As a beginner, you can probably already say a few things in Italian. But asking questions? That’s a whole different story. And yet, being able to ask simple questions can transform your conversations. The good news? You only need six little words to unlock a whole new level of Italian.
Chi? (Who?)
Used to ask about a person.
- Chi sei? — Who are you?
- Chi è quella persona? — Who is that person?
Cosa? (What?)
Used to ask about a thing, an object, or an action.
- Cos’è? — What is it?
- Cosa fai? — What are you doing?
- Cosa vuoi mangiare? — What do you want to eat?
Notice: cosa + è contracts to cos’è.
You’ll also hear the shorter, very common version: Che cosa fai? or simply Che fai? — all mean the same thing.
Dove? (Where?)
Used to ask about a place or location — one of the most useful words when you’re travelling.
- Dove abiti? — Where do you live?
- Dov’è il bagno? — Where’s the bathroom?
- Dov’è il museo — Where is the museum?
Notice dove + è contracts to dov’è — you’ll see this constantly.
Quando? (When?)
Used to ask about time.
- Quando arrivi? — When are you arriving?
- Quando parti? — When do you leave?
- Quando è il tuo compleanno? — When is your birthday?
Come? (How?)
Used to ask about the way something is done, or someone’s state of being.
- Come stai? — How are you? (probably the first question you ever learned!)
- Come si dice “hello” in italiano? — How do you say “hello” in Italian?
- Come si scrive Schiapparelli? How do you spell Schiapparelli?
Perché? (Why?)
Used to ask for a reason — and handy to know because the answer also starts with perché (“because”), which sometimes confuses beginners.
- Perché studi italiano? — Why are you studying Italian?
- Perché sei in Italia? — Why are you in Italy?
- Perché sei in ritardo? — Why are you late?
Bonus: Quanto? (How much? / How many?)
Not one of the original six, but essential the moment you go shopping, order food, or ask for directions.
- Quanto costa? — How much does it cost?
- Quanto tempo rimani in Italia? — How long are you staying in Italy?
- Quanti anni hai? — How old are you? (literally: how many years do you have?)
One important thing about Italian questions
Unlike English, Italian doesn’t usually change word order to form a question. You don’t need an auxiliary verb like “do” or “does.” Often, the question word simply goes at the front, and in speech, your voice rises at the end — that’s what signals a question, more than the grammar does.
Try it yourself
Pick three of these words and write one simple question with each. It doesn’t need to be perfect — the goal is just to start asking, not just answering.
This is just vocabulary — if you’d like to learn to actually speak Italian, try a free trial speaking class with Parla Italiano.
