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Italian relative pronouns at a glance

Before we go case by case through the Italian relative pronouns, here is the quick map. If you remember only this table, you already have 80% of the job done.

Pronoun	Role	Preposition?	Example
che	subject or direct object	no	Il libro che leggo.
cui	any indirect complement	yes, almost always	La casa in cui vivo.
il/la/i/le quale/i	same as cui, more formal	yes, articulated	La casa nella quale vivo.
il/la/i/le cui	possession (= whose)	no	L’amico il cui cane abbaia.
chi	the one who, whoever (people, indefinite)	rarely	Chi dorme poco, vive poco.
coloro che / colui che	those who, the one who (formal)	no	Coloro che hanno firmato.
quanto / quelli che	everything / everyone that	no	Fai quanto puoi.
da + infinito	implicit relative (“to do, to read”)	no	Un libro da leggere.

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Che: the workhorse (subject and direct object)

Che is the most common Italian relative pronoun, and probably one of the most common words in the language full stop. It is invariable. It does not care about gender or number. It does not take an article, does not take a preposition, and covers both subject and direct object positions.

• L’uomo che cammina davanti a noi è mio fratello.
  (subject: the man does the walking)
• La donna che ho conosciuto ieri si chiama Laura.
  (direct object: I met the woman)
• I libri che leggi sono tutti in italiano.
  (direct object, plural: you read the books)

In English you can say the book I read with no relative at all. In Italian the pronoun is not optional: il libro che leggo is the only correct version. Drop che and the sentence breaks.

The “il che” exception

There is one case where che takes an article. When it refers back to a whole sentence, not to a single noun, we can say il che, meaning and this fact.

• Oggi non piove, il che mi rende felice.
  (= and this fact makes me happy)

It sounds a little bookish. In everyday speech Italians often prefer a lighter variant: Oggi non piove, e questo mi rende felice. Both are fine, the second is more natural in conversation.

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Cui: when you need a preposition

Within the family of Italian relative pronouns, when the relative plays any role other than subject or direct object, che is not enough. You need cui, and cui almost always comes with a preposition.

Cui is invariable, like che. It does not change for gender or number. But unlike che, it carries a preposition that tells you what role it plays in the sentence.

• La casa in cui vivo è troppo piccola. (place: in which)
• Il motivo per cui ti arrabbi non è chiaro. (reason: for which)
• La strada da cui siamo venuti è chiusa. (origin: from which)
• Non ho sentito le notizie di cui state parlando. (topic: about which)
• L’amico con cui studio italiano vive a Bologna. (company: with whom)
• Il parco davanti a cui abito è pieno di bambini. (position: in front of which)

The preposition sits before cui, never after the clause. English lets you say the house I live in, pushing the preposition to the end. Italian refuses: you have to say la casa in cui vivo. Putting in at the end (la casa cui vivo in) is not just awkward, it is ungrammatical.

All simple prepositions work with cui: di, a, da, in, con, su, per, tra/fra. Plus the improper prepositions: davanti a, dietro a, sopra, sotto, dopo di, prima di, and similar phrases.

The one case where cui drops the preposition

There is a quiet exception. When cui stands for a cui (indirect object, meaning to whom or to which), careful Italian lets you drop the a. The meaning stays the same and the phrase gets lighter.

• La persona a cui ho dato il libro. → La persona cui ho dato il libro.
• L’argomento a cui tenevo di più. → L’argomento cui tenevo di più.

This only works for the indirect-object a cui. All other prepositions stay in place: in cui, per cui, con cui, di cui cannot drop theirs. If you see cui without a preposition in a well-written text, the writer meant a cui.

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Il cui, la cui, i cui, le cui: how to say “whose”

This is the corner of Italian relative pronouns English speakers almost always miss, because the structure does not map onto any familiar pattern. To translate whose, Italian uses cui with an article, and crucially without a preposition.

• Questo è l’attore il cui film mi era piaciuto tanto.
  (the actor whose film I had loved)
• Conosco una ragazza la cui madre lavora in ospedale.
  (a girl whose mother works in the hospital)
• Ho un collega i cui genitori vengono da Napoli.
  (a colleague whose parents come from Naples)
• Ci sono molte città le cui origini sono romane.
  (many cities whose origins are Roman)

The article agrees with the thing possessed, not with the possessor. In l’attore il cui film, il agrees with film (masculine singular), not with attore. In ragazza la cui madre, la agrees with madre, not with ragazza. This trips up most learners the first time.

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Il quale: the formal cousin of cui

Quale is the variable member of the Italian relative pronouns family. It agrees with the noun it replaces and it always comes with an articulated preposition. It does exactly the same job as cui, but with a more formal flavour.

With cui (neutral)	With il/la quale (formal)
La casa in cui vivo.	La casa nella quale vivo.
Il motivo per cui ti arrabbi.	Il motivo per il quale ti arrabbi.
La strada da cui siamo venuti.	La strada dalla quale siamo venuti.
Le notizie di cui parliamo.	Le notizie delle quali parliamo.

Both columns are correct. The version with cui is shorter and neutral. The version with il quale is heavier and fits written or formal Italian: legal documents, academic writing, a careful business email. In everyday conversation, cui wins by volume.

When is il quale actually useful?

There is one situation where il quale earns its keep even in spoken Italian: disambiguation. When a sentence could refer to two different people, il quale or la quale forces a choice because it carries gender.

• Ho visto il marito di Laura, che prende sempre la metropolitana.
  (ambiguous: is it Laura, or the husband?)
• Ho visto il marito di Laura, il quale prende sempre la metropolitana.
  (the husband, unambiguously)
• Ho visto il marito di Laura, la quale prende sempre la metropolitana.
  (Laura, unambiguously)

This is the clearest reason il quale survives in modern Italian. Gender on the relative pronoun pulls the sentence out of the fog.

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Chi as a relative pronoun: “the one who”

Chi is interrogative most of the time (Chi è?), but it also works as one of the Italian relative pronouns with a very specific meaning: the person who, the people who, or whoever. It refers only to people, and it never has an antecedent noun.

• Chi dorme poco, vive poco.
  (whoever sleeps little, lives little)
• Chi ti ha venduto quell’orologio, ti ha ingannato.
  (the person who sold you that watch tricked you)
• Aiuto chi ne ha bisogno.
  (I help whoever needs it)

Grammatically chi is singular, even when it refers to many people. Chi non ascolta takes a singular verb, non capisce, not non capiscono.

Do not confuse chi-relative with che-relative. Chi stands on its own and means the one who. Che needs a noun right before it: la persona che studia (the person who studies). You cannot say la persona chi studia.

Chi… chi: the correlative pair

Chi repeated in pairs works like some… others in English. It still takes a singular verb each time.

• Alla festa, chi ballava, chi cantava, chi parlava in un angolo.
  (some were dancing, others singing, others talking in a corner)

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Quanto, coloro che, chiunque: quantity and indefinite relatives

Italian has a small family of relative-like words for everything that, everyone who, and whoever. Each one sits at a different register.

• Hai capito quanto ti abbiamo spiegato?
  (everything that we explained : formal)
• Ringraziamo quanti hanno partecipato.
  (all those who took part : written, polite)
• Farò quello che mi hai chiesto.
  (everything that you asked me : everyday)
• Non sopporto quelli che non pagano il biglietto.
  (those who don’t pay the ticket : everyday)

Coloro che, colui che, colei che

Coloro che (plural), colui che (masculine singular) and colei che (feminine singular) are the formal versions of quelli che / quello che / quella che. You meet them in official communications, legal writing, ceremonial speech, and careful literary prose.

• Coloro che hanno firmato la petizione riceveranno una risposta.
  (those who signed the petition will receive a reply)
• Colui che arriverà primo vincerà il premio.
  (the one who arrives first will win the prize)

In everyday speech these sound stiff. Reach for chi or quelli che instead unless you are writing a contract.

Chiunque + congiuntivo

Chiunque means whoever, anyone who. It is indefinite by nature, so it pulls the subjunctive along with it.

• Chiunque sia interessato può partecipare. (anyone who is interested can take part)
• Chiunque arrivi in ritardo dovrà aspettare. (whoever arrives late will have to wait)
• Chiunque tu scelga, non si offenderà nessuno. (whoever you choose, no one will be offended)

Di cui with numbers: “of which”

When you break a total down into parts, Italian uses di cui followed by a number or a quantifier.

• Abbiamo trenta studenti, di cui dieci internazionali.
  (of whom ten are international)
• Ho letto cinque libri quest’estate, di cui tre in italiano.
  (of which three in Italian)

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Da + infinito: the hidden relative construction

Here is the member of the Italian relative pronouns family that most learning materials skip. When English says a book to read, a house to sell, things to do, Italian does not reach for a relative pronoun at all. It uses da + infinito, a compressed relative clause that carries modal meaning (to be / can be / should be).

• Cerco un libro da leggere in treno.
  (a book to read = a book that I can read)
• Hanno una casa da vendere.
  (a house to sell = a house that is up for sale)
• Ho mille cose da fare prima di partire.
  (a thousand things to do)
• È un film da vedere almeno una volta.
  (a film to see at least once = that deserves to be seen)

Compare the full relative version with the da + infinito compression.

Full relative clause	Compressed with da + infinito
Un libro che si può leggere.	Un libro da leggere.
Una casa che devo vendere.	Una casa da vendere.
Una persona con cui posso parlare.	Una persona con cui parlare.

The third row adds the sister pattern: preposition + cui + infinito. When a preposition is involved, the construction keeps cui and puts the verb in the infinitive.

• Non trovo nessuno con cui uscire stasera.
  (no one to go out with)
• Questi sono gli argomenti su cui puntare.
  (these are the topics to focus on)
• Abbiamo trovato una baby-sitter a cui affidare i bambini.
  (a babysitter we can trust the kids with)

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Time, place, and manner: when to pick dove, quando, come vs in cui

Within the Italian relative pronouns toolkit, you can swap the heavy in cui for a lighter relative adverb when the antecedent is concrete. With abstract antecedents, in cui is the only safe choice.

Time relatives

• Il giorno in cui ci siamo conosciuti pioveva. → Il giorno quando ci siamo conosciuti pioveva. (less common, marked)
• Ricordo l’anno in cui ho iniziato a studiare italiano.
• Il momento in cui arrivai era già tardi. (not “il momento quando” : abstract antecedent keeps in cui)

Educated Italian prefers in cui for time relatives, even when English says when. Quando as a relative adverb exists but feels looser; most writers avoid it after a concrete noun like il giorno, l’anno, la settimana.

Place relatives

• La città in cui vivo. → La città dove vivo. (both fine, dove is lighter)
• Il ristorante dove ci siamo incontrati ha chiuso.
• Il palazzo nel quale lavora è in centro. (formal version)

Dove is invariable and carries no preposition. It works like a little relative adverb of place. When the antecedent is not a real location but a situation or a moment, drop dove and go back to in cui: il caso in cui, la situazione in cui, l’episodio in cui.

Manner relatives

• Mi piace il modo in cui parla italiano. → Mi piace il modo come parla italiano. (both correct, come is slightly more conversational)
• Non capisco il metodo con cui insegnano.

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Indicative or subjunctive after che? The “specific vs any” rule

Italian relative pronouns can carry either indicative or subjunctive inside the clause they introduce, depending on whether the antecedent is a specific thing or any thing at all. This is a subtle choice that native speakers make without thinking, and one English has no clean equivalent for.

• Cerco il libro che parla di urbanistica.
  (indicative: I’m looking for the book, a specific one I know exists)
• Cerco un libro che parli di urbanistica.
  (subjunctive: I’m looking for any book, whichever one, provided it’s on urbanism)

The switch from parla to parli changes the whole meaning. With the indicative, the book is out there and I expect to find it. With the subjunctive, the book is hypothetical, and any candidate would do.

• Voglio una macchina che consuma poco. (my specific future car, and it consumes little)
• Voglio una macchina che consumi poco. (any car at all, provided fuel use is low)
• Conosci qualcuno che parli quattro lingue? (subjunctive: existence is uncertain, that is the point of the question)

Negative antecedents pull the subjunctive automatically: non c’è niente che mi piaccia, non trovo nessuno che voglia venire. The moment the antecedent is denied or doubted, the mood shifts.

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Restrictive vs non-restrictive clauses in Italian

English marks the difference between defining clauses (no commas, that) and non-defining clauses (with commas, which). Italian uses the same relative pronoun in both, but the comma rule still matters.

• Il treno che parte alle sette è in ritardo.
  (restrictive: only that specific train. No commas.)
• Il treno delle sette, che di solito è puntuale, è in ritardo.
  (non-restrictive: extra information. Commas.)

Same pronoun, different punctuation, different meaning. When you write, respect the commas. When you speak, you can hear the pause.

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Seven mistakes English speakers make with Italian relative pronouns

Seven slips with Italian relative pronouns that show up again and again in the first months of study:

1. Dropping the relative pronoun. English allows the book I read. Italian does not: it is always il libro che leggo. Keep che in, every time. See the guide to Italian question words for more on che.
2. Stranding the preposition. English: the house I live in. Italian: la casa in cui vivo. The preposition moves to the front and glues itself to cui. You cannot leave it dangling at the end.
3. Using “quale” everywhere because it looks like “which”. Quale is possible but formal. In daily speech, cui wins. Reach for il quale only when you need gender disambiguation or when you are writing something formal.
4. Translating “whose” with “di cui”. Technically you can use di cui, but the natural Italian is il cui, la cui, i cui, le cui, and the article agrees with the thing owned, not the owner. L’amico il cui cane abbaia, not l’amico di cui il cane abbaia.
5. Mixing “chi” and “che”. Chi needs no noun before it and means the one who. Che always attaches to a noun. Chi studia impara is fine. La persona chi studia is not: you need la persona che studia.
6. Translating “a book to read” with “che”. English to + infinitive after a noun becomes da + infinito in Italian: un libro da leggere, not un libro che leggere. Same shape for cose da fare, un film da vedere, una casa da vendere.
7. Forgetting to switch to subjunctive for hypothetical antecedents. Cerco un libro che parli di Roma (any book), not cerco un libro che parla di Roma if you mean any book at all. After non c’è, cerco un, qualcuno che, nessuno che, the verb usually goes subjunctive.

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Relative pronouns in a real conversation

Italian relative pronouns in the wild: Chiara is telling Ethan about her cousin, an architect, who is moving his studio into a historic building in central Genoa. Notice how many relative pronouns slide in without any effort, and how Chiara uses da + infinito, il cui, and the subjunctive with chiunque.

Count the Italian relative pronouns at work: che-subject, di cui, che-non-restrictive, nel quale, la quale for gender, il cui for whose, che + congiuntivo for an indefinite antecedent, da + infinito for “things to move”, chiunque + congiuntivo, il che, and a time relative with in cui.

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Exercise: Italian relative pronouns

Want to drill these Italian relative pronouns in real conversation? Join our B2 to C1 Italian course Quattro Chiacchiere to put che, cui, il quale into live practice with a native teacher, or book a private one-to-one lesson shaped around your weak spots.

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FAQ: Italian relative pronouns