Non mi piace litigare per cose piccole, soprattutto quando siamo già stanchi.

Because piacere works differently from English to like.

In Italian, piacere is closer to to be pleasing to. So:

• mi piace = it is pleasing to me
• literally: to me, it pleases

In this sentence, the thing that is pleasing is litigare (arguing / to argue), so Italian says:

• Non mi piace litigare = Arguing is not pleasing to me / I don’t like arguing

Io piace is incorrect because io would be the subject, but with piacere, the subject is the thing liked, not the person who likes it.

Because Italian often uses the infinitive to talk about an action in a general sense.

Here, litigare means arguing or to argue in general, not one specific argument.

So:

• Mi piace viaggiare = I like traveling
• Non mi piace aspettare = I don’t like waiting
• Non mi piace litigare = I don’t like arguing

This is very similar to English I like swimming / reading / arguing, where the action itself is treated as the thing being liked or disliked.

Litigare means to argue, to quarrel, or to fight verbally.

It usually refers to disagreement between people, often emotionally charged, but not necessarily extremely serious. In this sentence, it suggests bickering or arguing, especially over unimportant things.

So litigare per cose piccole gives the sense of:

• arguing over little things
• quarreling about minor matters
• fighting over trivial stuff

Here per means something like over, about, or because of.

So:

• litigare per cose piccole = to argue over small things

Italian often uses per in this kind of context to show the reason or subject of the argument.

Other examples:

• Litigare per soldi = to argue about money
• Litigare per niente = to argue over nothing
• Litigare per una sciocchezza = to argue over something silly

So per is very natural here.

Both are possible, but they can sound slightly different.

• cose piccole = small things, often in a more neutral, everyday way
• piccole cose = small things too, but it can sometimes sound a bit more descriptive or stylistically marked, depending on context

In many cases, adjective position in Italian is flexible, but the usual position is after the noun:

• una casa grande
• un problema serio
• cose piccole

So cose piccole is the most straightforward, natural choice here.

Soprattutto means especially or above all.

In this sentence:

• soprattutto quando siamo già stanchi = especially when we are already tired

It highlights the condition that makes the statement even more true.

Its position is fairly flexible, but it usually goes near the part it emphasizes. For example:

• Non mi piace litigare, soprattutto per cose piccole.
• Non mi piace litigare per cose piccole, soprattutto quando siamo già stanchi.

Both are natural, but they emphasize slightly different things.

Because Italian often leaves subject pronouns out when they are not necessary.

The verb form siamo already tells you the subject is we.

So:

• quando siamo già stanchi = when we are already tired

Adding noi is possible, but it usually adds emphasis or contrast:

• quando noi siamo già stanchi

That might sound like:

• when we are already tired
• as opposed to someone else, or with extra emphasis

In normal speech, leaving out noi is more natural.

Because stanchi agrees with we (siamo) in the masculine plural form, which is also the default form for a mixed group or an unspecified group.

Italian adjectives must agree with the people they describe:

• sono stanco = I am tired (masculine singular)
• sono stanca = I am tired (feminine singular)
• siamo stanchi = we are tired (masculine plural or mixed group)
• siamo stanche = we are tired (all female)

So stanchi suggests either:

1. the speaker is male and speaking for a group, or
2. the group is mixed, or
3. the masculine plural is being used as the generic plural

If the speaker were talking about a group of only women, it would be stanche.

Già means already.

In this sentence, it suggests that the tiredness is already present before the argument starts or at the time being described:

• quando siamo già stanchi = when we are already tired

This adds an important nuance: arguing is even less appealing when the people involved are tired to begin with.

Without già, the sentence would still work:

• quando siamo stanchi

But già makes the situation feel more immediate and realistic, as if the tiredness has already built up.

The comma helps separate the main statement from the added comment or circumstance.

Main idea:

• Non mi piace litigare per cose piccole

Added qualification:

• soprattutto quando siamo già stanchi

So the comma makes the rhythm clearer and shows that the second part is an extra specification.

In informal writing, punctuation can vary, but this comma is very natural and helps readability.

Yes, but the meaning changes a bit.

• litigare = to argue, quarrel, fight verbally
• discutere = to discuss, debate, or argue

Discutere can be neutral or even positive, because it may simply mean discussing something.
Litigare is more clearly negative and emotional.

So:

• Non mi piace discutere per cose piccole could sound like I don’t like debating small things
• Non mi piace litigare per cose piccole more clearly means I don’t like fighting over little things

In this sentence, litigare is the better choice if the idea is pointless conflict.

Yes. That is a very natural English rendering.

A few other good translations would be:

• I don’t like arguing over small things, especially when we’re already tired.
• I don’t like fighting over little things, especially when we’re already tired.
• I don’t like quarreling about minor things, especially when we’re already tired.

The exact English wording can change a little, but the Italian structure stays the same.