If you ask an Italian a hard question, listen for diciamo. Quanto costa? — Diciamo cento euro. Com'è andata? — Diciamo che poteva andare meglio. È difficile? — Diciamo di sì. The verb form is first-person plural ("we say"), but the meaning is something like let's say or say, around — a conversational hedge that signals "this is approximate, this is one way of putting it, take it with a grain of salt." Diciamo is one of the cleanest hedging tools in spoken Italian, and learners who pick it up acquire a major piece of native-feeling pragmatic competence.
This page covers the four key uses of diciamo: (1) hedging an assertion ("let's say it's difficult"); (2) approximating a number or quantity ("around a hundred"); (3) softening an opinion or judgment ("kind of, sort of"); and (4) the introductory turn-opener that prefaces a careful answer. We also distinguish diciamo (hedging) from its literal first-person-plural sibling diciamo (we say / let's say it).
Form and basic semantics
Diciamo is the first-person plural present indicative of dire ("to say"). Literally it is we say or, in hortative use, let's say. The hedging diciamo derives from the second reading — let's say, in the sense of "let's pose this as a working approximation." That meaning has solidified into a discourse marker that is no longer felt as a verb in the moment of use; speakers deploy it the way English speakers deploy say or let's say in say, around two hundred or let's say it's complicated.
The marker is invariable. Even though it is morphologically a noi form, you do not switch to dico (I say) or dici (you say) when the hedge is your personal one. Diciamo is the fixed form for this function.
Diciamo che è una situazione complicata.
Let's say it's a complicated situation.
Costa, diciamo, cento euro.
It costs, say, a hundred euros.
Diciamo di sì.
Let's say yes / I'd say yes.
In each example, the speaker is offering a rendering, not a precise claim — and diciamo signals "this is the version I am willing to commit to."
Use 1: hedging an assertion — "let's say"
The most frequent use: diciamo che + clause, where the clause is a hedged version of what the speaker actually thinks. The hedge marks the assertion as approximate, simplified, or one possible way of putting it. The most common pattern is diciamo che followed by a verb in the indicative.
Diciamo che è difficile, ma non impossibile.
Let's say it's difficult, but not impossible.
Diciamo che il film non era proprio quello che mi aspettavo.
Let's say the film wasn't quite what I was expecting.
Diciamo che il rapporto tra loro non è dei migliori.
Let's say the relationship between them isn't the best.
The pragmatic effect is delicate: diciamo che often introduces a euphemism or understatement. Diciamo che il film non era proprio quello che mi aspettavo probably means "the film was bad and I was disappointed." Diciamo che il rapporto non è dei migliori probably means "they fight constantly." The hedge is a face-saving device that lets the speaker land the assertion without seeming harsh.
Diciamo che ha avuto qualche difficoltà al lavoro.
Let's say he's had some difficulties at work.
Diciamo che non è stata la mia decisione migliore.
Let's say it wasn't my best decision.
In these cases the speaker is communicating something stronger ("he might lose his job," "it was a disaster") under the cover of diciamo che. Recognizing this pragmatic move is essential for understanding what Italians actually mean when they hedge.
Use 2: approximating a number or quantity — "say, around"
The second most frequent use: diciamo mid-clause to approximate a number, time, or quantity. It is sandwiched into the sentence, often between commas in writing, and signals "I am giving you a round figure, not a precise one."
Costa, diciamo, cento euro.
It costs, say, a hundred euros.
Saremo, diciamo, una decina di persone.
We'll be, say, about ten people.
Ci vorranno, diciamo, due o tre ore.
It'll take, say, two or three hours.
Aveva, diciamo, una sessantina d'anni.
He was, say, around sixty.
In this pattern, diciamo parallels English say (say, around three / say, two or three). It is interchangeable with circa ("about") and all'incirca ("roughly"), but where those modifiers attach directly to the number, diciamo is more conversational and inserts a moment of estimation: "I'm giving you a working figure."
Arrivo tra, diciamo, mezz'ora.
I'll be there in, say, half an hour.
Ne abbiamo bisogno, diciamo, una ventina.
We need, say, about twenty of them.
The mid-clause diciamo is bracketed by light pauses in speech and by commas in writing. Without those breaks, it sounds wrong: Costa diciamo cento euro (no commas) reads as if diciamo were the main verb, which is not the intended structure.
Use 3: softening an opinion or judgment — "sort of, kind of"
A close cousin of use 1: diciamo used in an answer to soften a judgment. Here the hedge can stand by itself or modify a single word — it is no longer introducing a full clause but qualifying a specific evaluation.
— Ti è piaciuto? — Diciamo. Non era male.
— Did you like it? — Sort of. It wasn't bad.
— È un bravo cuoco? — Beh, diciamo che si difende.
— Is he a good cook? — Well, let's say he gets by.
— Sei contento? — Diciamo di sì.
— Are you happy? — I'd say so / Sort of, yes.
The bare Diciamo. as a one-word answer is particularly Italian. It expresses a noncommittal, hedged "yes-ish" or "sort of" — closer to English meh, yeah or kind of than to a clean yes. The tone is thoughtful, sometimes ironic.
— Va tutto bene? — Diciamo.
— Is everything okay? — Sort of.
— Hai capito? — Diciamo.
— Did you understand? — Sort of.
This bare Diciamo is not a refusal to answer; it is an answer with a built-in qualifier. The speaker is committing to "yes" but flagging that the yes is partial.
Use 4: turn opener — "let's say / I'd put it this way"
A Diciamo... at the start of a turn signals that the speaker is about to offer a careful, perhaps qualified, formulation. It is the opening of a thoughtful answer, the verbal equivalent of "the way I would put it is...". Pair it with a brief pause and your interlocutor will wait for your considered version.
Diciamo che, dal mio punto di vista, sarebbe meglio aspettare.
Let's say that, from my point of view, it would be better to wait.
Diciamo... non saprei come spiegarlo, ma è una situazione strana.
Let me put it this way... I don't know how to explain it, but it's a strange situation.
Diciamo che la verità sta nel mezzo.
Let's say the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
This use overlaps with the hedging diciamo che of use 1 but is distinguished by its initial position and by the slight pause that often follows. The speaker is not just hedging an assertion — they are signaling "what I'm about to say is my best attempt."
Diciamo and other hedges
Diciamo sits in a small family of hedging tools:
| Marker | Function |
|---|---|
| diciamo | "let's say" — hedge or approximate |
| insomma | "in short / so-so" — sum-up or lukewarm answer |
| circa | "about" — number approximation only |
| tipo | "like" — informal hedge / approximator (youth-coded) |
| più o meno | "more or less" |
| sarà... | future of conjecture — "must be / probably" |
Diciamo is the most flexible — it works for assertions, numbers, judgments, and turn openers all at once. In youth speech, tipo and diciamo often co-occur, but one hedge per assertion is enough.
Distinguishing the hedge from the literal verb
Diciamo is also literally the first-person-plural form of dire. Context disambiguates, but learners sometimes confuse the two readings. The literal verb is integrated into the sentence as a main verb; the hedge is set off as a discourse marker.
In Italia diciamo 'buongiorno' fino al primo pomeriggio.
In Italy we say 'buongiorno' until early afternoon. (literal verb — we say)
Costa, diciamo, cento euro.
It costs, say, a hundred euros. (hedge — bracketed mid-clause)
Diciamo a tutti che la festa è alle otto.
Let's tell everyone the party is at eight. (literal hortative — let's say)
Diciamo che la festa è andata bene.
Let's say the party went well. (hedge — softening assertion)
The signature of the hedge: it is set off prosodically (pauses around it), it can usually be removed without breaking the syntax of the sentence, and it does not introduce reported speech the way a literal dire does.
Diciamo and the conditional
A more cautious version replaces diciamo with the conditional direi ("I would say"). Direi frames the hedge as personal; diciamo pulls the listener into the working approximation.
Direi che è una situazione complicata.
I'd say it's a complicated situation.
Diciamo che è una situazione complicata.
Let's say it's a complicated situation.
In formal speech or writing, direi often wins; in casual conversation, diciamo is the everyday tool.
Register and frequency
Diciamo is fully neutral in register — it is at home in casual conversation, in journalistic writing, in radio and TV, and in semi-formal speech. It is less common in academic or legal prose, where vale a dire or all'incirca take its place, but a phrase like diciamo, in linea generale ("let's say, broadly speaking") is fine even in a polished essay.
| Context | Frequency |
|---|---|
| casual conversation | very high |
| journalism / interviews | high |
| radio and TV speech | high |
| academic prose | moderate |
| legal / official documents | rare; replaced by all'incirca or vale a dire |
Diciamo clusters in interviews and discussions where speakers want to commit cautiously — politicians, professionals, and academics deploy it constantly. Listening to interviews in Italian is one of the fastest ways to internalize its rhythm.
Comparison with English
English speakers map diciamo onto a small set of options:
| Italian diciamo use | Closest English |
|---|---|
| hedging assertion | let's say, you could say |
| number approximation | say, around, about |
| softening judgment | sort of, kind of, more or less |
| turn opener | let's say, the way I'd put it |
| bare Diciamo. | sort of, kind of, more or less |
The closest single English word is say in its hedging-approximator role: say, around three; say it's complicated. Italian diciamo is more frequent than English say in this function — Italians deploy diciamo in spots where English speakers might use other hedges (kind of, sort of, I guess) or simply commit without hedging.
The biggest mismatch: English let's say often retains a hortative flavor ("for the sake of argument, let's pose this as true"), while Italian diciamo has lost that flavor and is purely a hedge. Diciamo che è difficile does not really mean "for the sake of argument, let's claim it's difficult" — it means "I'd put it this way: it's difficult."
Common Mistakes
❌ Costa diciamo cento euro.
Wrong — when *diciamo* approximates a number mid-clause, it needs commas around it. Without the breaks, it reads as a main verb.
✅ Costa, diciamo, cento euro.
It costs, say, a hundred euros.
❌ Dico che è difficile.
With *dire* in the first-person singular, you lose the hedging function — *dico* sounds like a literal claim.
✅ Diciamo che è difficile.
Let's say it's difficult. (hedged)
❌ Diciamo che sia difficile.
Wrong mood — *diciamo che* takes the indicative for hedging, not the subjunctive. The subjunctive would shift the meaning to a literal hortative.
✅ Diciamo che è difficile.
Let's say it's difficult.
❌ Diciamo, diciamo, diciamo, è una cosa strana.
Diciamo overload — the hedge loses force when stacked. One *diciamo* per assertion.
✅ Diciamo che è una cosa strana.
Let's say it's a strange thing.
❌ — È pronto? — Diciamo di no.
The phrase is grammatical but rare — *diciamo di sì* is the natural hedged yes; *diciamo di no* sounds awkward as a hedged no. Use *non proprio* or *insomma* instead.
✅ — È pronto? — Non proprio. / Insomma.
— Is it ready? — Not exactly. / Sort of.
❌ Nella tesi, diciamo, l'autore sostiene che...
Register clash if the document is highly formal — in academic prose, prefer *vale a dire* or simply rephrase to drop the hedge.
✅ Nella tesi, l'autore sostiene, in linea generale, che...
In her thesis, the author maintains, broadly speaking, that...
Key takeaways
- Diciamo has four core uses: (1) hedging an assertion ("let's say it's difficult"); (2) approximating a number ("say, around a hundred"); (3) softening a judgment ("sort of"); (4) opening a turn with a careful answer.
- The marker is invariable — even though it is morphologically a first-person-plural verb, the hedge does not change form.
- Mid-clause diciamo always needs commas (or pauses in speech). Without them, it reads as a main verb.
- The bare Diciamo. is a noncommittal "sort of" — a hedged but committed answer.
- Diciamo is register-neutral but most frequent in conversation, interviews, and semi-formal speech. In legal and academic prose, prefer all'incirca or vale a dire.
- For first-person hedging, direi ("I would say") is the close cousin — slightly more formal and personal.
For the wider hedging system, see Pragmatics: Hedging and Conditional for Hedged Opinions. For other reformulation and softening discourse markers, see Cioè and Ossia and Insomma.
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