Quale dei due vuoi?

Here quale means which.

It is used when you are choosing from a limited set of options. In Quale dei due vuoi?, it means which one out of the two.

You could think of the structure as:

• quale = which
• dei due = of the two
• vuoi = do you want

So the sentence literally works like Which of the two do you want?

Dei here comes from di + i.

So:

• di = of
• i due = the two
• dei due = of the two

Italian often uses this structure when choosing from a specific group:

• Quale dei due vuoi? = Which of the two do you want?
• Quale dei libri vuoi? = Which of the books do you want?

In this sentence, dei due means of the two (ones/items/people).

Because Italian needs the idea of of the two, not just two.

Quale due vuoi? is not correct Italian for this meaning.

You are not asking which two do you want? You are asking which one, out of the two, do you want? That is why Italian uses dei due.

This is normal Italian word order.

Italian often puts the question word first, then the rest of the sentence:

• Quale vuoi? = Which one do you want?
• Quale dei due vuoi? = Which of the two do you want?

The verb vuoi comes after the phrase dei due because the full thing being asked is which of the two.

Because Italian usually drops subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb.

Vuoi already means you want, so tu is not necessary.

You could say:

• Quale dei due vuoi?

or

• Quale dei due vuoi tu?

But the first is more natural in most situations.

Vuoi is the second person singular form of volere, which means to want.

So:

• io voglio = I want
• tu vuoi = you want
• lui/lei vuole = he/she wants

In this sentence, vuoi matches an informal singular you.

Yes. Because it uses vuoi, it is addressed to tu, the informal singular you.

If you were speaking formally to one person, you would say:

• Quale dei due vuole?

If you were speaking to more than one person:

• Quale dei due volete?

Yes, that is also correct.

• Quale dei due vuoi?
• Quale tra i due vuoi?

Both mean Which of the two do you want?

Dei due is very common and natural. Tra i due literally means among the two and is also perfectly understandable.

A noun is understood but not spoken.

For example, if you are choosing between two books, the full idea might be:

• Quale dei due libri vuoi? = Which of the two books do you want?

If the noun is obvious from context, Italian can leave it out:

• Quale dei due vuoi? = Which of the two do you want?

So dei due really means something like of the two ones/items/options.

Not in the singular.

• quale libro = which book
• quale penna = which pen

So in Quale dei due vuoi?, quale stays the same regardless of whether the omitted noun is masculine or feminine.

Its plural form is quali:

• Quali vuoi? = Which ones do you want?

Both quale and che can sometimes mean which/what, but quale is especially natural when selecting from specific options.

Since the sentence is about choosing between two specific things, quale fits very well:

• Quale dei due vuoi? = Which of the two do you want?

Using che here would not be the normal choice.

You can keep the same pattern:

• Quale dei tre vuoi? = Which of the three do you want?
• Quale dei libri vuoi? = Which of the books do you want?

If the number or group is clear from context, you can also simply say:

• Quale vuoi? = Which one do you want?

A simple pronunciation guide is:

KWA-leh day ee DOO-eh vwoy

A few notes:

• quale sounds like KWA-leh
• dei is roughly day
• due has two vowel sounds: DOO-eh
• vuoi sounds roughly like vwoy

The stress is mainly on:

• QUA-le
• DU-e
• vuOI

It can refer to either, depending on context.

For example:

• choosing between two shirts: Quale dei due vuoi?
• choosing between two candidates or two people to invite: Quale dei due vuoi?

As long as the two options are clear, the sentence works.