How do you say it in Italian?
| Pronunciation | |
| Words you should know | Avere (to have) + fame (hunger) |
| When to use this | With 1 person you’re familiar with |
| When NOT to use this | With strangers and groups |
You can’t translate to be hungry literally, because Italian uses a noun (hunger) and a different verb (to have)!
| Hai fame, Veronica? Ti preparo un panino. | Are you hungry, Veronica? I’ll make you a sandwich. |
| Hai fame, micione? | Are you hungry, big kitty cat? |
➡️ How can “micione” mean big kitty cat? Learn the descriptive Italian suffixes here!
Avete fame?
| Pronunciation | |
| When to use this | With a group of people |
| When NOT to use this | With strangers and 1 person at a time |
Italian has two kinds of “you”, unlike English. There’s a singular “you” and then there’s a plural “you”. If you are addressing a group, you will need to conjugate any verb or pronoun accordingly.
| Avete fame, bambini? Venite, vi preparo la merenda! | Are you hungry, children? Come, I’ll make you a snack! |
Ha fame?
| Pronunciation | |
| When to use this | With a stranger |
| When NOT to use this | With people you know well |
When speaking formally, Italians address each other with the subject “she”, lei. Use Lei in the written form if you want to be very polite.
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