I can say my name and ask someone's name, informally and formally, and spell out my last name if someone doesn't catch it.
Mi chiamo: what's your name
Mi chiamo: what's your name
To keep a conversation going, you give your name, ask for the other person's, and spell out a last name they didn't catch.
Subject pronouns, the full list: io, tu, lui, lei, Lei, noi, voi, loro (see the table). Lei with a capital is the formal “you”, lei in lowercase is “she”; only the capital tells them apart. English “you” is one word; Italian has tu, Lei, and voi (“you all”).
Four set phrases with chiamarsi (literally “to call oneself”; English says “my name is”): Mi chiamo Martina — about yourself; Come ti chiami? — to a friend; Come si chiama? — to an adult stranger, and about someone else; Lei come si chiama? — the same, with Lei. Formal Lei takes the he / she form: si chiama, not ti chiami. Don't switch mid-conversation.
If you didn't catch something: Come, scusi? and Può ripetere, per favore? To write a name correctly, ask Come si scrive?
Letters go by their names from “Letters and sounds”, and hard ones get a city: A come Ancona. A double letter is spelled out with the word doppia: Rossi — “erre, o, doppia esse, i”.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Lei come ti chiami?” → “Lei come si chiama?”
• NOT “Mio nome è Paolo” → “Mi chiamo Paolo”.
• NOT “Io mi chiama Paolo” → “Io mi chiamo Paolo”.
• NOT “Moretti: emme, o, erre, e, ti, i” → the name has two t's: “doppia ti”.
Subject pronouns
Lei with a capital L is “you” (formal); lei in lowercase is “she”.
| In Italian | In English |
|---|---|
| io | I |
| tu | you (informal) |
| lui | he |
| lei | she |
| Lei | you (formal) |
| noi | we |
| voi | you all |
| loro | they |
Chiamarsi: four set phrases
Lei takes the same form as “he” and “she”.
| Who you're talking to | Set phrase | Example |
|---|---|---|
| About yourself | Mi chiamo… | Buongiorno, mi chiamo Marco. |
| To a friend (tu) | Come ti chiami? | Marco, come ti chiami? |
| To an adult stranger (Lei), and about someone else | Come si chiama? | Come si chiama, signora? |
| The same, with Lei said out loud | Lei come si chiama, signora? | Scusi, Lei come si chiama, signora Rinaldi? |
Spelling out letters: A come Ancona
A double letter is spelled out with the word doppia: doppia ti — two t's.
| Letter | Key word |
|---|---|
| A | Ancona |
| B | Bologna |
| C | Como |
| D | Domodossola |
| F | Firenze |
| I | Imola |
| L | Livorno |
| M | Milano |
| N | Napoli |
| R | Roma |
| S | Savona |
| T | Torino |
| U | Udine |
| V | Venezia |
Lesson notes
Mi chiamo: what's your name
To keep a conversation going, you give your name, ask for the other person's, and spell out a last name they didn't catch.
Subject pronouns, the full list: io, tu, lui, lei, Lei, noi, voi, loro (see the table). Lei with a capital is the formal “you”, lei in lowercase is “she”; only the capital tells them apart. English “you” is one word; Italian has tu, Lei, and voi (“you all”).
Four set phrases with chiamarsi (literally “to call oneself”; English says “my name is”): Mi chiamo Martina — about yourself; Come ti chiami? — to a friend; Come si chiama? — to an adult stranger, and about someone else; Lei come si chiama? — the same, with Lei. Formal Lei takes the he / she form: si chiama, not ti chiami. Don't switch mid-conversation.
If you didn't catch something: Come, scusi? and Può ripetere, per favore? To write a name correctly, ask Come si scrive?
Letters go by their names from “Letters and sounds”, and hard ones get a city: A come Ancona. A double letter is spelled out with the word doppia: Rossi — “erre, o, doppia esse, i”.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Lei come ti chiami?” → “Lei come si chiama?”
• NOT “Mio nome è Paolo” → “Mi chiamo Paolo”.
• NOT “Io mi chiama Paolo” → “Io mi chiamo Paolo”.
• NOT “Moretti: emme, o, erre, e, ti, i” → the name has two t's: “doppia ti”.