Italian · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 5
Di dove sei?Where are you from?
The question people ask when they first meet: di dove sei? You answer with essere + di + city (sono di Bologna) or with a describing word: sono italiana. Its ending follows the person: Marco is italianO, Giulia is italianA. Mike tries it right away: Giulia is italiana, Marco is italiano. The chapter ends with the first culture section: tu or Lei? — the two ways Italian says «you».
Dialogue
i
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Italiano o italiana?— Italiano or italiana?
- MikeGiulia, di dove sei?Giulia, where are you from?
- GiuliaSono di Bologna: sono italiana. E Marco è di Napoli.I'm from Bologna: I'm Italian. And Marco is from Naples.
- MikeAh, tu sei italiana… e Marco è italiano!Ah, you're italiana… and Marco is italiano!
- GiuliaSì! E tu, Mike, di dove sei?Yes! And you, Mike — where are YOU from?
- MikeIo? Sono di una piccola città molto lontana!Me? I'm from a small town very far away!
Dialogue
i
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Di Napoli e di Bologna— From Naples and from Bologna
- GiuliaMarco, tu sei di Napoli?Marco, are you from Naples?
- MarcoSì, sono di Napoli — sono italiano. E tu sei di Bologna: sei italiana.Yes, I'm from Naples — I'm italianO. And you're from Bologna: you're italianA.
- GiuliaNapoli è una città molto bella!Naples is a very beautiful city!
- MarcoSì! E una pizza di Napoli… è molto buona!Yes! And a pizza from Naples… is very good!
Vocabulary
i
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- di
prepositionof, from (origin: sono di Bologna)
- dove
adverbwhere
- di dove sei?
phrasewhere are you from?
- italiano / italiana
adjectiveItalian (m/f — agrees with the person)
- straniero / straniera
adjectiveforeign; a foreigner (m/f)
- una città
n.f.a city (feminine, though it ends in -à: una città)
- un paese
n.m.a country; also a village (an -e noun — masculine, learned with its article)
- piccolo / piccola
adjectivesmall (m/f)
- lontano / lontana
adjectivefar, distant (m/f)
- bello / bella
adjectivebeautiful, handsome (m/f)
- buono / buona
adjectivegood, tasty (la pizza buona; buon giorno's first half — and -issimo turbo: buonissimo)
Grammar
i
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Sono di Bologna, sono italiana — agreement
Explanation
To say where you're from, there are two ways, both with essere. First: essere + di + city — Sono di Bologna. Sei di Napoli? Second: essere + a describing word, like italiano. Its ending follows the person or thing it describes: Marco è italiano (-o), Giulia è italiana (-a). Every describing word ending in -o/-a works this way: piccolo/piccola, lontano/lontana, straniero/straniera. So the same question gets different answers depending on who answers. Look at the person, pick the ending. You already do this with un and una (una pizza); now you do it with describing words too.
Examples
- Sono di Bologna. Sei di Napoli?I'm from Bologna. Are you from Naples?
- Marco è italiano. Giulia è italiana.Marco is Italian. Giulia is Italian.
- una città piccola, un paese lontanoa small city, a faraway country
- Sono straniera. Mike è straniero.I'm foreign. Mike is foreign.
Culture
i
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Tu o Lei?Tu or Lei?
Italian has two ways of saying «you»: tu for friends, family and peers, and Lei — with a capital L — for strangers, older people and formal situations. It is how Italians show respect or closeness. You have already met the scusi/scusa pair — that was this.
When tu, when Lei
Tu with friends, classmates, young colleagues, children — and among people under thirty it kicks in almost immediately. Lei with people you don't know (the barista of a new bar, the sales clerk, a passer-by), with older people and in any service or work context. Practical rule while you learn: start with Lei and buongiorno whenever there is distance; nobody is offended by too much respect, while a misplaced tu can feel intrusive. With Lei, the verb takes its form for one other person, as for him or her: to a woman you don't know, Lei è italiana?, not sei.
The greeting ritual
In Italy you ALWAYS greet when entering a shop or a bar — a buongiorno at the door is the entry ticket; silence reads as rude. Between acquaintances: a handshake in formal situations; between friends and family, two kisses on the cheeks (usually right cheek first). And leave-taking has its own words: arrivederci on Lei terms, ciao on tu terms, and also a domani, buonanotte.
«Let's switch to tu!»
Moving from Lei to tu is a small social rite with its own formula: «diamoci del tu» («let's give each other tu») — and it is usually proposed by the older person or the one owed the respect. Accepting is nearly obligatory and it is a warm moment: the distance officially shortens. As a learner of Italian you will hear it offered to you often: Italians extend it gladly to people learning their language.
When in doubt: buongiorno, scusi and arrivederci, the polite words you already know, and let the other person offer the tu. Greetings and habits also vary a little from region to region.
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