What are the main question words in Italian?

The core set is chi (who), che cosa, cosa, or che (what), dove (where), quando (when), come (how), perché (why), quale (which), and quanto (how much, how many). Quale has the plural quali, and quanto agrees with its noun: quanto, quanta, quanti, quante.

Is it che, cosa, or che cosa in Italian?

All three mean what in a question and all three are correct. Che cosa is the most neutral, cosa is the most frequent in conversation, and che alone is a little more informal. Before a noun, use che or quale: Che lavoro fai? (What do you do for a living?)

Why is qual è written without an apostrophe?

Because quale loses its final e by truncation, not elision. Truncated forms such as qual, buon, and nessun never take an apostrophe, so the correct spelling is qual è. Qual'è is a common mistake, but standard Italian treats it as an error.

How do you say how much and how many in Italian?

Both are quanto. Before a verb it does not change: Quanto costa? (How much does it cost?). Before a noun it agrees with that noun: quanto pane, quanta acqua, quanti giorni, quante ore.

How do you ask a yes or no question in Italian?

Keep the word order of a statement and raise your voice at the end, or add a question mark in writing. Parli inglese. (You speak English.) becomes Parli inglese? (Do you speak English?). No question word and no helper verb are needed.

Italian grammar · Beginner

Italian Question Words

Written by Parrot Italian Team, Italian Curriculum Editors · Reviewed October 2026

Italian question words (le parole interrogative) open a question and say what information you want: chi (who), che cosa (what), dove (where), quando (when), come (how), perché (why), quale (which), and quanto (how much). Italian has no helper verb like do or does, so the question word simply comes first and the ordinary verb follows it.

Dove abiti?

Where do you live?

What it is

A question word asks for one specific piece of information. In Italian it goes at the start of the question, and the verb comes straight after it, with any noun subject usually moved after the verb: Dove lavora Marco? (Where does Marco work?). There is no equivalent of English do or does, so the verb is the same form you would use in a statement.

Quando parte il treno? (When does the train leave?) The subject il treno comes after the verb parte.

How to spot it

Look at the first word of the sentence and the question mark at the end. Most question words are short and very common, and two of them change form: quale becomes quali in the plural, and quanto agrees with the noun it counts.

Chi è quella ragazza? (Who is that girl?)
Che cosa fai stasera? (What are you doing tonight?)
Come ti chiami? (What's your name? (literally: How do you call yourself?))
Quanti anni hai? (How old are you? (literally: How many years do you have?))

Perché means both why and because, so the same word asks the question and starts the answer: Perché ridi? Perché sono contento. (Why are you laughing? Because I'm happy.)

Question Words Quick Reference

The Italian question words

Italian	English	Example
chi	who, whom	Chi viene alla festa? (Who's coming to the party?)
che cosa / cosa / che	what	Cosa vuoi? (What do you want?)
dove	where	Dove sono le chiavi? (Where are the keys?)
quando	when	Quando arrivi? (When are you arriving?)
come	how	Come stai? (How are you?)
perché	why	Perché sei in ritardo? (Why are you late?)
quale / quali	which, what	Quale preferisci? (Which one do you prefer?)
quanto / quanta / quanti / quante	how much, how many	Quanto costa? (How much does it cost?)

Common Question Words Examples in Italian

Italian question words in everyday questions:

People and Things

Chi ha chiamato?: Who called?
Con chi esci stasera?: Who are you going out with tonight?
Che cosa stai leggendo?: What are you reading?

A preposition always goes before chi, never at the end of the question as in English: con chi, a chi, di chi.

Place, Time, and Manner

Di dove sei?: Where are you from?
A che ora comincia il film?: What time does the film start?
Come sei arrivato qui?: How did you get here?

Di dove sei? is the standard way to ask where someone is from. The preposition di comes first, as with chi.

Choice and Quantity

Qual è il tuo numero di telefono?: What's your phone number?
Quali scarpe ti piacciono?: Which shoes do you like?
Quante sorelle hai?: How many sisters do you have?

Quanto agrees with the noun it counts: quanto tempo, quanta pazienza, quanti libri, quante persone.

How Italian Questions Are Built

The question word goes first, the verb follows, and nothing like do or does is needed.

Question Word First, Verb Next

The question word opens the sentence and the conjugated verb follows it. If the subject is a noun, it usually goes after the verb, often at the very end of the question.

Dove abita tua sorella?

Where does your sister live?

Question word + verb + subject.

No Do or Does

English needs an auxiliary to build most questions. Italian uses the ordinary conjugated verb, so Where do you work? is simply Dove lavori?, with no extra word.

Cosa mangi a pranzo?

What do you eat for lunch?

No helper verb.

Prepositions Go First

English often leaves the preposition at the end: Who are you talking to? Italian never does. The preposition moves to the front, before the question word.

Di chi è questa borsa?

Whose bag is this?

Di chi = whose.

Che, Cosa, and Che Cosa

All three mean what and are interchangeable in questions. Che cosa is the most neutral, cosa is the most common in speech, and che on its own is a little more colloquial. Directly before a noun, use che or quale.

Che lavoro fai?

What do you do for a living?

Che + noun = what kind of.

Qual è Has No Apostrophe

Quale loses its final e before è and era. This is a truncation, not an elision, so Italian never writes an apostrophe here. The form qual'è is a very common spelling mistake, even among native speakers.

Qual è la tua città preferita?

What's your favorite city?

qual è, never qual'è.

Common Mistakes with Question Words

Incorrect: Qual'è il problema? (What's the problem?)

Correct: Qual è il problema? (What's the problem?)

Qual è is written without an apostrophe. Quale drops its final vowel before è by truncation, and truncated words never take an apostrophe.

Incorrect: Chi esci con stasera? (Who are you going out with tonight?)

Correct: Con chi esci stasera? (Who are you going out with tonight?)

Italian never leaves a preposition at the end of a question. It always goes before the question word: con chi, a chi, di chi, da dove.

Incorrect: Cosa è il tuo indirizzo? (What's your address?)

Correct: Qual è il tuo indirizzo? (What's your address?)

When the answer is one specific item from many possible ones, such as an address, a name, or a date, Italian uses quale, not cosa.

Incorrect: Quanto persone vengono? (How many people are coming?)

Correct: Quante persone vengono? (How many people are coming?)

Before a noun, quanto agrees with it in gender and number. Persone is feminine plural, so the form is quante.

When English What Is Not Cosa

English uses what for several kinds of question. Italian splits them between cosa, quale, and come.

Quale for one item from a set

Use cosa for an open question with no fixed set of answers. Use quale when the answer is one item from a range of possibilities, which covers most questions of the form What is your...?

Qual è il tuo indirizzo?: What's your address?
Qual è la capitale del Canada?: What's the capital of Canada?
Che cosa è successo?: What happened?

Cos'è? (What is it?) asks for a definition or an identification, so it uses cosa, not quale.

Come in fixed questions

A few everyday questions that use what in English use come in Italian, because Italian asks how rather than what.

Come ti chiami?: What's your name?
Come? Non ho capito.: Sorry, what? I didn't understand.

Come? on its own is the polite way to ask someone to repeat. Cosa? on its own sounds more abrupt.

Quick Check: Question Words

Complete each question with the right question word.

1. Ask where the station is: ___ è la stazione?

Answer: Dove

Dove è often shortens to dov'è in speech and writing.

2. Ask a friend how old they are: ___ anni hai?

Answer: Quanti

Anni is masculine plural, so quanto becomes quanti.

3. Ask whose book this is: ___ è questo libro?

Answer: Di chi

Whose is always di chi in Italian.

4. Ask which film they want to see: ___ film vuoi vedere?

Answer: Quale

Che film is also correct and slightly more casual.

5. Ask what the problem is: ___ il problema?

Answer: Qual è

No apostrophe.

Question Words FAQs

What are the main question words in Italian?: The core set is chi (who), che cosa, cosa, or che (what), dove (where), quando (when), come (how), perché (why), quale (which), and quanto (how much, how many). Quale has the plural quali, and quanto agrees with its noun: quanto, quanta, quanti, quante.
Is it che, cosa, or che cosa in Italian?: All three mean what in a question and all three are correct. Che cosa is the most neutral, cosa is the most frequent in conversation, and che alone is a little more informal. Before a noun, use che or quale: Che lavoro fai? (What do you do for a living?)
Why is qual è written without an apostrophe?: Because quale loses its final e by truncation, not elision. Truncated forms such as qual, buon, and nessun never take an apostrophe, so the correct spelling is qual è. Qual'è is a common mistake, but standard Italian treats it as an error.
How do you say how much and how many in Italian?: Both are quanto. Before a verb it does not change: Quanto costa? (How much does it cost?). Before a noun it agrees with that noun: quanto pane, quanta acqua, quanti giorni, quante ore.
How do you ask a yes or no question in Italian?: Keep the word order of a statement and raise your voice at the end, or add a question mark in writing. Parli inglese. (You speak English.) becomes Parli inglese? (Do you speak English?). No question word and no helper verb are needed.