Lei parla del suo amante.

It can mean either, depending on context.

• lei = she
• Lei = you in the formal sense

In your sentence, the capital L strongly suggests the formal you. So this could mean:

• You are talking about your lover (formal)

However, in modern Italian, capitalization is not always strictly followed, so sometimes only context makes it clear.

Parla is the third-person singular form of parlare (to speak / to talk).

It is used with:

• lei = she
• Lei = you (formal)
• also lui = he

So:

• Lei parla = You speak / You are talking (formal)
• Lei parla = She speaks / She is talking

Italian often uses the simple present where English might use either speaks or is talking, depending on context.

Because Italian normally combines di + il into del.

This is called an articulated preposition.

• di
  • il = del

So:

• parlare di = to talk about
• del suo amante = about her/his/your lover

This kind of contraction is very common in Italian:

• a + il = al
• da + il = dal
• di + il = del
• in + il = nel
• su + il = sul

Because in Italian, when you talk about something with parlare di, you often use the article before a noun phrase like this.

So Italian says:

• parla del suo amante

literally something like:

• talks of the her/his lover

Even though English usually just says about her lover, Italian naturally uses the article here.

Also, with possessives in Italian, the definite article is often used:

• il mio libro = my book
• la sua macchina = his/her car
• del suo amante = about his/her lover

Suo can mean:

• his
• her
• its
• your (formal)

So by itself, suo is ambiguous.

In this sentence, the exact meaning depends on context:

• if Lei means she, then suo amante could mean her lover
• if Lei means formal you, then suo amante could mean your lover

Italian possessives are often less specific than English ones unless context makes the owner clear.

It agrees with the thing owned, not with the owner.

Here, the possessed noun is amante, which is singular, so the possessive is singular too:

• suo amante = his/her/your lover

Compare:

• il suo amante = his/her lover (singular noun)
• i suoi amanti = his/her lovers (plural noun)

This is an important difference from how English learners sometimes think about possessives.

It can be either masculine or feminine.

Amante is a noun that has the same singular form for both genders:

• l’amante = the male lover or the female lover

So in your sentence, amante does not tell you whether the lover is male or female.

Context is needed.

Because that sounds unnatural in standard Italian.

With most singular possessive expressions, Italian normally uses the article:

• del suo amante
• not usually di suo amante

The version without the article is common only in certain cases, especially with some close family members in the singular:

• mio padre
• tua sorella
• suo fratello

But amante is not one of those common no-article family nouns, so del suo amante is the normal form.

Not always, but it often carries that nuance.

Depending on context, amante can mean:

• lover
• mistress
• extramarital partner
• sometimes more generally romantic/sexual partner

If you want a more neutral word for boyfriend/girlfriend/partner, Italian often uses other nouns such as:

• fidanzato / fidanzata
• compagno / compagna
• partner

So yes, amante can sound stronger or more charged than English lover in some contexts.

Yes.

You may see:

• Lei parla del suo amante.

or

• lei parla del suo amante.

Capitalizing Lei, Le, La, Suo, etc. is a traditional way to mark formal address, but many modern writers use lowercase even in formal situations.

So capitalization helps, but it is not always required.

This is the normal, neutral word order:

• Lei parla del suo amante.

Italian can change word order for emphasis, but that is less neutral. For example:

• Del suo amante parla Lei.

That sounds marked and would usually emphasize Lei or the topic itself.

For learners, the original version is the standard one to use.

A simple pronunciation guide would be:

Lei parla del suo amante
lay PAR-la del SWO a-MAN-te

A few notes:

• Lei sounds roughly like lay
• parla has the stress on the first syllable: PAR-la
• suo is usually pronounced like SWO
• amante has the stress on MAN: a-MAN-te

Yes, absolutely.

If you read lei as she, then the sentence means:

• She talks about her lover

If you read Lei as formal you, then it means:

• You talk about your lover

So the sentence is grammatically the same; only context tells you which interpretation is intended.