How to say “how”: Italian grammar lesson 116

Summary

Unlock the versatility of the Italian word come! From asking questions to drawing comparisons, this guide will show you how to use come like a native speaker. 🇮🇹✨

  • Asking Questions: Use come to start a question when you want to know how something is done or how someone is feeling. For example, “Come va?” means “How’s it going?” 🤔
  • Getting Personal: When meeting someone new, “Come ti chiami?” is your go-to phrase for “What’s your name?” It’s a simple yet essential part of any Italian conversation. 🤝
  • Checking In: Wondering about someone’s well-being? “Come state?” translates to “How are you?” and is perfect for showing you care. 🌟
  • Describing Methods: Not just for questions, come can clarify how something works within a statement, like “Mi ha spiegato come funziona” or “She explained to me how it works.” 🔧
  • Drawing Comparisons: When come means like, it’s all about similarities. “Vorrei sapere ballare come te” means “I’d like to be able to dance like you.” It’s context that makes the meaning clear. 💃

My thoughts

What does come mean in Italian?

Come can be translated into English as how. You’ve probably heard this word many times because it is one of the ways to ask a direct question. 

Here are some of the most common set phrases:

Come ti chiami?

What’s your name?

Come va?

How’s it going?

Come state?

How are you?

Come: examples

Let’s have a look at come in questions:

Come vuoi il caffe?

How do you want your coffee?

Come vi sentite?

How are you feeling?

Come avete fatto?

How did you do it?

We can also use come inside a sentence, even if it’s not a question if we’re still referring to how.

Look at the examples below:

Non mi hai detto come sono i tuoi nuovi colleghi.

You didn’t tell me how your new colleagues are.

Mi ha spiegato come funziona.

She explained to me how it works.

Can come mean like?

Come can also mean like and is used in a different way, so make sure you don’t confuse these two meanings.

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You will know when come means how and when it means like from the context.

Here are some examples:

Vorrei sapere ballare come te.

I’d like to be able to dance like you.

Parli proprio come la mia migliore amica.

You speak exactly like my best friend.

Learn more about ormai in Italian.

What is the meaning of "come"?

"Come" means how in English when used to ask questions.

Does "come" can mean like?

"Come" can also mean like. You will know when it means like from the context of the sentence.

Italian word of the day
passeggiata
Example
Hai voglia di fare una passeggiata?
Do you feel like going for a walk?
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