his shoes, I said:
K: Sì…uh… sì! - Yes… uh… yes!
This brings up a bit of a dynamic that Matteo finds really annoying. Sometimes Matteo will show me something he’s bought, or wants to buy, and he’s really enthusiastic about it. So when he asks me if I like it, I always say “yes”, even if it’s not always true!
M: [...]
K: Now that you’ve heard the different ways of saying “this” and “these” in Italian, let’s see what you can remember.
How do you say “this” when you want to say a phrase like “this dress”? It’s the masculine version of “this”.
[...]
M: Questo (x2) . For example, questo vestito.
K: And what’s the word for “this” if you wanted to say “this shirt”. It’s the word for this you use for feminine words.
[...]
M: Questa (x2). For example, questa camicia.
K: And what about the word for “these” when you’re saying something like “these trousers”? It’s the masculine, plural version.
[...]
M: Questi (x2). For example, questi pantaloni.
K: And lastly, what’s the word for “these” that you’d use to say “these shoes”. It’s the feminine, plural version.
[...]
M: Queste (x2). For example, queste scarpe.
M: As a way to help you remember which “this” to use, the sounds with “this” and the word after it usually match. So:
Questo vestito
Questa camicia
Questi pantaloni
Queste scarpe
K: Let’s hear the whole conversation again.
M: Cosa metti per il matrimonio?
K: Questo vestito… credo. E tu?
M: Questa camicia e questi pantaloni
K: Ok
M: E ho comprato queste scarpe... molto belle.
K: Sì…uh… sì!
M: It can be difficult to remember all the different words for this. If you go to our website, you can see them all written down, with clear tables, so you can refresh your memory whenever you need.
K: There, you’ll also find more everyday phrases with “this” that you can use when you’re travelling around Italy. And you’ll see something Italians often do with “this” in everyday conversation so you can understand it when you hear it and maybe even try it yourself.
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 235.
K: See you next time.
M: 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 This in Italian With Words Like Questo and Questa
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Vocabulary
Questo treno va a Venezia? = Does this train go to Venice?
Posso provare questi pantaloni? = Can I try on these trousers?
Queste ceramiche sono di Spoleto = These ceramics are from Spoleto
È questa la fila per comprare un biglietto? = Is this the queue to buy a ticket?
Questa camicia e questi pantaloni = This shirt and these trousers
Ho comprato queste scarpe = I bought these shoes
Vorrei questo formaggio = I'd like this cheese
Quanto costa questa borsa? = How much does this bag cost?
Questi posti sono liberi? = Are these seats free?
Queste pizze sono vegetariane? = Are these pizzas vegetarian?
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
