How to say what’s up in Italian

How exactly do you say what’s up in Italian?

In this lesson, we will take a deep look at how you can translate this sentence into Italian. Read on to find out!

Che…?
What…?

Let’s get started! Iniziamo!

man working on a computer

How do you say what’s up in Italian?

Che succede?

Che succede? is the most common way to translate what’s up into Italian. You will also find the variation che è successo?.

Che succede?
What’s up?
Literally: What happens?

This common sentence in Italian is made up of two elements.

Che
What

Succede
Happens

Che succede, ragazzi? – Stiamo dipingendo il cancello d’ingresso.
What’s up, guys? – We’re painting the front gate.

bug

Che succede, amico? is the Italian translation of Bugs Bunny’s famous catchphrase What’s up, Doc?.

Succede comes from succedere, to happen, which is a verb of the second group -ere. Be careful not to confuse che succede?, in the present tense, with cos’è successo, in the past tense.

Cosa succede? can also be translated as “what happens?”, but it’s really used to ask what’s happening. Che succede? can also be used as a greeting.

The meaning is very different!

Cos’è successo? – Il cane è scappato!
What happened? – The dog ran away!

Cosa succede, papà? – Non trovo le chiavi di casa!
What is happening, dad? – I can’t find my house keys!

man rummaging in his pockets after losing something

Successo has a double function in Italian.

It can be a masculine noun, il successo, meaning success.

La recita è stata un successo strepitoso.
The play was a resounding success.

And it is the past participle of the verb succedere, meaning to happen.

La corrente elettrica va spesso via. Ormai succede ogni giorno.
The electricity often goes out. It happens every day now.

Title: Italian All-in-One For Dummies
Language: English / Italian
Publisher: For Dummies
Pages: 672

Learn to speak Italian like a native? Easy.
Italian All-in-One For Dummies appeals to those readers looking for a comprehensive, all-encompassing guide to mastering the Italian language. It contains content from all For Dummies Italian language instruction titles, including Italian For Dummies, Intermediate Italian For Dummies, Italian Verbs For Dummies, Italian Phrases For Dummies, Italian Grammar For Dummies, and Italian For Dummies Audio Set.


Come va?

Along with che succede?, come va? is another popular translation for what’s up in Italian.

Come va?
How’s it going?

Va is the third-person singular conjugation of the verb andare, which means to go.

Italians use come va? mostly with friends and relatives. It’s neither formal nor informal, although you will rarely hear it in formal situations.

And that’s the end of our lesson on how to say what’s up in Italian!


What next?

➡️ Learn other common Italian questions!

Now that you’ve seen how to say what’s up in Italian, you might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:

Aiuta Lingookies con un 👍!

❤️ If you liked this lesson on how do you say what’s up in Italian, consider sharing it with your social media friends who are also studying Italian.

Leave a Comment