Italian Question Words: Learn Italian Question Words With This Practical Guide
Last updated: February 5, 2026
Being able to ask questions properly when learning Italian is one of those skills that immediately makes conversations feel more natural. You can't really have a proper chat without being able to ask where the bathroom is, what time something starts, or why your friend decided to order pineapple on their pizza (A crime in Italy, by the way). The good news is that Italian question words follow pretty logical patterns once you understand the basics. Let's break down exactly how to ask questions in Italian so you can actually hold conversations instead of just nodding along.
- The core Italian question words you need to know
- How to form basic questions in Italian
- Questions with prepositions get rearranged
- Word order flexibility in Italian questions
- Indirect questions follow different rules
- Tag questions to confirm what you already think
- Using quale and quanto with gender and number
- The difference between che and cosa
- Common question phrases you'll use constantly
- Asking questions to learn Italian better
- Some cool Italian question words and expressions
- Tips to practice how to ask questions in Italian
The core Italian question words you need to know
Italian has eight main interrogative words that form the foundation of asking questions. These are the workhorses you'll use constantly.
- Chi means "who" and refers to people. Pretty straightforward. Chi sei? means "Who are you?" and Chi viene alla festa? means "Who's coming to the party?"
- Cosa or che both mean "what" and you'll see Italians use them interchangeably in casual speech. Cosa fai? and Che fai? both ask "What are you doing?" There's technically a grammar rule about when to use each, but honestly, most native speakers mix them up all the time.
- Quando means "when" and works exactly like you'd expect. Quando parti? asks "When are you leaving?"
- Dove translates to "where" and helps you navigate both physical locations and abstract concepts. Dove abiti? means "Where do you live?"
- Come means "how" and also doubles as "what" in certain expressions. Come stai? is the classic "How are you?" but Come ti chiami? literally means "How do you call yourself?" which is how Italians ask for your name.
- Perché covers both "why" and "because" in Italian, which can confuse beginners. Perché studi l'italiano? means "Why do you study Italian?" The context makes it clear whether you're asking or answering.
- Quale means "which" or "what" when choosing between options. Quale libro preferisci? asks "Which book do you prefer?"
- Quanto translates to "how much" or "how many" and changes form based on what you're asking about. Quanto costa? means "How much does it cost?"
How to form basic questions in Italian
Here's the thing about Italian question formation: it's actually simpler than English in some ways. You don't need auxiliary verbs like "do" or "does" to ask questions.
For yes/no questions, you literally just change your intonation.
The sentence structure stays exactly the same as a statement. Parli italiano (You speak Italian) becomes Parli italiano? (Do you speak Italian?) just by raising your voice at the end. Super easy.
In writing, you add a question mark. In speaking, that upward inflection does all the work.
When you use question words, the typical word order puts the interrogative word at the beginning, followed by the verb, then the subject if you include it.
Dove vai? means "Where are you going?" The literal translation is "Where go you?" but that's just how Italian rolls.
You can also flip the subject and verb for emphasis or clarity. Dove vai tu? puts more emphasis on "you" specifically. When do you study Italian? translates to Quando studi italiano? or Quando studi tu l'italiano? depending on how formal you want to sound.
Questions with prepositions get rearranged
English lets you end questions with prepositions, even though grammar teachers hate it. "Where are you from?" or "Who are you talking to?" are totally normal.
Italian doesn't work this way.
The preposition must come before the question word, attached to it.
- "Where are you from?" becomes Da dove vieni? The preposition da (From) goes right before dove. You can't say Dove vieni da? like you might in English.
- "Who are you going with?" translates to Con chi vai? The preposition con (With) attaches to chi at the beginning.
- "What are you thinking about?" becomes A cosa pensi? or A che pensi? The preposition a comes first.
This pattern holds true for all prepositions: di (Of/About), per (For), su (On/About), in (In), tra (Between), etc. Di chi parli? means "Who are you talking about?" Per quale motivo? asks "For what reason?"
Word order flexibility in Italian questions
Italian allows more flexibility in word order than English, especially in spoken language. The subject can move around for emphasis or style.
The standard order is question word + verb + subject.
- Dove abita Maria?
Where does Maria live?
But you can also say Dove Maria abita? to emphasize Maria specifically, or Maria dove abita? in very casual speech.
With yes/no questions, you can start with the verb or the subject.
Hai fame? and Tu hai fame? Both ask if you're hungry, but the second version emphasizes "you" more.
In practice, Italians often drop the subject pronoun entirely because the verb conjugation makes it clear. Vai al cinema? (Are you going to the movies?) doesn't need tu because vai can only mean "you go."
Indirect questions follow different rules
When you embed a question inside another sentence, the structure changes slightly.
- Direct question: Dove vai? (Where are you going?)
- Indirect question: Non so dove vai. (I don't know where you're going.)
The question word stays, but the sentence structure becomes more like a statement. You're not actually asking the question directly anymore.
Mi chiedo perché studia l'italiano means "I wonder why he/she studies Italian." The verb order shifts to match a regular sentence after the question word.
Puoi dirmi che ore sono? asks "Can you tell me what time it is?" The question che ore sono? gets embedded into a polite request.
Tag questions to confirm what you already think
Italian uses tag questions just like English uses "right?" or "isn't it?" at the end of sentences.
The most common tags are vero? (True?) and giusto? (Correct?). You can stick these at the end of any statement to turn it into a confirmation question.
Vieni domani, vero? means "You're coming tomorrow, right?" È difficile, giusto? asks "It's difficult, isn't it?"
Another option is no? which works exactly like the English "no?" Hai fame, no? translates to "You're hungry, aren't you?"
These tags don't change based on whether the main sentence is positive or negative, which makes them easier than English tags. You don't need to figure out "isn't it?" versus "is it?" Just slap vero? on the end and you're good.
Using quale and quanto with gender and number
These two question words actually change their endings to match what they're describing. This trips up English speakers because we don't do this with "which" or "how much."
Quale becomes quali in the plural.
Quale macchina preferisci? asks "Which car do you prefer?" while Quali macchine preferisci? asks about multiple cars.
Quanto has four forms: quanto (Masculine singular), quanta (Feminine singular), quanti (Masculine plural), and quante (Feminine plural).
Quanto tempo hai? means "How much time do you have?" because tempo is masculine. Quanta pazienza hai? asks "How much patience do you have?" because pazienza is feminine. Quanti anni hai? is how you ask someone's age in Italian, literally "How many years do you have?" Quante persone vengono? means "How many people are coming?"
When quanto functions as an adverb instead of an adjective, it stays in the masculine singular form. Quanto costa? (How much does it cost?) never changes because you're modifying the verb, not a noun.
The difference between che and cosa
Both words mean "what" but they have slightly different uses, though Italians blur these lines in everyday speech.
- Cosa typically stands alone as a pronoun. Cosa vuoi? (What do you want?), Cosa succede? (What's happening?), Cosa hai detto? (What did you say?).
- Che works both as a pronoun and as an adjective. As a pronoun, it's more common in exclamations or after prepositions. Che bello! (How beautiful!), Di che parli? (What are you talking about?). As an adjective, che asks "what kind of" and goes directly before a noun. Che libro leggi? means "What book are you reading?" Che ore sono? asks "What time is it?"
In casual conversation, you'll hear Italians use these interchangeably. Che fai? and Cosa fai? both ask what you're doing, and nobody will correct you for choosing one over the other.
Common question phrases you'll use constantly
Some questions in Italian use fixed expressions that don't translate word for word.
- Come ti chiami? literally means "How do you call yourself?" but it's how you ask someone's name. The response is Mi chiamo (name), "I call myself (name)."
- Quanti anni hai? asks someone's age, literally "How many years do you have?" You respond with Ho (number) anni.
- Che ore sono? or Che ora è? both ask for the time. The plural version (ore) is more common because you're usually talking about multiple hours.
- Di dove sei? asks where someone is from, literally "Of where are you?" The preposition di indicates origin.
- Come mai? means "how come?" or "why?" and sounds more casual than perché. Come mai non sei venuto? asks "How come you didn't come?"
Asking questions to learn Italian better
When you're actively learning the language, knowing how to ask for clarification is super useful.
- Come si dice (word) in italiano? means "How do you say (word) in Italian?" This phrase will save you in conversations when you blank on vocabulary.
- Cosa significa (word)? asks "What does (word) mean?" Essential for when you hear something unfamiliar.
- Puoi ripetere? means "Can you repeat?" Simple and polite.
- Come si scrive? asks "How do you write/spell it?" Helpful when you're trying to write something down correctly.
- Parli inglese? (Do you speak English?) can be a lifesaver, though you should try to use Italian as much as possible.
Some cool Italian question words and expressions
Beyond the basic interrogatives, Italian has some interesting variations.
Italian Phrase | English Translation | Italian Sentence Example | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
Quanto tempo? | How long? (Duration) | Quanto tempo ci vuole? | How long does it take? |
Da quando? | Since when? | Da quando abiti qui? | Since when have you lived here? |
Fino a quando? | Until when? | Fino a quando rimani? | Until when are you staying? |
Per quanto tempo? | For how long? | Per quanto tempo studi ogni giorno? | For how long do you study each day? |
Ogni quanto? | How often? | Ogni quanto vai in palestra? | How often do you go to the gym? |
Tips to practice how to ask questions in Italian
The grammar rules help you understand the structure, but actually using these question words in conversation is what makes them stick.
- Start by asking yourself simple questions in Italian throughout the day. Che ore sono? when you check the time. Dove sono le chiavi? when you're looking for your keys. Cosa voglio mangiare? when deciding on food.
- When you're watching Italian content or reading, pay attention to how native speakers form questions. You'll notice they break the "rules" all the time in casual speech, dropping subjects, mixing up word order, and using che and cosa interchangeably.
- The interrogative words themselves are pretty easy to memorize since there are only eight main ones. The trickier part is getting comfortable with the sentence structures and knowing when you need prepositions.
If you want to actually practice these questions with real Italian content, Migaku's browser extension and app let you look up words and save sentences while watching shows or reading articles. Makes it way easier to learn from context instead of just memorizing lists. There's a 10-day free trial if you want to check it out.
The second milestone in language learning
Learning how to ask questions is another milestone in your language learning journey. As you master the rules, you can stroll around a foreign city more at ease, with more sense of control over where you should go and how you can get there. The necessity simply gives more weight to the practice of drilling question rules with media consumption.
If you consume media in Italian, and you understand at least some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. Period.
Learn the basics, and build from there!