Riconosci questa canzone?

Riconosci means do you recognize.

It comes from riconoscere, which means to recognize: to identify something you have seen or heard before.

That is different from conoscere (to know / to be familiar with).

• Riconosci questa canzone? = Do you recognize this song?
• Conosci questa canzone? = Do you know this song? / Are you familiar with this song?

So riconoscere is about identifying, while conoscere is about knowing or being acquainted with something.

Riconosci is the second-person singular form of the present indicative of riconoscere.

So it matches tu = you (singular, informal).

A quick breakdown:

• io riconosco = I recognize
• tu riconosci = you recognize
• lui/lei riconosce = he/she recognizes

In this sentence, riconosci means you recognize / do you recognize.

Because Italian often leaves subject pronouns out when they are clear from the verb form.

So:

• Riconosci questa canzone? and
• Tu riconosci questa canzone?

both mean Do you recognize this song?

The version without tu is more natural in many contexts.
Adding tu can give emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

Because questa has to agree with canzone, and canzone is a feminine singular noun.

So:

• questo = this (masculine singular)
• questa = this (feminine singular)

Since it is la canzone and not il canzone, you need questa canzone.

Great question: in Italian, nouns ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine.

So you cannot always tell gender just from the ending. You usually learn it together with the article:

• la canzone = the song

That tells you it is feminine, so:

• questa canzone
• una canzone
• la canzone

all use feminine forms.

In standard Italian, demonstratives like questo / questa usually come directly before the noun, without an article.

So you say:

• questa canzone = this song
• quel libro = that book

not normally:

• la questa canzone

So the structure is simply:

questa + canzone

Italian often forms yes/no questions with the same word order as a statement. The difference comes from:

• intonation in speech
• the question mark in writing

So:

• Riconosci questa canzone. = You recognize this song.
• Riconosci questa canzone? = Do you recognize this song?

Unlike English, Italian usually does not need an extra word like do.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

ree-koh-NOH-shee KWEH-sta kan-TSOH-neh?

A few useful points:

• sci in riconosci sounds like shee
• qu in questa sounds like kw
• z in canzone sounds like ts
• the stress is roughly on:
  • -NO- in riconosci
  • KWEH- in questa
  • -TSOH- in canzone

It is informal singular, because riconosci matches tu.

If you wanted to speak formally to one person, you would usually say:

• Riconosce questa canzone?

That uses the formal Lei form.

If you were speaking to more than one person informally, you would say:

• Riconoscete questa canzone?

Yes, absolutely.

• Riconosci questa canzone? = the most neutral, natural version in many cases
• Tu riconosci questa canzone? = you recognize this song?

Adding tu can make the subject more explicit. It may sound:

• more emphatic
• more contrastive
• or simply clearer in context

But in ordinary conversation, Italian often leaves it out.

Usually, yes. Canzone is the normal word for song in everyday Italian.

So:

• Questa canzone è bella. = This song is beautiful.
• Riconosci questa canzone? = Do you recognize this song?

Depending on context, Italians can also use other musical words, but for a normal song, canzone is exactly the standard word.