How do you say yes in Italian?
If you’re thinking “wait, isn't it just sì?”, then this lesson is for you.
Italians actually have a few different ways to say yes that they use all the time. It’s important to know them so that you can recognise them when you hear them.
And once you start sprinkling them into your conversations, your Italian will sound more natural and authentic – you’ll fit right in with the locals.
So here, you’ll learn the 5 most common ways to say yes in Italian.
Shall we start with the basics? Sì!
1. Sì
This is your go-to, straightforward "yes." Use it in any situation where you’d say "yes" in English.
– Ti piace la pizza napoletana? – Do you like Neapolitan pizza?
– Sì! – Yes!
– Sei mai stato in Toscana? – Have you ever been to Tuscany?
– Sì, è molto bella. – Yes, it’s beautiful.
You might notice that sometimes Italians say sì twice, or even three times in a row! It works for emphasis:
– Prenotiamo un tavolo? – Shall we book a table?
– Sì, sì, ottima idea! – Yes, great idea!
Or with a soft tone, to reassure someone that everything’s under control:
– Hai portato i passaporti? – Have you brought the passports?
– Sì, sì, sì – Yes (don’t worry)
2. Certo
Here’s a way to say “yes”, with confidence! Certo literally means “certain” and Italians use it in the same way we’d use “of course” or “sure”.
– Hai spazio per un gelato? – Do you have room for a gelato?
– Certo! – Of course!
– Posso chiederti un favore? – Can I ask you a favour?
– Certo! – Sure!
This word can be a bit tricky to pronounce, so if you need a hand, scroll up and listen to the podcast for some tips on how to say it.
3. Va bene / Ok
Do you know the Italian expression va bene? It literally means “goes well”, but we use it to accept offers and suggestions, much like “ok” in English. Interestingly, Italians also use “ok” – if you go with this option, remember to say it with an Italian accent!
But there’s a surprising difference in how Italians use these words, compared to English.
Imagine you’re feeling hungry and you suggest ordering una pizza. If your friend replies “ok”, in English, you might assume that they’re not very keen.
Not so in Italian! You can use ok and va bene to show enthusiasm, like this:
– Ordiniamo una pizza? – Shall we order a pizza?
– Va bene! – Sure!
– Altro vino? – More wine?
– OK, grazie! – Yes, thanks!
4. Volentieri
Italians often socialise around food, and you can’t be around them for long without someone offering you something delicious! The best way to accept? Volentieri!
This lovely word translates to "with pleasure" or "gladly". Use it when you're genuinely happy to accept something, food or otherwise.
– Vuoi assaggiare questa pasta? – Would you like to try this pasta?
– Volentieri – With pleasure
– Facciamo una passeggiata? – Shall we go for a walk?
– Volentieri! – Gladly!
5. D'accordo
This is probably the coolest way to say “yes” in Italian. You almost never hear learners use it, so it’s like a secret handshake with the locals. Use it to agree with plans and suggestions.
Imagine your Italian colleague invites you to lunch:
– Andiamo alla trattoria all’angolo? – Shall we go to the trattoria on the corner?
– D’accordo! – Alright!
Notice anything familiar about this word? It sounds a bit like “accord” and it literally means to be “of accord”. The whole expression d’accordo is pronounced “da-kor-doh”.
Bonus Tip: Don’t forget your manners!
To add a touch of politeness, say grazie to the end of these expressions. For example:
– Sì, grazie!
– Va bene, grazie!
– Volentieri, grazie!
Common mistake alert: a lot of learners translate directly from English and say *si, per favore (yes, please). This sounds weird in Italian.
When accepting an offer, we always say grazie (thank you). To make sure you’re pronouncing it right, check out how to say grazie and avoid common pronunciation mistakes.
How to say YES in Italian: Review
So, do you know a few native-sounding ways to say “yes” in Italian? Certo!
Here’s that list again:
Sì – Yes
Va bene/ok – OK (can be used enthusiastically)
Volentieri – With pleasure, gladly
Certo – Of course, sure
D’accordo – Yes, agreed, alright
Remember to follow them up with grazie to add a touch of politeness. Ah, and speaking of remembering, let’s move onto the quiz!
Vocabulary: How to Say YES in Italian: A Beginner's Guide
D’accordo = Yes, agreed, alright (lit. in agreement)
Facciamo una passeggiata? Volentieri! = Shall we go for a walk? Gladly!
Va bene! = OK (lit. it goes well)
Volentieri! = Gladly, with pleasure
Certo = Sure, of course (lit. certain)
Ordiniamo una pizza? Va bene! = Shall we order a pizza? OK!
Quiz: How to Say YES in Italian: A Beginner's Guide
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: How to Say YES in Italian: A Beginner's Guide
Flashcards: How to Say YES in Italian: A Beginner's Guide
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Transcript: How to Say YES in Italian: A Beginner's Guide
Please note, this is not a word for word transcript.
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to “Learn Italian with Joy of Languages”. Today, we’re talking about something I do that really annoys Matteo.
M: Is it forgetting to take down the trash? Being loud in the mornings? Leaving food in the sink? Oh I know, I know… when you don’t answer your phone!
K: No! It’s when we’re trying to decide something…
M: Oh yes! And you keep suggesting more options. Especially when abbiamo fame, we’re hungry, and we need to decide what to eat.
K: Let’s listen to a conversation that we have basically everyday.
M: È tardi, che facciamo per cena?
K: Usciamo?
M: Sì.
K: Ordiniamo una pizza?
M: Va bene!
K: Cuciniamo qualcosa?
M: Volentieri!
K: Dici sì perché non vuoi decidere?
M: Certo!
K: So Matteo said:
M: È tardi, che facciamo per cena? – It’s late, what are we doing for dinner?
È – It’s
Tardi – late
Che – what
Facciamo – we do
Per – for
Cena – dinner
K: Then I suggested:
M: Usciamo? – Shall we go out? Literally “we exit?”
M: Usciamo?
K: And Matteo says “yes”
M: Sì
K: Then I said:
M: Ordiniamo una pizza? – Shall we order a pizza?
Ordiniamo – we order
Una pizza – a pizza
K: And Matteo says:
M: Va bene! – OK! This is a funny little way of saying OK in Italian, which literally means:
Va – it goes
Bene – well
K: Italians use it all the time: va bene! You can also say OK, with an Italian pronunciation:
M: OK (x3)
K: Cristina, one of our Italian teachers, pointed out to me that the way we use va bene and ok in Italian is slightly different compared to in English. In English, if we say “OK”, it usually means we’re not very enthusiastic about something. For example, I might say “Matteo, I’ll cook tonight. How about il pollo in padella (pan–fried chicken)?”
M: In English, I might say “erm… OK” 😅. I’m saying yes, but I’m thinking “noooooooo!” because everytime Katie makes this dish, the kitchen is covered in chicken fat for weeks.
K: So in English, OK often means “I accept but I’m not enthusiastic about the idea”. But in Italian, you can use va bene or ok to show enthusiasm. For example, Matteo, ordiniamo una pizza? Shall we order a pizza?
M: Va bene! I love pizza. We communicate enthusiasm with the tone.
K: Next, I offer yet another option:
M: Cuciniamo qualcosa? – Shall we cook something? Literally:
Cuciniamo – we cook
Qualcosa – something?
K: And Matteo says:
M: Volentieri! – This is a nice enthusiastic way of saying “yes”. It means “gladly” or “with pleasure”.
Volentieri (x2)
K: Careful of the vowels here. I realised I was saying this wrong quite recently. I was saying vo–LON–tieri With an O in the middle. But it’s vo-LEN-tieri. With an E. vo-LEN-tieri. And we’ve got this YEAH sound in the last part. TYE, TYE, TYE. TYE-RI. VO-LEN-TYE-RI.
M: Volentieri (x2)
K: Something doesn’t feel right, because I changed from pizza to cooking at home, and Matteo accepted enthusiastically with volentieri. So I asked:
M: Dici sì perché non vuoi decidere? – Are you saying “yes”, because you don’t want to decide? Literally:
Dici – you say
Sì – yes
Perché – because
Non – not
Vuoi – you want
Decidere – to decide?
K: And Matteo says
M: Certo – of course! Literally
Certo – certain
K: With the word certo, we’ve got the Italian R in front of a consonant, T in this case. This can be tricky to pronounce. One tip I have is to imagine that it’s a D sound. CED – TO. If you speed up, it will start to sound like the Italian pronunciation! Ced-to, ced-to, ced,to, cento, cento, cento, certo, certo, certo!
M: Certo (x2)
K: So we heard 4 ways to say “yes”. There’s the classic:
M: Sì (x2)
K: And you also heard “ok”, literally “it goes well”, which in Italian can be enthusiastic if we want it to be
M: Va bene! (x2)
K: And a nice polite way to accept, which is a bit like “gladly”, or “with pleasure”.
M: Volentieri (x2)
K: And finally, “of course” or “sure”, which sounds like “certain”.
M: Certo (x2)
K: Let’s listen to the conversation again.
M: È tardi, che facciamo per cena?
K: Usciamo?
M: Sì.
K: Ordiniamo una pizza?
M: Va bene!
K: Cuciniamo qualcosa?
M: Volentieri!
K: Dici sì perché non vuoi decidere?
M: Certo!
M: There’s one more way to say “yes” in Italian that we use all the time. And also an interesting use of sì – have you ever heard Italians use it three times? Sì, sì, sì.
K: To learn them and get bonus materials from today’s lesson, like vocabulary cards and a quiz, and see everything written down, head over to our website by clicking on the link in the description.
M - See you next time.
K - Or as we say in Italian.
Alla prossima!
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