How to say “What” in Italian
The English word “what” can be translated in Italian in two main ways: che and cosa. Sometimes, you can even find them combined together: che cosa. The funny thing is that they can all be used interchangeably, although they have different grammatical classifications.
Che fai?
What are you doing?
Cosa fai?
What are you doing?
Che cosa fai?
What are you doing?
If you are wondering what is the most common one, I think it’s very personal and dependent on several factors, like register, dialect, and context. Personally, I noticed I use che more than the others.
How to Ask Questions with “What” in Italian
Just like in English, che, cosa, and checosa are question words. This means they are used to ask questions in Italian, as you saw in the examples before.
They can be used both in direct speech and indirect speech, meaning you can find them either at the beginning of a question, or before an indirect question introduced by a main phrase, as in the examples below:
Che cosa hai mangiato a pranzo?
What did you have for lunch?
Marco vuole sapere che cosa hai mangiato per pranzo.
Marco wants to know what you had for lunch.
Other Italian question words are:
- Dove: where
- Quando: when
- Perché: why
- Come: how
- Quale: which
- Chi: who
- Quanto/Quanta: how much
- Quanti/Quante: how many
They all behave in the same way, so their use is pretty simple!
An important thing to mention is that all question words, including che cosa, cosa, and che, can also be preceded by a preposition to ask other types of questions.
While English tends to place these prepositions at the end of the question, Italian mandatorily requires them to precede the question word they refer to. Let me show you some examples:
A che cosa stai pensando?
What are you thinking about?
Con cosa vuoi pulire la casa?
What do you what to clean the house with?
Di che state parlando?
What are you talking about?
How to Express Surprise or Confusion with “What” in Italian
In certain contexts, “what” can also be translated as come, to express surprise or confusion. All the other alternatives are still valid in these circumstances, but I just want to make sure you know all the possible uses of this word in Italian.
Come? Non capisco.
What? I don’t understand.
Individual and Regional Differences
As I mentioned before, although these three translations are all interchangeable, the choice of one or another might depend on individual preferences or regional nuances.
Overall, I have the feeling that cosa alone is used more often in Northern Italy, while che is more used in central and South Italy. Che cosa, instead, seems to be used all over Italy, but it’s more common in formal contexts.
In fact, che cosa is the classic literary form. Literally speaking, che means “what” and cosa means ”thing”. So, basically, che cosa literally means “what thing”.
Fun fact: apparently, it was thanks to the Italian writer Manzoni (who is considered the father of Italian), that cosa was spread as another way of saying che cosa.
Different Ways to say “What” in Italian
In Italian, the word “what” can be translated in several ways depending on the context. The most common forms are che, che cosa, and cosa which are often used interchangeably.
Have a look at the examples below:
Mi ha chiesto che facciamo dopo.
S/he asked me what we you doing later.
Che cosa vuoi?
What do you want?
Cosa stai dicendo?
What are you saying?
For more specific inquiries, quale (which) and its feminine and plural forms can be used, as in:
Quali sono i tuoi libri preferiti?
What are your favorite books?
Che vs Quale
Unlike che, che cosa, and cosa, that are used with verbs, quale is used with nouns or with the verb essere. When it is used with the verb essere in the third person singular è, quale becomes qual.
Qual è il tuo segreto?
What’s your secret?
Quale gelato vuoi?
What/which ice cream do you want?
Quali sport pratichi?
Which/what sports do you practice?
Careful, there is no apostrophe between qual and è.!
When we are talking about something in the plural with essere, we will use quali sono.
Quali sono le tue canzoni preferite?
What are your favorite songs?
Just like in English, it is used when presenting one or more options. In this case, it is the equivalent of “which”.
Remember that quale is an adjective, which means that it can be masculine, feminine, as well as singular and plural!
Quale vuoi, quello azzurro o quello giallo?
Which one do you want, the blue one or the yellow one?
In spoken Italian, quale and quali can often be replaced by che when followed by a noun.
Che città Italiane ti piacciono?
Which Italian cities do you like?
Che vestito preferisci, quello lungo o quello corto?
Which dress do you prefer, the long one or the short one?
