Italian You’re Welcome: Prego, Figurati, Di Niente

🔍 In short. The Italian you’re welcome is not one word but a small family: prego (the neutral default), di niente / di nulla (it was nothing), figurati / si figuri / figuratevi (don’t mention it, graded for tu/lei/voi), non c’è di che (no need to thank me), ci mancherebbe (of course, it was a pleasure). They are largely interchangeable; the real skill is matching formality and warmth. This B1 guide sorts every reply to grazie, when to use each, and the formal/informal traps.

English has basically one all-purpose answer, “you’re welcome”, plus a few casual ones. The Italian you’re welcome is a register dial: the same thank-you can get a crisp prego, a warm figurati, or a formal si figuri, and picking the wrong one sounds slightly off even when it is grammatically fine.

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Answering grazie: the basics

Someone helps you carry a box up the stairs and says nothing; you say grazie; they answer. That answer is the Italian you’re welcome, and you have at least six natural options, not one. Choosing well is a small thing that makes you sound like a local rather than a textbook.

The whole set: prego, di niente, di nulla, figurati (and its lei form si figuri), non c’è di che, ci mancherebbe. They overlap a lot, so the Italian you’re welcome is less about grammar and more about register: how formal, how warm, how emphatic.

Prego: the default

Prego is the safe, neutral Italian you’re welcome. It works in every register, from a shop to an office, and you can never really go wrong with it.

• “Grazie mille!” “Prego.”
  “Thanks a lot!” “You’re welcome.”
• “La ringrazio.” “Prego, si figuri.”
  “Thank you.” “You’re welcome, not at all.” (formal)
• Prego also means “after you / go ahead”: Prego, si accomodi.
  Please, take a seat.

If you only remember one Italian you’re welcome, make it prego. It is the response a waiter, a clerk or a stranger expects, and it doubles as “please, go ahead” when you offer something or hold a door.

Di niente, di nulla

Di niente and di nulla are an Italian you’re welcome that literally says “of nothing”, the favour cost me nothing. They are interchangeable; di nulla sounds very slightly more refined.

• “Grazie per il passaggio.” “Di niente!”
  “Thanks for the lift.” “No problem!”
• “Grazie davvero.” “Di nulla, quando vuoi.”
  “Thanks so much.” “Not at all, anytime.”

This Italian you’re welcome is a touch warmer than a bare prego and slightly less formal. Some speakers shorten it to just niente on the phone; that is accepted in casual speech, though di niente is the full standard form.

Figurati, si figuri, figuratevi

This is the one to learn carefully, because it changes form with the person. Figurati is the warm, informal Italian you’re welcome, literally “imagine (that)”, meaning don’t even think about it.

• tu: “Grazie!” “Figurati!”
  “Thanks!” “Don’t mention it!” (to a friend)
• lei: “La ringrazio.” “Si figuri.”
  “Thank you.” “Not at all.” (formal, to one person)
• voi: “Vi ringraziamo.” “Figuratevi!”
  “We thank you.” “Don’t mention it!” (to a group)

Non c’è di che

Non c’è di che is a neutral, slightly emphatic Italian you’re welcome. It means roughly “there is nothing to thank me for”. It works in both informal and moderately formal situations.

• “Grazie per avermi aspettato.” “Non c’è di che.”
  “Thanks for waiting for me.” “Don’t mention it.”
• “La ringrazio per l’informazione.” “Non c’è di che.”
  “Thank you for the information.” “Not at all.”

Note the apostrophe and the accent: non c’è di che, with c’è (there is). This Italian you’re welcome is very common in service contexts, where it sounds polished without being stiff.

Ci mancherebbe (altro)

Ci mancherebbe, often ci mancherebbe altro, is the most generous Italian you’re welcome. It says the favour was so natural that not doing it would have been unthinkable.

• “Grazie per essere venuto ad aiutarmi col trasloco.” “Ci mancherebbe!”
  “Thanks for coming to help me move.” “Of course, it was the least I could do!”
• “Scusa il disturbo.” “Ci mancherebbe altro, nessun disturbo.”
  “Sorry to bother you.” “Not at all, no bother.”

Be aware this expression has a second life: ci mancherebbe can also reject a bad idea (“that’s all we need!”). As an Italian you’re welcome, the warm “of course, glad to” reading is clear from the thank-you that triggers it.

More replies: è stato un piacere, ma ti pare

Beyond the core set, two more give your Italian you’re welcome extra warmth or extra casualness.

• È stato un piacere.
  It was a pleasure. (warm, slightly formal)
• Ma ti pare! / Ma figurati!
  Come on, of course! (very informal, dismissive of any debt)
• Quando vuoi. / Quando vuole.
  Anytime. (friendly add-on after another reply)

These often stack: “Di niente, quando vuoi”, “Figurati, è stato un piacere”. Combining two short replies is a very natural Italian you’re welcome in real conversation.

Formal or informal: which to pick

The only real decision behind the Italian you’re welcome is register. A quick guide:

• Stranger, clerk, formal: prego, non c’è di che, si figuri.
• Friend, colleague, informal: figurati, di niente, ci mancherebbe.
• Always safe anywhere: prego.

When unsure, default to prego: it is the one Italian you’re welcome that never sounds wrong. Then, as you read the situation, warm it up with figurati or formalise it with si figuri.

Answering scusa with prego

A useful bonus: the Italian you’re welcome also answers an apology. If someone says scusa or mi scusi, you reply with the same words.

• “Scusa il ritardo.” “Prego, figurati.”
  “Sorry I’m late.” “It’s fine, don’t worry.”
• “Mi scusi per il disturbo.” “Prego, si figuri.”
  “Sorry to bother you.” “Not at all.”

So the same Italian you’re welcome covers both “thank you” and “sorry”: prego, figurati, si figuri, non si preoccupi all work after an apology.

Where prego comes from

A small piece of history makes the main Italian you’re welcome easier to remember. Prego is literally “I pray / I beg”, the first person of pregare, but as a courtesy formula it is recent: it appears in written Italian only from the mid-1800s.

It is not a native Romance development. It follows the model of the German bitte, which works the same double way (“please” and “you’re welcome”) and spread through the Austro-Hungarian sphere. That is why this Italian you’re welcome behaves so much like English “please/you’re welcome” overlaps: it was shaped by the same pattern. Knowing this also explains why prego alone can mean “please, go ahead”, “after you”, “here you are” and “you’re welcome”: it is a general courtesy marker, not a fixed phrase, so context decides which English translation fits.

Saying thank you: grazie, ti ringrazio

The Italian you’re welcome only makes sense paired with the thank-you that triggers it, so it helps to control the other half too. The base is grazie; you intensify it or make it more formal in predictable ways.

• grazie → neutral, all-purpose
  thanks
• grazie mille / grazie infinite / mille grazie → strong
  thanks a lot / a million thanks
• grazie di cuore → warm, heartfelt
  heartfelt thanks
• ti ringrazio (tu) / la ringrazio (lei) / vi ringrazio (voi) → a touch more formal than grazie
  I thank you

To say what you are thankful for, both di and per are correct: grazie dell’aiuto or grazie per l’aiuto, grazie di essere venuto or grazie per essere venuto. With a noun, di can sound slightly lighter and per slightly more explicit, but neither is wrong. Knowing this pairing makes every Italian you’re welcome land in the right register, because you hear how strong the thanks was before you answer.

More micro-exchanges to copy

The fastest way to internalise the Italian you’re welcome is to read whole exchanges aloud, hearing the thank-you and the reply together. Here are twelve, graded from very informal to formal.

• “Grazie per la cena, era buonissima!” “Figurati, ci mancherebbe.”
  “Thanks for dinner, it was delicious!” “Don’t mention it, of course.”
• “Grazie del passaggio fino a Lucca.” “Ma ti pare, era sulla mia strada.”
  “Thanks for the lift to Lucca.” “Come on, it was on my way.”
• “Ti ringrazio per il consiglio.” “Di niente, quando vuoi.”
  “Thanks for the advice.” “Not at all, anytime.”
• “Grazie mille per l’aiuto col trasloco.” “È stato un piacere.”
  “Thanks a lot for the help with the move.” “It was a pleasure.”
• “Scusa se ti ho fatto aspettare.” “Figurati, nessun problema.”
  “Sorry I kept you waiting.” “Don’t worry, no problem.”
• “Grazie di cuore per ieri.” “Ci mancherebbe altro.”
  “Heartfelt thanks for yesterday.” “It was the least I could do.”
• “La ringrazio per la disponibilità.” “Si figuri, è il mio lavoro.”
  “Thank you for your availability.” “Not at all, it’s my job.” (formal)
• “Grazie per avermi avvisato in tempo.” “Non c’è di che.”
  “Thanks for letting me know in time.” “Don’t mention it.”
• “Vi ringraziamo per l’ospitalità.” “Figuratevi, tornate quando volete.”
  “Thank you for the hospitality.” “Don’t mention it, come back anytime.” (to a couple)
• “Mi scusi per il disturbo.” “Prego, si figuri.”
  “Sorry to bother you.” “Not at all.” (formal)
• “Grazie per aver portato su gli scatoloni.” “Di nulla, erano leggeri.”
  “Thanks for carrying the boxes up.” “No problem, they were light.”
• “Grazie infinite, davvero.” “Ma figurati, è stato un piacere.”
  “Thanks so much, really.” “Oh come on, it was a pleasure.”

Read each pair until the reply feels automatic. Notice the rule under all of them: the warmer or more formal the thanks, the warmer or more formal the Italian you’re welcome that answers it.

Common mistakes English speakers make

• Using benvenuto for “you’re welcome”. Benvenuto means “welcome” (on arrival) only, never the Italian you’re welcome after thanks.
• Saying figurati to a stranger or boss: too familiar. Use si figuri or prego.
• Translating “no problem” as nessun problema after thanks. Italians say di niente or figurati.
• Forgetting the accent: it is non c’è di che, not non ce di che.
• Wrong person on figurati: to a group it is figuratevi, not figurati.

Dialog: small favours in Modena

Caterina has just moved into a flat in Modena. Listen for the Italian you’re welcome in each reply and how the register shifts.

One short scene runs through the whole Italian you’re welcome: figurati, ci mancherebbe, prego, si figuri, non c’è di che, switched purely by who is speaking to whom.

Cheat sheet: every reply

One table for the whole Italian you’re welcome. Keep it open while you do the quiz.

Mini-challenge

Test your understanding

The quiz below drills the Italian you’re welcome: prego, di niente, the figurati forms, non c’è di che, ci mancherebbe and register. Take it after the cheat sheet.

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Frequently asked questions

Seven questions about the Italian you’re welcome come up in every B1 class. The answers below draw on classroom usage and on the Treccani entry linguaggio della cortesia.

Related guides

Three guides next to the Italian you’re welcome in the conversational-register cluster, plus the institutional reference.

• Italian Interjections: uffa, mah, boh and the sounds that carry emotion.
• Italian Filler Words: cioè, insomma, allora and how natural speech breathes.
• Italian Mica and Manco: the colloquial negators that colour spoken Italian.
• Treccani: linguaggio della cortesia: institutional reference.