{"id":17871,"date":"2016-11-20T00:36:51","date_gmt":"2016-11-19T15:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/?p=17871"},"modified":"2026-04-21T21:39:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T12:39:06","slug":"how-to-say-what-in-italian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/how-to-say-what-in-italian\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Say WHAT in Italian: Che, Cosa, Che Cosa, Chi (and more)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>In short:<\/strong> <em>How to say <\/em>what<em> in Italian depends on the sentence: you can use <\/em>che<em>, <\/em>cosa<em>, or <\/em>che cosa<em>, and all three are correct and interchangeable in most situations. For <\/em>who<em> you always use <\/em>chi<em>. For <\/em>which<em> you usually pick <\/em>quale<em>. This guide walks through every Italian question word (<\/em>i pronomi interrogativi<em>), the regional and register preferences that real speakers follow, and the small traps that English speakers keep falling into.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-toc-17871\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-toc-head-17871 gb-headline-text\">What we&#8217;ll cover today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">\ud83d\udc46\ud83c\udffb<br>Jump to sections<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#quick\">What&#8217;s the quick answer? (Italian question words at a glance)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#chi\">When do we use <em>chi<\/em> for &#8220;who&#8221;?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#cosa-che\">Cosa, che, or che cosa for &#8220;what&#8221;: which one?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#regional\">Is there a regional preference between <em>cosa<\/em> and <em>che<\/em>?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#relative\">How does interrogative <em>che<\/em> differ from relative <em>che<\/em>?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#quale\">When do we pick <em>quale<\/em> over <em>che<\/em> for &#8220;which&#8221;?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#quanto\">How do we ask &#8220;how much&#8221; and &#8220;how many&#8221;?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#wh-rest\">What about &#8220;how&#8221;, &#8220;where&#8221;, &#8220;when&#8221;, and &#8220;why&#8221;?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#mistakes\">What mistakes do English speakers make?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#dialog\">A bar conversation with real question words<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#faq\">FAQ<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-quick-17871 gb-headline-text\" id=\"quick\">What&#8217;s the quick answer?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Italian has a small set of <strong>question words<\/strong> (<em>pronomi e aggettivi interrogativi<\/em>). Each one points to a specific kind of information: person, thing, choice, quantity, manner, place, time, or reason. Here&#8217;s the whole toolkit on one page, before we look at the two or three cases that actually confuse English speakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Italian<\/th><th>English<\/th><th>Used for<\/th><th>Example<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Chi?<\/strong><\/td><td>Who? \/ Whom?<\/td><td>People (always)<\/td><td><em>Chi \u00e8?<\/em><br>Who is it?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Che? \/ Cosa? \/ Che cosa?<\/strong><\/td><td>What?<\/td><td>Things, actions, abstract ideas<\/td><td><em>Cosa fai?<\/em><br>What are you doing?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Quale? \/ Quali?<\/strong><\/td><td>Which?<\/td><td>Choice among known options<\/td><td><em>Quale preferisci?<\/em><br>Which one do you prefer?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Quanto? \/ Quanta? \/ Quanti? \/ Quante?<\/strong><\/td><td>How much? \/ How many?<\/td><td>Quantity (agrees in gender and number)<\/td><td><em>Quanti ne vuoi?<\/em><br>How many do you want?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Come?<\/strong><\/td><td>How?<\/td><td>Manner, condition, appearance<\/td><td><em>Come stai?<\/em><br>How are you?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Dove?<\/strong><\/td><td>Where?<\/td><td>Place<\/td><td><em>Dove abiti?<\/em><br>Where do you live?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Quando?<\/strong><\/td><td>When?<\/td><td>Time<\/td><td><em>Quando parti?<\/em><br>When are you leaving?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Perch\u00e9?<\/strong><\/td><td>Why? \/ Because<\/td><td>Reason (same word asks and answers)<\/td><td><em>Perch\u00e9?<\/em><br>Why?<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Six of those are straightforward: <em>come, dove, quando, perch\u00e9, quanto, quale<\/em> map neatly onto English. The ones that need a closer look are <strong>chi<\/strong> and the three-way question <strong>che \/ cosa \/ che cosa<\/strong>, because English hides distinctions Italian makes explicit (and vice versa).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-chi-17871 gb-headline-text\" id=\"chi\">When do we use <em>chi<\/em> for &#8220;who&#8221;?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Chi<\/strong> is the Italian question word for people. Only people. It never changes form (no singular\/plural, no masculine\/feminine), and it works as subject, object, or after a preposition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Chi ha vinto?<\/em><br>Who won? <em>(chi as subject)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Chi hai chiamato?<\/em><br>Who did you call? <em>(chi as object)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Con chi esci stasera?<\/em><br>Who are you going out with tonight? <em>(preposition + chi)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Di chi \u00e8 questo libro?<\/em><br>Whose book is this? <em>(possession)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>A chi lo hai dato?<\/em><br>Who did you give it to?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Notice the last three: in Italian the preposition always comes <strong>before<\/strong> <em>chi<\/em>. English lets us say &#8220;Who are you going with?&#8221; but Italian speakers would never split <em>con<\/em> from <em>chi<\/em>. A sentence like <em>*Chi vai con?<\/em> sounds completely broken to a native ear.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-obs1-17871\">\n\n<p>\ud83d\udd0d <strong>A small mnemonic.<\/strong> <em>Chi rhymes with <\/em>who<em>: same consonant, same vowel sound. That&#8217;s not a coincidence (both come from the same Indo-European ancestor) and it makes <\/em>chi<em> easy to remember once you link it to <\/em>who<em> in your head.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-cosa-che-17871 gb-headline-text\" id=\"cosa-che\">Cosa, che, or che cosa for &#8220;what&#8221;: which one?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s the short answer to how to say what in Italian, the one most textbooks bury: <strong>in everyday Italian all three are correct, and most native speakers use them interchangeably<\/strong>. <em>Cosa<\/em> as an interrogative pronoun is simply short for <em>che cosa<\/em>, and the three forms belong to the same everyday repertoire. They differ in register and rhythm, not in meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Where they differ is in <strong>register<\/strong> and <strong>rhythm<\/strong>, not in meaning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Che cosa<\/strong> is the full, neutral form. It sounds a touch more deliberate and is the safest choice in formal writing. <em>Che cosa hai detto?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cosa<\/strong> (on its own) is extremely common in conversation, especially across the North and Center. It&#8217;s short, fast, and entirely correct. <em>Cosa hai detto?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Che<\/strong> (on its own) is equally correct and slightly more colloquial or elevated depending on context. Older speakers and more literary registers lean on <em>che<\/em>. <em>Che hai detto?<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You will hear all three on the same street in the same afternoon. Pick whichever rhythm fits your sentence. If in doubt, <em>cosa<\/em> is the most neutral choice in spoken Italian and <em>che cosa<\/em> is the most neutral choice in writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A few more working examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Cosa vuoi mangiare?<\/em><br>What do you want to eat?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Che stai leggendo?<\/em><br>What are you reading?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Che cosa pensi di lui?<\/em><br>What do you think of him?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Di cosa parlate?<\/em><br>What are you talking about? <em>(preposition + cosa; <\/em>di che cosa parlate<em> is fine too)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>A cosa servi questo?<\/em><br>What&#8217;s this for?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-regional-17871 gb-headline-text\" id=\"regional\">Is there a regional preference between <em>cosa<\/em> and <em>che<\/em>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes. Once the three neutral forms are familiar, the regional tilt becomes the next layer. It&#8217;s one of those small markers that Italians notice unconsciously even if no one teaches them in school. Broadly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>North and Center<\/strong> means <em>cosa<\/em> dominates in casual speech. <em>Cosa fai?<\/em>, <em>Cosa c&#8217;\u00e8?<\/em>, <em>Cosa vuoi?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Center-South and literary writing<\/strong> means <em>che<\/em> on its own is slightly more frequent. <em>Che dici?<\/em>, <em>Che fai?<\/em>, <em>Che vuoi?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Che cosa<\/strong> is understood and used everywhere, and is the default in news, formal documents, and careful speech.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>None of this is a hard rule. A Milanese will ask <em>Che fai?<\/em> without a second thought, and a Roman will ask <em>Cosa fai?<\/em> just as naturally. But if you listen to enough Italian radio or podcasts you&#8217;ll start to pick up the tilt.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-obs2-17871\">\n\n<p>\ud83d\udd0d <strong>A note on prescriptivism.<\/strong> <em>Older grammar guides sometimes told students to prefer <\/em>che cosa<em> in writing and treat bare <\/em>cosa<em> as sloppy. Contemporary usage treats the three forms as stylistic siblings. Use whichever one makes your sentence flow. Nobody will mark you down for <\/em>Cosa ne pensi?<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-relative-17871 gb-headline-text\" id=\"relative\">How does interrogative <em>che<\/em> differ from relative <em>che<\/em>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It helps to know that <em>che<\/em> has two jobs in Italian. One is interrogative (the one we&#8217;re studying here): <em>Che vuoi?<\/em><br>What do you want? The other is <strong>relative<\/strong>, where it means &#8220;that \/ which \/ who&#8221; inside a longer sentence: <em>Il libro che leggo<\/em><br>The book that I&#8217;m reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>English keeps these separate (<em>what<\/em> asks questions, <em>that\/which\/who<\/em> connect clauses), so English speakers sometimes try to import the split into Italian. Don&#8217;t. Interrogative <em>che<\/em> stands at the start of a question. Relative <em>che<\/em> lives inside a clause and connects the two halves:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Che film hai visto?<\/em><br>What film did you watch? <em>(interrogative)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Il film che ho visto era lungo.<\/em><br>The film that I watched was long. <em>(relative)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Same spelling, two completely different functions. The position in the sentence tells you which one is doing the work. Italian relative pronouns are a topic on their own, with their own rules for <em>che, cui, il quale<\/em>. That&#8217;s a separate guide. For asking questions, the interrogative <em>che<\/em> is the one you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-quale-17871 gb-headline-text\" id=\"quale\">When do we pick <em>quale<\/em> over <em>che<\/em> for &#8220;which&#8221;?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Both <em>quale<\/em> and <em>che<\/em> can translate &#8220;which&#8221; or &#8220;what kind of&#8221;, but they push the question in slightly different directions. When you actually mean &#8220;which one&#8221; among a known set, <em>quale<\/em> is your word. <em>Quale<\/em> asks you to choose among a known set; <em>che<\/em> asks an open question about type or identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Che libro leggi?<\/em><br>What (kind of) book are you reading? <em>(open: could be a thriller, a memoir, anything)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Quale libro leggi?<\/em><br>Which book are you reading? <em>(closed: picking from a set, maybe the two on the table)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Quale preferisci, il rosso o il bianco?<\/em><br>Which do you prefer, the red or the white?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Quale<\/em> has a plural <strong>quali<\/strong> and agrees with the noun: <em>Quali film ti piacciono?<\/em> (Which films do you like?). <em>Che<\/em> is invariable: <em>Che film ti piacciono?<\/em> works too, with a slightly more open flavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One quirk: before the verb <em>essere<\/em> in some fixed questions, <em>qual<\/em> drops the final <em>-e<\/em> and is written without an apostrophe: <em>Qual \u00e8 il tuo nome?<\/em><br>What&#8217;s your name? <em>Qual \u00e8 il problema?<\/em><br>What&#8217;s the problem? Writing <em>*qual&#8217;\u00e8<\/em> with an apostrophe is one of the most common spelling mistakes even native speakers make. The correct form is simply <em>qual \u00e8<\/em>, two words, no apostrophe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-quanto-17871 gb-headline-text\" id=\"quanto\">How do we ask &#8220;how much&#8221; and &#8220;how many&#8221;?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Quanto<\/strong> is the Italian &#8220;how much \/ how many&#8221;, and unlike the other question words it agrees in gender and number with whatever it asks about:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Form<\/th><th>Used for<\/th><th>Example<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>quanto<\/strong><\/td><td>masculine singular, or uncountable when general<\/td><td><em>Quanto costa?<\/em><br>How much does it cost?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>quanta<\/strong><\/td><td>feminine singular, uncountable<\/td><td><em>Quanta acqua vuoi?<\/em><br>How much water do you want?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>quanti<\/strong><\/td><td>masculine plural, countable<\/td><td><em>Quanti anni hai?<\/em><br>How old are you? (literally: how many years)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>quante<\/strong><\/td><td>feminine plural, countable<\/td><td><em>Quante persone?<\/em><br>How many people?<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Used on its own, <em>quanto<\/em> also asks a general &#8220;how much \/ to what extent&#8221; question: <em>Quanto ti piace?<\/em><br>How much do you like it? Italian uses <em>quanto<\/em> in a lot of idiomatic age and time questions where English uses a noun, which catches beginners off guard. <em>Quanti anni hai?<\/em> is literally &#8220;How many years do you have?&#8221; and that&#8217;s the normal way to ask someone&#8217;s age (<em>avere<\/em>, not <em>essere<\/em>, which surprises most learners). <em>Quanto<\/em> is not strictly a &#8220;what&#8221; word, but it lives in the same family of question words because English speakers reach for it whenever they&#8217;d say &#8220;how much&#8221; or &#8220;how many&#8221;. This &#8220;have&#8221; pattern is one reason we recommend getting comfortable with the <a href=\"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/italian-modal-verbs\/\">four Italian modal verbs and <em>avere<\/em> \/ <em>essere<\/em> patterns<\/a> early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-wh-rest-17871 gb-headline-text\" id=\"wh-rest\">What about &#8220;how&#8221;, &#8220;where&#8221;, &#8220;when&#8221;, and &#8220;why&#8221;?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>These four are the easy ones. Once the <em>che \/ cosa \/ che cosa<\/em> triplet is settled, the remaining <em>wh-<\/em> words are a free ride: they never change form and they work just like their English counterparts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Come<\/strong> means &#8220;how&#8221;: <em>Come ti chiami?<\/em><br>What&#8217;s your name? (literally: How do you call yourself?); <em>Come sta?<\/em><br>How are you (formal)?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dove<\/strong> means &#8220;where&#8221;: <em>Dove sei?<\/em><br>Where are you?; <em>Di dove sei?<\/em><br>Where are you from? <em>(preposition + dove)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Quando<\/strong> means &#8220;when&#8221;: <em>Quando arrivi?<\/em><br>When are you arriving?; <em>Da quando?<\/em><br>Since when?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Perch\u00e9<\/strong> means &#8220;why&#8221; (and also &#8220;because&#8221;): <em>Perch\u00e9 ridi?<\/em><br>Why are you laughing? <em>Perch\u00e9 sono felice<\/em><br>Because I&#8217;m happy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>That last one is worth a pause. In Italian, the same word <em>perch\u00e9<\/em> asks the question and gives the answer. Context disambiguates. If the word starts a question (intonation rising, question mark at the end in writing), it&#8217;s &#8220;why&#8221;. If it starts a reply or a subordinate clause, it&#8217;s &#8220;because&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One curious Italian habit: we can start an elided question with just <em>E<\/em> + a name or a pronoun to mean &#8220;What about X?&#8221;. <em>E Mario? E tu?<\/em><br>What about Mario? What about you? It&#8217;s idiomatic and everywhere in conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-mistakes-17871 gb-headline-text\" id=\"mistakes\">What mistakes do English speakers make?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Five slips English speakers most often make when learning how to say what in Italian and the other question words in the first weeks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Splitting the preposition from the question word.<\/strong> In English &#8220;Who are you with?&#8221; is fine. In Italian the preposition sticks to the question word at the front: <em>Con chi sei?<\/em> (not <em>*Chi sei con?<\/em>). Same for <em>di cosa, a chi, per quale motivo, da dove<\/em>. If you want a refresher on how Italian prepositions behave in general, see our <a href=\"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/preposizioni-italian-prepositions-complete-guide\/\">complete guide to Italian prepositions<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Using <em>chi<\/em> for things.<\/strong> <em>Chi<\/em> is only for people. <em>Chi \u00e8?<\/em> at the door means &#8220;Who is it?&#8221;, not &#8220;What is it?&#8221;. For a thing, use <em>cosa \/ che \/ che cosa<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Writing <em>qual&#8217;\u00e8<\/em> with an apostrophe.<\/strong> The correct form is <em>qual \u00e8<\/em>, two words, no apostrophe. Native Italians make this mistake constantly, but it&#8217;s still wrong.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Agreeing <em>quale<\/em> incorrectly.<\/strong> <em>Quale<\/em> is singular, <em>quali<\/em> is plural. No gender change. <em>Quali libri?<\/em>, not <em>*Quale libri?<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Forgetting the four forms of <em>quanto<\/em>.<\/strong> Ask <em>Quanta pasta?<\/em> at an Italian dinner, not <em>*Quanto pasta?<\/em>. Pasta is feminine, singular, uncountable.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-dialog-17871 gb-headline-text\" id=\"dialog\">A bar conversation with real question words<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Two friends, Ethan and Chiara, meet for a quick espresso before work. This is how Italian question words land in a real-world exchange. Watch every question word in action:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-dialog-17871\">\n\n<h3 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-dialog-h3-17871 gb-headline-text\">Dialogue: at the bar, 8:30 in the morning<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffb <strong>Ethan:<\/strong> Ciao Chiara! <em>Come stai?<\/em><br><em>Hi Chiara! How are you?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffd <strong>Chiara:<\/strong> Ciao! Tutto bene, grazie. <em>Cosa prendi?<\/em><br><em>Hi! All good, thanks. What are you having?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffb <strong>Ethan:<\/strong> Un cappuccino e un cornetto. <em>E tu?<\/em><br><em>A cappuccino and a croissant. What about you?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffd <strong>Chiara:<\/strong> Solo un caff\u00e8. <em>Quanti anni ha tuo figlio adesso?<\/em><br><em>Just a coffee. How old is your son now?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffb <strong>Ethan:<\/strong> Sei. <em>E la tua?<\/em> <em>Quale scuola fa?<\/em><br><em>Six. And yours? Which school does she go to?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffd <strong>Chiara:<\/strong> La Montessori in centro. <em>Perch\u00e9 ridi?<\/em><br><em>The Montessori in the center. Why are you laughing?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffb <strong>Ethan:<\/strong> Perch\u00e9 anche mio figlio ci va! <em>Con chi la accompagni la mattina?<\/em><br><em>Because my son goes there too! Who do you take her with in the morning?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffd <strong>Chiara:<\/strong> Con Luca, mio marito. <em>Dove abiti adesso, in centro?<\/em><br><em>With Luca, my husband. Where do you live now, in the center?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffb <strong>Ethan:<\/strong> No, vicino alla stazione. <em>Senti, ma a che ora apre la scuola?<\/em><br><em>No, near the station. Listen, what time does the school open?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffd <strong>Chiara:<\/strong> Alle otto e mezza. <em>Quando ci vediamo?<\/em><br><em>At 8:30. When shall we meet?<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>That short scene covers eight different question words: <em>come, cosa, quanti, quale, perch\u00e9, con chi, dove, a che ora, quando<\/em>. Read it aloud twice and you&#8217;ll hear how they flow, and you&#8217;ll get a feel for how to say what in Italian without having to think about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-p17871-milano-wrap\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n<div class=\"gb-grid-wrapper gb-grid-wrapper-p17871-milano-grid\">\n<div class=\"gb-grid-column gb-grid-column-p17871-milano-left\"><div class=\"gb-container gb-container-p17871-milano-left\">\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-p17871-milano-title gb-headline-text\">Milano<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-medium-font-size\" style=\"color:#597e4d\"><strong>Italian group course on Zoom<\/strong><br>Level A2 &#8211; B1<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/milano-no-sfondo.webp\" alt=\"Milano Group Course on Zoom\" class=\"wp-image-30995\" style=\"width:200px;height:auto\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gb-grid-column gb-grid-column-p17871-milano-right\"><div class=\"gb-container gb-container-p17871-milano-right\">\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600\">Beyond the basics, into real Italian.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Milano is our structured small-group course for learners moving from beginner to intermediate. A clear path, a native teacher, and real progress you can feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Live group lessons on Zoom, native teacher<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Small classes, max 4 students<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Materials in English, practice in Italian<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Grammar, vocab, listening, writing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-p17871-milano-btn-wrap\">\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-p17871-milano-btn gb-button-text\" href=\"\/eng\/membership-checkout\/?level=7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Learn More<\/a>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now you know how to say what in Italian three different ways, when to reach for <em>chi<\/em>, and when <em>quale<\/em> beats <em>che<\/em>. Want to push these question words into real conversation? Join our <a href=\"\/eng\/membership-checkout\/?level=7\">A2 to B1 Italian course in Milano<\/a> to drill exactly these patterns with a live teacher, or book a <a href=\"\/eng\/membership-checkout\/?level=6\">private one-to-one lesson<\/a> shaped around your weak spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"mini-challenge\" style=\"border:1px solid #dddddd;border-radius:8px;padding:20px 25px;margin:20px 0\">\n<p>&#x1F3AF; <strong>Mini-challenge: pick the right question word.<\/strong><br><em>Scegli la parola interrogativa corretta.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>_______ (chi \/ cosa) ha preparato questa torta?<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>_______ (cosa \/ che cosa) fai domani sera?<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>_______ (quale \/ che) pizza preferisci, margherita o capricciosa?<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>_______ (quanti \/ quante) persone ci sono in classe?<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>_______ (perch&eacute; \/ come mai) hai scelto di studiare italiano?<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<details><summary><strong>Show answers<\/strong><\/summary>\n<p>1. <em>Chi<\/em> (person as subject of the action)<br>2. <em>Cosa<\/em> or <em>Che cosa<\/em> (both work, interchangeable)<br>3. <em>Quale<\/em> (choice among a known set)<br>4. <em>Quante<\/em> (<em>persone<\/em> is feminine plural)<br>5. <em>Perch&eacute;<\/em> (neutral why; <em>come mai<\/em> adds a note of surprise)<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-faq-17871 gb-headline-text\" id=\"faq\">FAQ: Italian question words<\/h2>\n\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-int-q1\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Is cosa slang or is it proper Italian?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>It&#8217;s proper Italian. Older prescriptive guides sometimes flagged bare cosa as informal, but contemporary usage treats cosa, che, and che cosa as three interchangeable forms of the same interrogative pronoun. Use cosa freely in speech and in most writing.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-int-q2\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Do I really need to learn all four forms of quanto?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Yes, because quanto agrees with its noun in gender and number. Quanta pasta (feminine singular), quanti anni (masculine plural), quante volte (feminine plural), quanto tempo (masculine singular). The good news: the pattern is identical to other adjective endings in Italian, so it&#8217;s the same rule you already know, applied here.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-int-q3\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">How do I write what is it correctly: qual \u00e8 or qual&#8217;\u00e8?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>The correct spelling is qual \u00e8: two words, no apostrophe. The final -e of quale is dropped before \u00e8 through elision, but because qual is considered a valid short form rather than an apostrophe-needing contraction, no apostrophe is written. Plenty of native speakers get this wrong. You don&#8217;t have to.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-int-q4\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Can I start a sentence with Che on its own to mean What?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Yes, and it&#8217;s extremely common. Che?, Cosa?, and Che cosa? all work as standalone What? when you didn&#8217;t hear something or want clarification. If you want to be slightly more polite, Come? (literally How?) is the standard soft re-ask, roughly like English Sorry?.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-int-q5\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">What&#8217;s the difference between perch\u00e9 and come mai?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Both ask why, but come mai carries a note of surprise or curiosity. Perch\u00e9 non sei venuto? is a neutral why didn&#8217;t you come?. Come mai non sei venuto? adds how come, I wasn&#8217;t expecting that. Use come mai when you&#8217;re genuinely puzzled; use perch\u00e9 when you just need the reason.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-int-q6\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Are chiss\u00e0 and chi sa the same thing?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>In modern Italian they&#8217;ve diverged. Chiss\u00e0 is a single adverb meaning who knows used as a filler, often at the start of a sentence: Chiss\u00e0 cosa far\u00e0 domani (who knows what he&#8217;ll do tomorrow). Chi sa is a literal question: Chi sa la risposta? (who knows the answer?). Different spellings, different jobs, easy to confuse in writing.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-int-q7\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Why does qual \u00e8 drop its apostrophe but dov&#8217;\u00e8 keep one?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Because they come from two different phenomena. Qual \u00e8 uses apocope (troncamento): quale loses its final -e in front of \u00e8, and because qual itself stands as an accepted short form, no apostrophe is written. Dov&#8217;\u00e8 and com&#8217;\u00e8 use elision: the final -e of dove or come is replaced by an apostrophe before the vowel. Rule of thumb: if the shortened form still works as a word on its own (qual, buon, san, tal), no apostrophe. If the shortening only happens before a vowel, write the apostrophe.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to say what in Italian: che, cosa, and che cosa are all correct and interchangeable. Plus chi for who, quale for which, quanto for how much, and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10020,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[543,1210,1211],"class_list":["post-17871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lingua","tag-che","tag-che-cosa","tag-cosa","no-featured-image-padding","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10020"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17871"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17871\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59423,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17871\/revisions\/59423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}