How to say “a little” in Italian
There are two main ways to say “a little” in Italian: un po’ and poco. Just like in English, these two terms are used to express small quantities, but they have different uses and grammatical features.
Let me show you an example before we dive into a detailed explanation:
Vorrei un po’ di zucchero nel caffè.
I’d like a little bit of sugar in the coffee.
Ho dormito poco stanotte.
I slept a little last night.
Poco vs Un po’
Poco and un po’ differ significantly in their grammatical function, agreement, and use. Here, I will give you an overview of these two words, but below you can find a detailed breakdown.
Poco can be used as an adjective, adverb, or pronoun, therefore modifying nouns, verbs, or adjectives. In contrast, un po’ is – what it is called in linguistics – an adverbial phrase that modifies verbs, adjectives, or adverbs.
In terms of use, poco often carries a negative connotation, implying insufficiency, while un po’ tends to have a neutral or positive tone, suggesting a small but acceptable amount and it is used to indicate a sort of uncertainty about the quantity. For example:
Maria ha studiato poco.
Maria studied little.
This sentence suggests insufficient studying. Compare it with the following:
Maria ha studiato un po’.
Maria studied a little.
This sentence indicates that some studying was done, possibly enough.
Let me show you some more examples:
Ho fretta, ho poco tempo.
I’m in a hurry, I don’t have much time (= I have very little time).
Oggi ho avuto poco da fare a lavoro.
Today I didn’t have much to do at work (= I had little to do).
-Parli italiano?
–Un po’.
-Do you speak Italian?
-A little bit.
Marco è un po’ impaziente.
Marco is a bit impatient.
Poco
“Poco” as an Adjective
The most important thing that you need to understand about the Italian poco is that it is primarily used as an adjective. This means that it varies in gender and number depending on the noun it refers to, therefore resulting in:
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | poco | pochi |
| Feminine | poca | poche |
For example:
C’è poco pane.
There is little bread.
Here, poco modifies the noun pane (bread), and it is masculine singular.
Abbiamo poche opzioni.
We have few options.
Here, poche modifies opzioni (options), which is feminine plural.
As you can see, when it is used as an adjective, it can be translated as “little” or “few”.
“Poco” as an Adverb
When poco is used as an adverb, it can be translated as “not much” or “little”. Remember that adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs and are invariable, meaning they do not change form based on gender and number.
For example:
Lui lavora poco.
He works little/not much.
Oggi mi sento poco produttiva.
Today I do not feel very active.
In these cases, poco indicates a low intensity or frequency of an action or a quality.
“Poco” as a Pronoun
Poco is used as a pronoun when it replaces a noun that refers to a small quantity. For this very reason, it is commonly used in combination with the pronoun ne.
Ne è rimasto poco.
There is little left of it.
Pochi sono venuti alla festa.
Few came to the party.
As a pronoun, it behaves similarly to the adjective, as it agrees in gender and number to the previously mentioned noun.
Un po’
Un po’ is an adverbial phrase and it is composed of the indefinite article un (a) an po’, which is a contracted form of poco. The apostrophe indicates the elision of the final syllable.
It behaves all in all as an adverb, therefore it does not vary and is used to modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, indicating a small amount or degree.
It is translated as “a little”, “a bit”, or in some contexts as the partitive “some”, as you can see in the following examples:
Vorrei un po’ di frutta.
I would like a little fruit.
Oggi fa un po’ freddo.
It’s a bit cold today.
Parla un po’ troppo velocemente, non capisco.
He speaks a little too fast, I don’t understand.
Here, un po’ qualifies the degree of intensity of the verb or adjective and expresses a neutral or positive connotation, indicating that the amount is small but sufficient.
