How exactly do you say where are you in Italian? What’s more appropriate to say 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!
Dove…?
Where…?
Let’s start! Iniziamo!
How do you say where are you in Italian?
Singular: Dove sei?
Dove sei? is how you translate where are you in Italian when you are addressing only one person you know well, such as a friend or a relative.
Dove sei?
Where are you? (singular, familiar)
This common sentence in Italian is made of only two elements.
Dove
Where
Sei
Are you
Dove sei? – Sono davanti all’edicola. Tu dove sei, invece?
Where are you? – I’m in front of the newsstand. Where are you instead?
Dove sei? – Sono ancora a casa. Sarò da te fra un quarto d’ora.
Where are you? – I’m still at home. I’ll be with you in fifteen minutes.
As you might already know, Italian verb endings change for all subject pronouns, so that you can actually do without the pronouns in the sentence. The subject will be understood thanks to the verb ending!
Sei is a conjugation of the verb essere, meaning to be. Sei is basically the second person singular present conjugation of essere. This is an irregular verb.
Present tense conjugation for essere
| io | sono |
| tu | sei |
| lui, lei | è |
| noi | siamo |
| voi | siete |
| loro | sono |
For example, you could say…
Il gatto è sul davanzale della finestra.
The cat is on the window sill.
Prima siamo andati al museo, poi siamo tornati al parco.
First we went to the museum, then we went back to the park.
Now, what do you have to say to ask where are you in Italian to more than one person at a time? You will need to conjugate the verb essere in the second person plural. You might already be able to guess what that is from the table above, but let’s see what this form is exactly in the next paragraph.
Plural: Dove siete?
Dove siete? is how you translate where are you in Italian when you are addressing groups of people, in both formal and informal contexts.
Dove siete?
Where are you? (plural)
Italian has two kinds of “you”, unlike English. There’s a singular “you” and then there’s a plural “you”. If you are addressing two or more friends, you will need to conjugate the verb essere according to the latter pronoun, which is voi.
From the table in the previous paragraph, you can see that the conjugation you have to use is voi siete.
Ragazzi, dove siete? Non vedo niente con questo buio!
Guys, where are you? I can’t see anything in this darkness!
Dove sei? – Sono al binario 4. Spicciati, il treno parte fra cinque minuti!
Where are you? – I’m at platform 4. Hurry up, the train leaves in five minutes!
Now, how do you say where are you in Italian when you need to be formal? Keep on reading to find out!
Polite: Dov’è?
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 formal 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.
So, how do you formally ask where are you in Italian to one person at a time?
Dov’è?
Where are you? (formal)
More commonly though, you will find these expressions instead:
Lei dov’è?
Where are you? (formal)
Dov’è lei?
Where are you? (formal)
This is because dov’è is the contracted form of dove è, which can also be translated as where is it. To avoid all misunderstandings, the formal subject pronoun Lei is added to the sentence.
This question uses the third-person singular conjugation. Basically, when speaking formally, Italians address each other with the subject “she”, lei.
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Trovarsi
The verb trovarsi literally means to find oneself and can be used to translate to be to ask for someone’s bearings. It’s less common than essere, but still very much used.
Here’s what you have to say to ask where are you in Italian using the verb trovarsi:
Dove ti trovi?
Where are you? (informal, singular)
Dove vi trovate?
Where are you? (plural)
Lei dove si trova?
Where are you? (formal)
And that’s it, now you know how to say where are you in Italian in all its forms!
What next?
➡️ Learn other common Italian questions!
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