How do you say help me in Italian?

How exactly do you say help me in Italian? What’s more appropriate to ask depending on the relationship between you and the other person?

In this lesson, we will take a look at the different ways you can translate this sentence into Italian. Read on to learn them all!

Let’s start! Iniziamo!

how do you say help me in italian - let's start - iniziamo - athlete woman running

How do you say help me in Italian?

Singular: Aiutami!

Aiutami is how you translate help me in Italian when you are addressing only one person that you know well and are on familiar terms with, such as a friend or a relative.

Aiutami!
Help me! (singular, informal)

This common sentence in Italian is made of two elements.

Aiuta-
Imperative “you” form of aiutare, to help

-mi
Direct object pronoun “me”

Aiutami, per favore.
Help me, please.

Maurizio, aiutami a sollevare questi scatoloni.
Maurizio, help me lift these boxes.

man lifting a heavy box

Are you wondering why the direct object pronoun is appended to the verb? Learn how direct object pronouns in Italian work here.

Aiuta is the second person singular conjugation of aiutare, to help, in the imperative mood.

Imperative mood conjugation of aiutare

io
tuaiuta
lui, leiaiuti
noiaiutiamo
voiaiutate
loroaiutino

For example, you could say…

Aiutiamo la mamma a preparare la marmellata, dai!
Let’s help mom make jam, come on!

Federico, aiuta il papà a spostare il tavolo.
Federico, help dad move the table.

jar of jam and a spoon

Now, what do you have to say to say help me in Italian to groups of people? You will need to conjugate the imperative verb in the second person plural. Let’s see what this form is in the next paragraph.


Plural: Aiutatemi!

Aiutatemi is how you translate help me in Italian when you are addressing more than one person.

Aiutatemi!
Help me! (plural)

Italian has two kinds of “you”, unlike English. There’s a singular “you” (tu) and then there’s a plural “you” (voi). If you are addressing a group, you will need to conjugate any verb or pronoun accordingly.

If you take a closer look at the conjugation table above, you will notice that the conjugation for the subject pronoun voi is aiutate. To this conjugation, you will need to append the direct object pronoun mi. This is why we will say aiutateMI!

Aiutatemi! Un cane mi sta inseguendo!
Help me! A dog is chasing me!

woman afraid of a barking dog

Now, how do you say help me in Italian when you want to be polite? Keep on reading to find out!


Polite: Mi aiuti!

If you are just visiting Italy and often meet new people, unless you both agree on using the informal pronoun tu you will have to stick to the polite pronoun Lei when talking to other adults and people you are not on familiar terms with. With kids, it’s customary to use tu, no matter the degree of familiarity.

This is the equivalent of she in English. Basically, when speaking formally, Italians address each other with the subject “she”, lei.

What’s the imperative conjugation of the verb aiutare for the subject pronoun lei? Aiuti.

(If you have trouble understanding why we are now inserting the direct object pronoun before the verb, and as a word of its own, read the ultimate guide on Italian direct object pronouns!)

That said, how do you formally ask for somebody’s help in Italian?

Mi aiuti!
Help me! (polite)

You can also add per favore, please, to soften your request.

Signor Franchi, mi aiuti a compilare questi fogli, per favore.
Mr. Franchi, please help me fill out these papers.

Aiuta Lingookies con un 👍!


Aiuto! Qualcuno mi aiuti!

Aiuto and qualcuno mi aiuti translate to help! and somebody help me!. You can use these as an alternative to help me in Italian.

Aiuto!
Help!

Qualcuno mi aiuti!
Somebody help me!

And that’s it, now you know how to say help me in Italian in all its forms!


What next?

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