Question Words in Italian

Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

One way that you can extend conversations in Italian -- even as a beginner -- is by asking A LOT of questions. While there are a variety of structures for asking questions, there are some basic vocabulary words for simpler questions. 

These are your basic interrogatives, which in English are: 

• Who?

• What?

• When?

• Where?

• Why?

• How? 

Below I’ve listed the Italian equivalents for each of those words -- and you’ll notice that there’s some overlap and a couple of variations -- along with examples for how you might use them right away. 

Question Words in Italian 

• Who? / Whom? - Chi? 

• What? - Cosa? / Che? / Che cosa? 

• When? - Quando? 

• Where? - Dove? 

• Why? - Perché? 

• How? - Come? 

Chi?: Who? / Whom?