Arrabbiarsi (to get angry) is the verb that handles every flare-up of irritation, frustration, or genuine fury in everyday Italian. It is far more common than its formal cousin infuriarsi, and rather more polite than the colloquial incavolarsi or the vulgar incazzarsi. If you live, work, drive, or argue in Italian, you will need this verb constantly — both in the present ("I'm getting angry") and the passato prossimo ("I got angry yesterday").
Like its emotional companions annoiarsi, innamorarsi, divertirsi, it belongs to the -are pure reflexive family. There are no irregular forms, but there are two features to internalise: (1) the double bb in the stem (arrabb-), an integral part of the spelling, and (2) the single-i rule in the tu form — ti arrabbi, never ti arrabbii. Once those are second nature, the conjugation runs on rails.
The third critical point — and the one most likely to expose you as a non-native — is the preposition. You get angry with someone in Italian: arrabbiarsi con qualcuno. Never arrabbiarsi a (a calque from English "angry at") and never arrabbiarsi su (a calque from "mad at"). The preposition con is non-negotiable.
Indicativo presente
| Person | Form | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| io | mi arrabbio | /mi arˈrabbjo/ |
| tu | ti arrabbi | /ti arˈrabbi/ |
| lui / lei / Lei | si arrabbia | /si arˈrabbja/ |
| noi | ci arrabbiamo | /tʃi arrabˈbjamo/ |
| voi | vi arrabbiate | /vi arrabˈbjate/ |
| loro | si arrabbiano | /si arˈrabbjano/ |
The double rr and double bb are integral to the stem and never simplify. The 2sg form is ti arrabbi with just one i: stem arrabbi- plus the present-tense -i ending would technically produce arrabbii, but the single-i rule collapses the doubled vowel. The 1pl is ci arrabbiamo (not ci arrabbiiamo) for the same reason.
Mi arrabbio sempre quando il treno è in ritardo senza preavviso.
I always get angry when the train is late without warning.
Ti arrabbi facilmente — devi imparare a contare fino a dieci.
You get angry easily — you need to learn to count to ten.
Mio padre si arrabbia se non mangiamo tutto quello che ha cucinato.
My dad gets angry if we don't eat everything he's cooked.
Ci arrabbiamo spesso per le stesse stupidaggini.
We often get angry over the same stupid things.
Vi arrabbiate per cose che non valgono la pena.
You guys get angry over things that aren't worth it.
Gli automobilisti italiani si arrabbiano subito nel traffico.
Italian drivers get angry right away in traffic.
Imperfetto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | mi arrabbiavo |
| tu | ti arrabbiavi |
| lui / lei / Lei | si arrabbiava |
| noi | ci arrabbiavamo |
| voi | vi arrabbiavate |
| loro | si arrabbiavano |
Regular -are imperfetto on the stem arrabbia-. The imperfetto handles chronic past anger ("she was always getting angry") and anger in progress ("I was getting angry when he interrupted me"). Endings begin with -a-, so the i is preserved.
Da giovane si arrabbiava per ogni piccola ingiustizia.
When she was young she would get angry over every little injustice.
Mi arrabbiavo spesso con mio fratello quando eravamo bambini.
I often used to get angry with my brother when we were kids.
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | mi arrabbiai |
| tu | ti arrabbiasti |
| lui / lei / Lei | si arrabbiò |
| noi | ci arrabbiammo |
| voi | vi arrabbiaste |
| loro | si arrabbiarono |
Regular passato remoto on the stem arrabbi-. The 3sg si arrabbiò carries the obligatory grave accent on the stressed final -ò — without it, arrabbio is the 1sg present, a different person entirely. Used in literary narration: si arrabbiò come non si era mai arrabbiato.
Quel giorno si arrabbiò così tanto che ruppe il telefono.
That day he got so angry he broke his phone.
Futuro semplice
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | mi arrabbierò |
| tu | ti arrabbierai |
| lui / lei / Lei | si arrabbierà |
| noi | ci arrabbieremo |
| voi | vi arrabbierete |
| loro | si arrabbieranno |
Future stem arrabbier- preserves the i — the same convention seen in annoierò, studierò, cambierò. The 1sg mi arrabbierò carries the obligatory grave accent on the final -ò. The futuro is also used for predictions and warnings about anger: Se non lo dici, si arrabbierà ("If you don't tell him, he'll get angry").
Se non glielo dici subito, si arrabbierà ancora di più.
If you don't tell him right away, he'll get even angrier.
Mia madre si arrabbierà quando vedrà il voto.
My mom will get angry when she sees the grade.
Condizionale presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | mi arrabbierei |
| tu | ti arrabbieresti |
| lui / lei / Lei | si arrabbierebbe |
| noi | ci arrabbieremmo |
| voi | vi arrabbiereste |
| loro | si arrabbierebbero |
Same arrabbier- stem, conditional endings. Note the double m in ci arrabbieremmo — single-m ci arrabbieremo is the future "we will get angry."
Mi arrabbierei se mi mentisse, ma capirei se mi dicesse la verità.
I'd get angry if he lied to me, but I'd understand if he told me the truth.
Congiuntivo presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (che) io | mi arrabbi |
| (che) tu | ti arrabbi |
| (che) lui / lei | si arrabbi |
| (che) noi | ci arrabbiamo |
| (che) voi | vi arrabbiate |
| (che) loro | si arrabbino |
The single-i rule applies again: singular mi/ti/si arrabbi (not arrabbii). The 1pl ci arrabbiamo is identical to the indicative; context resolves it.
Spero che non si arrabbi quando lo scoprirà.
I hope she doesn't get angry when she finds out.
È meglio che tu non ti arrabbi per così poco.
You'd better not get angry over so little.
Congiuntivo imperfetto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (che) io | mi arrabbiassi |
| (che) tu | ti arrabbiassi |
| (che) lui / lei | si arrabbiasse |
| (che) noi | ci arrabbiassimo |
| (che) voi | vi arrabbiaste |
| (che) loro | si arrabbiassero |
Used in counterfactuals (se non mi arrabbiassi così, sarei più sereno) and past-tense subjunctive contexts (temevo che si arrabbiasse).
Se ti arrabbiassi meno, vivresti meglio.
If you got angry less, you'd live better.
Imperativo
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | arrabbiati! / non ti arrabbiare! |
| Lei (formal) | si arrabbi! / non si arrabbi! |
| noi | arrabbiamoci! |
| voi | arrabbiatevi! / non arrabbiatevi! |
| loro (formal pl.) | si arrabbino! |
Like annoiarsi, the imperative of arrabbiarsi is overwhelmingly used in the negative: non ti arrabbiare! ("Don't get angry!") is one of the most common phrases in spoken Italian, used to defuse a partner, calm a parent, or apologize before delivering bad news. The affirmative is rare and usually theatrical or sarcastic.
Non ti arrabbiare, è solo una macchina — ne compreremo un'altra.
Don't get angry, it's just a car — we'll buy another one.
Non si arrabbi, signora, le cambio io il prodotto.
Don't get angry, ma'am, I'll exchange the product for you. (formal)
Non arrabbiatevi con lui — non ha capito la situazione.
Don't get angry with him — he didn't understand the situation.
Forme non finite
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Infinito presente | arrabbiarsi |
| Infinito passato | essersi arrabbiato/a/i/e |
| Gerundio presente | arrabbiandosi |
| Gerundio passato | essendosi arrabbiato/a/i/e |
| Participio passato | arrabbiato/a/i/e |
The participle arrabbiato doubles as the everyday adjective for "angry": sono arrabbiato ("I'm angry"), un cliente arrabbiato ("an angry customer"), un cane arrabbiato (potentially ambiguous: "an angry dog" OR "a rabid dog" — see etymology below).
Arrabbiandosi inutilmente, ha solo peggiorato la situazione.
By getting angry pointlessly, he only made the situation worse.
Compound tenses: always essere, with subject agreement
Like every Italian reflexive, arrabbiarsi takes essere in compound tenses, and the participle agrees with the subject. This is the universal pattern — you cannot say ho arrabbiato for "I got angry."
| Tense | Form (1sg masc.) | Form (1sg fem.) |
|---|---|---|
| Passato prossimo | mi sono arrabbiato | mi sono arrabbiata |
| Trapassato prossimo | mi ero arrabbiato | mi ero arrabbiata |
| Trapassato remoto | mi fui arrabbiato | mi fui arrabbiata |
| Futuro anteriore | mi sarò arrabbiato | mi sarò arrabbiata |
| Condizionale passato | mi sarei arrabbiato | mi sarei arrabbiata |
| Congiuntivo passato | mi sia arrabbiato | mi sia arrabbiata |
| Congiuntivo trapassato | mi fossi arrabbiato | mi fossi arrabbiata |
Mi sono arrabbiata con il tassista che voleva farmi pagare il doppio.
I (female) got angry with the taxi driver who wanted to charge me double.
Si è arrabbiato così tanto che è uscito sbattendo la porta.
He got so angry he left, slamming the door.
Ci siamo arrabbiati tutti per la decisione del capo.
We all got angry over the boss's decision.
The all-important preposition: arrabbiarsi CON
The preposition for the person you're angry with is con — not a (an English "at" calque), not su ("about/on"), not contro (which means "against, in opposition to" and works only for institutional anger).
Mi sono arrabbiato con mio fratello, non con te.
I got angry with my brother, not with you.
Si arrabbia sempre con i suoi colleghi per cose stupide.
He always gets angry with his colleagues over stupid things.
For the reason for being angry, use per ("about, over, because of"):
Si è arrabbiata per il ritardo del treno, non con il controllore.
She got angry about the train's delay, not with the conductor.
Mi arrabbio sempre per le stesse cose — dovrei lavorarci su.
I always get angry over the same things — I should work on it.
The two prepositions can stack: si è arrabbiato con me per il ritardo ("he got angry with me over the delay").
Synonyms ranked by register
Italian has a small ladder of intensity for "to get angry," each rung carrying a distinct register:
| Verb | Register | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| infuriarsi | formal, literary | strong (to fly into a rage) |
| adirarsi | literary, archaic | strong (to grow wrathful) |
| arrabbiarsi | everyday, neutral | standard (to get angry) |
| incavolarsi | colloquial, mild | standard, slightly punchier |
| incazzarsi | vulgar (do not use in formal contexts) | strong (to get pissed off) |
Arrabbiarsi is the safest choice for any context. Incazzarsi is everywhere in casual speech among friends but is genuinely vulgar — never use it with strangers, in writing, or with anyone older than you who hasn't used it first. Incavolarsi is the polite-vulgar substitute (a euphemism) and works in most informal settings.
Mi sono incavolato un sacco quando ho visto la bolletta della luce.
I got really pissed when I saw the electric bill. (colloquial)
Fare arrabbiare qualcuno: the causative
To say "to make someone angry," Italian uses the causative construction with fare + infinitive:
Mio fratello fa sempre arrabbiare la mamma.
My brother always makes Mom angry.
Non farmi arrabbiare, ti ho detto cento volte di non toccarlo.
Don't make me angry, I've told you a hundred times not to touch it.
L'ha fatta arrabbiare di proposito.
He made her angry on purpose.
Note the structure: fare + (object pronoun if any) + arrabbiare. The verb stays as the bare infinitive (without the reflexive -si) when used after fare — because the action is being caused, not performed reflexively.
For the full mechanics of causative fare, see fare + infinitive.
Idiomatic uses
A few fixed expressions worth knowing:
- arrabbiarsi nero — to get really angry (literally "to get black-angry")
- fare arrabbiare — to make angry (the causative, see above)
- un cane arrabbiato — historically "a rabid dog" (the verb's literal meaning), now also "an angry/aggressive dog"
- arrabbiato come una bestia / come una iena — angry as a beast / as a hyena (intensifiers)
The arrabbiata sauce — the famous penne all'arrabbiata — gets its name from the fiery red of the chilis, metaphorically "angry." Italian cuisine reaches for the same metaphor as English ("angry red," "fiery").
Si è arrabbiato nero quando ha scoperto che gli avevano mentito.
He got really angry when he discovered they had lied to him.
Penne all'arrabbiata: pasta con pomodoro e peperoncino piccante.
Penne all'arrabbiata: pasta with tomato and spicy chili pepper.
Etymology
Arrabbiarsi comes from rabbia ("rage, fury, rabies"), itself from Latin rabies, meaning the disease of rabies in animals — the original sense was "to become rabid." Italian preserved both the literal meaning (a cane arrabbiato could be a rabid dog, especially in older or veterinary texts) and the figurative one (an angry person, the dominant modern sense). The a- prefix is the standard Italian inchoative ("become, enter into") that you also see in addormentarsi (a + dormire — "fall into sleep"), ammalarsi (a + male — "fall ill"), avvicinarsi (a + vicino — "come near").
The double bb in rabbia and arrabbiarsi is a Romance development — Classical Latin rabies has a single -b-, but the Vulgar/Late Latin form rabbia (and from there modern Italian rabbia) shows the typical Italian expressive doubling that anchors the consonant under the stress. The spelling has been stable for centuries.
Common mistakes
❌ Mi sono arrabbiato a mio fratello.
Incorrect — Italian uses 'con' for the person you're angry with, never 'a'. This is direct interference from English 'angry at'.
✅ Mi sono arrabbiato con mio fratello.
Correct — arrabbiarsi con qualcuno.
❌ Tu ti arrabbii sempre per niente.
Incorrect — single-i rule. Stem 'arrabbi-' + ending '-i' = 'arrabbi' (one i).
✅ Tu ti arrabbi sempre per niente.
Correct — ti arrabbi with one i.
❌ Ho arrabbiato quando ho visto la bolletta.
Incorrect — arrabbiarsi takes essere when reflexive, and the pronoun is missing. Also, 'arrabbiare' as a non-reflexive transitive is rare and not used here.
✅ Mi sono arrabbiato quando ho visto la bolletta.
Correct — reflexive with essere and pronoun.
❌ Maria si è arrabbiato con la collega.
Incorrect — with essere, the participle agrees with the feminine subject.
✅ Maria si è arrabbiata con la collega.
Correct — arrabbiata with feminine -a ending.
❌ Mi sono arrabbiato su di lui per il ritardo.
Incorrect — 'su di lui' is a calque from English 'mad at him'. Use 'con lui'.
✅ Mi sono arrabbiato con lui per il ritardo.
Correct — con lui (the person), per il ritardo (the reason).
❌ Mio fratello mi ha fatto arrabbiarmi.
Incorrect — when used after causative 'fare', drop the reflexive '-mi'. The causative does the reflexive work.
✅ Mio fratello mi ha fatto arrabbiare.
Correct — fare + bare infinitive 'arrabbiare' (no -si).
Key takeaways
Arrabbiarsi is fully regular on the stem arrabbi- (with double rr and double bb) and standard -are endings. No surprises in any tense or mood.
The single-i rule applies: ti arrabbi (not ti arrabbii), ci arrabbiamo (not ci arrabbiiamo), and the singular subjunctives all collapse to arrabbi.
The preposition is con, never a: arrabbiarsi con qualcuno (with someone). This is one of the most common English-interference errors. For the reason for the anger, use per.
All reflexives take essere with subject agreement: mi sono arrabbiato (m.), mi sono arrabbiata (f.). Never ho arrabbiato for "I got angry."
Register ladder: infuriarsi (formal) > arrabbiarsi (neutral) > incavolarsi (informal-polite vulgar) > incazzarsi (vulgar). Default to arrabbiarsi until you know your audience.
The causative is fare + infinitive without -si: fare arrabbiare qualcuno ("to make someone angry"). Never fare arrabbiarsi.
For the antonym (calmness, patience), see the reflexive overview and the related verb annoiarsi. For the deeper mechanics of causatives, see fare + infinitive.
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Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- Reflexive Verbs: OverviewA1 — How Italian uses reflexive pronouns to mark verbs whose subject and object are the same — and why Italian uses reflexives in many places where English uses no pronoun at all.
- True Reflexive VerbsA1 — When the subject genuinely acts on themselves — daily routine, body parts, and the elegant way Italian handles 'my hair, my hands, my face' without ever saying 'my'.
- Annoiarsi: Full Conjugation (Reflexive)A2 — Complete paradigm of annoiarsi (to be bored) — a regular -are reflexive with the i-stem orthographic rule that drops one i in the tu form: ti annoi, never ti annoii.
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- Divertirsi: Full Conjugation (Reflexive)A2 — Complete paradigm of divertirsi (to have fun, to enjoy oneself) — a regular -ire pure reflexive that English speakers must learn carefully because English uses no pronoun where Italian demands one.
- Causative Fare + Infinitive (Fare + Inf)B1 — How Italian expresses causation in a single compact construction — making someone do something or having something done — including the tricky placement of the causee, clitics, and the reflexive 'farsi + infinitive'.