Any, anything, anyone, anywhere: Italian grammar lesson 181

Summary

Unlock the secrets of the Italian language by mastering the word “any”! Learn to express “anything,” “anyone,” and “anywhere” like a native speaker with our easy-to-follow guide. 🇮🇹✨

  • Qualunque and qualsiasi are your go-to words for “any” in Italian, perfectly interchangeable and super versatile. 🔄
  • When you’re talking about “anyone,” drop chiunque into your sentence to sound like a true Italian. 👥
  • For “anything,” just add cosa to qualunque or qualsiasi, and you’re golden. It’s that simple! 🌟
  • Feeling wanderlust? Express “anywhere” with either ovunque or dovunque to capture that Italian spirit of adventure. 🌍
  • Discover the nuance: when qualunque or qualsiasi follow a noun, they take on a slightly pejorative tone, implying something is just run-of-the-mill. 📉
  • Remember, qualunque and qualsiasi are typically used with singular nouns, but can tag along after plurals to mix things up. 📚
  • Lastly, don’t forget comunque, the handy “anyway” of Italian, proving that the “-unque” suffix is a real MVP in your language toolkit. 💪

My thoughts

How to say “any” in Italian

Even in English, it can sometimes be tricky to use the word “any”. In this lesson, we will see how to use any with the meaning of “no matter which”, and we’ll also learn how to say “anything”, “anywhere,” and “anyone”!

  • any – qualunque, qualsiasi
  • anyone – chiunque
  • anything – qualunque/qualsiasi cosa
  • anywhere– ovunque /dovunque

“Any” and “anything” in Italian: qualunque and qualsiasi

The words qualunque and qualsiasi mean the same thing and can therefore be used interchangeably with no problem. They only have one form.

Per me va bene qualsiasi film.

Any film is fine for me.

Qualunque vestito va bene.

Any dress will do.

Qualsiasi proposta verrà considerata.

Any proposal will be considered.

When they appear after the noun, they take a slightly pejorative meaning, indicating mediocrity and ordinariness.

un uomo qualunque/ un uomo qualsiasi

an ordinary man (with no special qualities)

As you can see, they are only used with singular nouns. They can be used with a plural noun only if they follow the noun.

Porta dei vestiti qualsiasi.

Bring any kind of clothes.

Ho comprato delle birre qualunque.

I bought some ordinary beers.

To say anything, we simply add the word cosa (thing) after qualunque and qualsiasi.

Farei qualunque cosa per te.

I would do anything for you.

Prima di decidere qualsiasi cosa, voglio vederla.

Before deciding anything, I want to see her.

“Anyone” and “anywhere” in Italian

To say anyone or whoever, we use chiunque.

Lo potrebbe fare chiunque.

Anyone could do it.

Chiunque sia stato, verrà espulso.

Whoever did it will be expelled.

To say anywhere, or wherever, we use ovunque and dovunque. These have the same meaning and can be used interchangeably.

Andrei dovunque pur di non stare qui.

I would go anywhere just not to be here.

Ovunque tu sia, ricordati delle tue radici.

Wherever you are, remember your roots.

The “-unque” words

As you’ve probably noticed, all these words are formed in the same way starting from basic Italian words and adding –unque:

  • quale + unque – qualunque
    any – whichever
  • chi + unque – chiunque
    anyone – whoever
  • dove + unque – dovunque
    anywhere – wherever
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And there is one last word that you will often hear that has the same construction: comunque (anyway)!

  • come + unque – comunque
    anyway – however

Let’s see how it’s used with a couple of examples:

Comunque vada, sarò orgoglioso di te.

However it goes, I will be proud of you.

Se piove andiamo comunque!

If it rains we’ll go anyway!

What is the difference between Dovunque and Ovunque?

Ovunque and dovunque are interchangeable. They're actually synonyms of each other. However, it's always better to avoid using some word combinations with them.

How to say anything else in Italian?

Anything else in Italian can be translated into "qualcos'altro". As in: Vuoi che prenda qualcos'altro? Do you want me to get anything else?

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6 Responses

    1. Ciao Laura,

      I’m really glad to hear that you find the explanations helpful! It’s great to know that they are assisting you in understanding when to use each word. Your feedback is much appreciated. If you have any more questions or need further clarification on any aspect of the Italian language, please don’t hesitate to ask. Keep up the good work!

  1. Loved this lesson #181. I was very pleased with the variety of tenses in the many example sentences having noticed present, imperfect, conditional, subjunctive, and past, among them. One essentially learns grammar by osmosis, as advertised. Bravo. Although it does help someone to have some familiarity with such tenses ahead of time, apropos of being an Intermediate course.  I’m convinced that Think Italian will accelerate me  to a B2 level of fluency quickly.

    1. Ciao @donald-bell!

      We’re so glad you’re pleased with the course so far! 😊 

      Keep on practicing every day.

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