Divertirsi (to have fun, to enjoy oneself) is one of the verbs that quietly reveal how differently Italian and English think about emotional events. Where English says "I had fun" — no reflexive, no pronoun, just a stative noun — Italian says mi sono divertito, literally "I amused myself." The transitive verb divertire means "to entertain someone" (the comedian entertains the audience: il comico ha divertito il pubblico); the reflexive divertirsi turns the action back on the subject and means "to have fun, to be amused, to enjoy oneself."
Like its -ire cousins vestirsi, partire, dormire, divertirsi belongs to the pure -ire pattern (no -isc- infix), and the conjugation is fully regular on the stem divert-. The work is not in memorising irregular forms — there are none — but in (1) using the reflexive pronoun every time, even when English wouldn't, and (2) remembering that the auxiliary in compound tenses is always essere, with the participle agreeing with the subject.
Indicativo presente
| Person | Form | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| io | mi diverto | /mi diˈvɛrto/ |
| tu | ti diverti | /ti diˈvɛrti/ |
| lui / lei / Lei | si diverte | /si diˈvɛrte/ |
| noi | ci divertiamo | /tʃi diverˈtjamo/ |
| voi | vi divertite | /vi diverˈtite/ |
| loro | si divertono | /si diˈvɛrtono/ |
The stem is divert-, a stable open e (/ɛ/) under stress. Endings are the standard pure -ire endings (-o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ite, -ono); the reflexive pronoun precedes each form. Note that divertirsi does NOT take the -isc- infix — it follows the partire/dormire/sentire pattern, not the finire/preferire/capire pattern.
Mi diverto un mondo quando esco con i miei vecchi compagni di scuola.
I have a fantastic time when I go out with my old school friends.
Ti diverti al lavoro o è una sofferenza quotidiana?
Do you enjoy your job or is it daily torture?
Mio nipote si diverte con qualsiasi cosa — anche con una scatola di cartone.
My nephew has fun with anything — even with a cardboard box.
Ci divertiamo molto a cucinare insieme la domenica.
We have a great time cooking together on Sundays.
Vi divertite alle feste universitarie?
Do you guys have fun at the university parties?
I bambini si divertono a saltare sui letti — come tutti i bambini del mondo.
The kids have fun jumping on the beds — like all kids in the world.
Imperfetto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | mi divertivo |
| tu | ti divertivi |
| lui / lei / Lei | si divertiva |
| noi | ci divertivamo |
| voi | vi divertivate |
| loro | si divertivano |
Regular -ire imperfetto on the stem diverti-. The imperfetto is the natural tense for describing past habits and ongoing past states of enjoyment: "we used to have fun together," "I was having fun until..."
Da bambina mi divertivo a passare ore con i miei pupazzi — inventavo storie infinite.
As a kid I had fun spending hours with my dolls — I'd invent endless stories.
Ci divertivamo molto da piccoli, anche con poco.
We had a lot of fun as kids, even with very little.
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | mi divertii |
| tu | ti divertisti |
| lui / lei / Lei | si divertì |
| noi | ci divertimmo |
| voi | vi divertiste |
| loro | si divertirono |
Completely regular. The 1sg ends in double -ii (mi divertii), the 3sg in stressed -ì with grave accent (si divertì). Used in literary narration: quella sera si divertirono come non si erano mai divertiti ("that night they had more fun than they ever had").
Quella sera si divertirono talmente che fecero le quattro del mattino.
That night they had so much fun they stayed up till four in the morning.
Futuro semplice
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | mi divertirò |
| tu | ti divertirai |
| lui / lei / Lei | si divertirà |
| noi | ci divertiremo |
| voi | vi divertirete |
| loro | si divertiranno |
Regular future on the stem divertir-. The 1sg mi divertirò carries the obligatory grave accent on the final -ò. The futuro is also used for promises and predictions about enjoyment: vedrai, ti divertirai! ("you'll see, you'll have fun!").
Vedrai, ti divertirai un sacco al festival di Sanremo.
You'll see, you'll have a great time at the Sanremo festival.
Sono sicuro che ci divertiremo tantissimo in vacanza.
I'm sure we'll have a great time on vacation.
Condizionale presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | mi divertirei |
| tu | ti divertiresti |
| lui / lei / Lei | si divertirebbe |
| noi | ci divertiremmo |
| voi | vi divertireste |
| loro | si divertirebbero |
Same divertir- stem as the future, with conditional endings. Note the double m in ci divertiremmo ("we would have fun"); the future single-m form is ci divertiremo ("we will have fun"). Mix them up and you've changed the tense.
Mi divertirei di più se non dovessi alzarmi presto domani.
I'd have more fun if I didn't have to get up early tomorrow.
Congiuntivo presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (che) io | mi diverta |
| (che) tu | ti diverta |
| (che) lui / lei | si diverta |
| (che) noi | ci divertiamo |
| (che) voi | vi divertiate |
| (che) loro | si divertano |
Singular forms collapse into mi/ti/si diverta. Triggered by hopes, wishes, doubts about enjoyment: spero che ti diverta, voglio che si divertano.
Spero proprio che ti diverta alla festa di Marco.
I really hope you have fun at Marco's party.
Voglio che i bambini si divertano, ma anche che imparino qualcosa.
I want the kids to have fun, but also to learn something.
Congiuntivo imperfetto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (che) io | mi divertissi |
| (che) tu | ti divertissi |
| (che) lui / lei | si divertisse |
| (che) noi | ci divertissimo |
| (che) voi | vi divertiste |
| (che) loro | si divertissero |
Used in counterfactuals and sequence-of-tenses contexts where the main clause is past or conditional: pensavo che si divertisse, vorrei che ti divertissi.
Pensavo che si divertissero — invece erano annoiati a morte.
I thought they were having fun — instead they were bored to death.
Imperativo
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | divertiti! |
| Lei (formal) | si diverta! |
| noi | divertiamoci! |
| voi | divertitevi! |
| loro (formal pl.) | si divertano! |
The imperative is one of the most-used forms of this verb in everyday Italian — every time someone heads out to a party, plays a sport, or starts a vacation, the obligatory parting word is divertiti! (singular) or divertitevi! (plural). The pronoun attaches to the end of the informal forms and stays before the formal si diverta.
Divertiti stasera, ma non fare tardi!
Have fun tonight, but don't stay out late!
Divertitevi al concerto, ragazzi!
Have fun at the concert, guys!
Si diverta pure, non si preoccupi di noi.
Please enjoy yourself, don't worry about us. (formal)
Forme non finite
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Infinito presente | divertirsi |
| Infinito passato | essersi divertito/a/i/e |
| Gerundio presente | divertendosi |
| Gerundio passato | essendosi divertito/a/i/e |
| Participio passato | divertito/a/i/e |
In the infinitive after modals, the pronoun typically attaches to the verb (voglio divertirmi, devi divertirti), but pre-modal placement is also fully grammatical (mi voglio divertire, ti devi divertire). Both are natural and modern Italian uses both freely.
Voglio divertirmi un po' prima di tornare al lavoro.
I want to have some fun before going back to work.
Mi voglio divertire questa estate — ho lavorato troppo.
I want to have fun this summer — I've worked too much.
Compound tenses: always essere, with subject agreement
Like every reflexive in Italian, divertirsi takes essere in compound tenses, and the participle agrees with the subject. The non-reflexive divertire takes avere ("ho divertito il pubblico" — I entertained the audience), but the moment you make it reflexive, the auxiliary flips to essere.
| Tense | Form (1sg masc.) | Form (1sg fem.) |
|---|---|---|
| Passato prossimo | mi sono divertito | mi sono divertita |
| Trapassato prossimo | mi ero divertito | mi ero divertita |
| Trapassato remoto | mi fui divertito | mi fui divertita |
| Futuro anteriore | mi sarò divertito | mi sarò divertita |
| Condizionale passato | mi sarei divertito | mi sarei divertita |
| Congiuntivo passato | mi sia divertito | mi sia divertita |
| Congiuntivo trapassato | mi fossi divertito | mi fossi divertita |
Mi sono divertita un mondo alla festa di ieri sera.
I (female) had a fantastic time at last night's party.
Ti sei divertito al matrimonio di tuo cugino?
Did you have fun at your cousin's wedding?
I miei figli si sono divertiti tantissimo al parco acquatico.
My kids had a great time at the water park.
Divertirsi a + infinitive: "to have fun doing"
The most common construction with this verb is divertirsi a + infinitive, meaning "to have fun doing something":
Mi diverto a leggere romanzi gialli prima di dormire.
I have fun reading mystery novels before sleeping.
Si divertono a prendere in giro il loro fratello minore.
They have fun teasing their little brother.
Mio padre si diverte a costruire mobili nel garage.
My dad has fun building furniture in the garage.
Intensifiers: divertirsi un mondo / da matti / un sacco
To say you had a really great time, Italian offers several colloquial intensifiers attached to divertirsi:
- divertirsi un mondo — to have a world of fun (everyday, all registers)
- divertirsi un sacco — to have a ton of fun (very colloquial)
- divertirsi da matti — to have a crazy good time (informal, slightly stronger)
- divertirsi un casino — to have a ton of fun (very colloquial, slightly vulgar)
- divertirsi alla grande — to have a great time (informal)
Ci siamo divertiti da matti a Carnevale a Venezia.
We had a crazy good time at Carnival in Venice.
Si è divertita un mondo al concerto di Vasco.
She had a world of fun at the Vasco concert.
Divertire vs divertente vs divertirsi
Three closely related words to keep separate:
- divertire (transitive verb, with avere) — to entertain, to amuse someone. Il film mi ha divertito molto (The film entertained me a lot).
- divertirsi (reflexive verb, with essere) — to have fun, to enjoy oneself. Mi sono divertito al cinema (I had fun at the cinema).
- divertente (adjective) — fun, entertaining, amusing. Il film era molto divertente (The film was very entertaining).
Il comico ha divertito tutto il pubblico.
The comedian entertained the whole audience. (transitive — avere)
Tutti si sono divertiti grazie al comico.
Everyone had fun thanks to the comedian. (reflexive — essere)
È stata una serata davvero divertente.
It was a really fun evening. (adjective)
Etymology
Divertire comes from Latin divertere ("to turn aside, to divert"), itself from dis- ("apart") + vertere ("to turn"). The original Latin meaning was geographic — to turn off the road — and the figurative sense of "turning the mind aside from worries" produced the modern meaning of "amusing, distracting, entertaining." The English divert ("to redirect") and diversion preserve the older spatial meaning, while the Italian (and French se divertir) developed the entertainment sense exclusively.
The reflexive divertirsi is built by attaching -si to the infinitive: literally "to divert oneself" — to turn one's mind aside from cares, by extension, to have fun.
Common mistakes
❌ Ho divertito alla festa di ieri sera.
Incorrect — divertirsi takes essere when reflexive. 'Ho divertito' means 'I entertained (someone)' and is missing an object.
✅ Mi sono divertito alla festa di ieri sera.
Correct — reflexive with essere and subject agreement.
❌ Mi ho divertito molto.
Incorrect — never use avere with a reflexive in compound tenses, regardless of the underlying verb.
✅ Mi sono divertito molto.
Correct — every reflexive uses essere.
❌ Maria si è divertito alla sua festa.
Incorrect — the participle must agree with the feminine subject.
✅ Maria si è divertita alla sua festa.
Correct — divertita with feminine -a ending.
❌ Buon divertimento, divertiti!
Not strictly wrong, but redundant — pick one. Italians use 'Buon divertimento!' OR 'Divertiti!', rarely both.
✅ Divertiti stasera!
Correct — clean and natural.
❌ Il film mi ha divertito molto, è stato divertito.
Incorrect — the adjective is 'divertente' (entertaining), not 'divertito' (which is the past participle and means 'amused').
✅ Il film mi ha divertito molto, è stato divertente.
Correct — divertente as the descriptive adjective.
Key takeaways
Divertirsi is fully regular on the stem divert- with standard pure -ire endings (no -isc-). Memorise the pattern once and it generalises to all pure -ire reflexives.
Always essere in compound tenses, with subject agreement: mi sono divertito (m.), mi sono divertita (f.), ci siamo divertiti (m.pl.), vi siete divertite (f.pl.). Never ho divertito for "I had fun."
Divertirsi a + infinitive is the workhorse construction: mi diverto a + infinitive = "I have fun doing X."
The transitive divertire (with avere) means "to entertain someone": il comico ha divertito il pubblico. Don't confuse it with the reflexive.
Buon divertimento! and Divertiti! / Divertitevi! are the two ways Italians say "Have fun!" — the first uses the noun, the second uses the imperative. Both are fully natural.
For the antonym, see annoiarsi (to be bored). For the broader logic of the reflexive system, see the reflexive overview.
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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.
- Arrabbiarsi: Full Conjugation (Reflexive)A2 — Complete paradigm of arrabbiarsi (to get angry) — a regular -are reflexive with the i-stem rule and the critical preposition 'con' for the person you're angry at, never 'a'.
- Vestirsi: Full Conjugation (Reflexive)A1 — Complete paradigm of vestirsi (to get dressed) — a fully regular -ire pure reflexive that anchors the daily-routine vocabulary every learner needs from day one.