How do you say it in Italian?
| Pronunciation | |
| Words you should know | Fare (to do) + attenzione (attention) |
| When to use this | With 1 person you’re familiar with |
| When NOT to use this | With strangers and groups |
Fai can be shortened to fa’. In this case, you will need to add an apostrophe.
| Fai attenzione all’ultimo gradino. È più alto degli altri. | Be careful with the last step. It is higher than the others. |
| Fa’ attenzione, ci sono molti sassi sulla strada. | Be careful, there are many pebbles on the road. |
Fate attenzione!
| Pronunciation | |
| When to use this | With a group of people |
| When NOT to use this | With strangers and 1 person at a time |
In Italian, unlike English, there are two kinds of “you”. There is a singular “you” and then there is a plural “you”. If you’re speaking to a group, you’ll need to conjugate any verb or pronoun accordingly.
For example, you can say…
| Bambini, fate attenzione alle macchine! | Children, watch out for cars! |
Fare attenzione can also be used to translate “to pay attention”.
| Fate attenzione a quello che dice l’insegnante. | Pay attention to what the teacher says. |
Faccia attenzione!
| 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.
Other ways to translate be careful in Italian
Fai attenzione is certainly the most common way to ask someone to be careful in Italian, but there are other ways to ask for someone’s attention.
Sii prudente translates as “be cautious”.
| Sii prudente, siate prudenti, sia prudente | Be careful (informal, plural, polite) |
Stai attento translates as “be attentive” or “be alert”.
| Stai/sta’ attento, state attenti, stia attento | Be careful (informal, plural, polite) |
Simply saying attenzione! (“attention”) is also common, especially when time is limited and you need to warn someone of an immediate danger.
| Attenzione! | Be careful! |
More free Italian resources
You might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
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