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To make an exclamation in Italian, you typically start with **che** (what a / how).

When you want to add extra emotional weight—especially when venting about strict border rules or unexpected inspections—you can add a second, technically unnecessary **che** right before the verb.

This is called the *pleonastic che*. It creates an emphatic sandwich effect: **Che** + [noun or adjective] + **che** + [verb].

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You can use this structure with any verb, not just *essere* (to be). It is incredibly common in everyday spoken Italian for expressing annoyance, shock, or exasperation.

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You can even use it when the verb is an infinitive describing a frustrating action.

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This extra **che** is informal, so leave it out of formal writing, but absolutely use it in conversation to make your reactions sound native and expressive!

Emphatic exclamations (che)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (io sono)

Singular definite articles (il, la)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Formal address (dare del Lei)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

The verb to know (sapere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Question	Answer
customs officer	il doganiere
fussy / meticulous (nitpicking)	pignolo
What a fussy customs officer he is!	Che doganiere pignolo che è!
These officials are becoming increasingly fussy.	Questi funzionari diventano sempre più pignoli.
smuggling / contraband	il contrabbando
The customs officer always looks for contraband.	Il doganiere cerca sempre il contrabbando.
nuisance / bother	la seccatura
What a nuisance this customs office is!	Che seccatura che è questa dogana!
restriction	la restrizione
For tourists, these restrictions are increasingly a nuisance.	Per i turisti, queste restrizioni sono sempre più una seccatura.
interrogation	l'interrogatorio
What an interrogation the police put us through!	Che interrogatorio che ci ha fatto la polizia!
endless	interminabile
This interrogation has become endless.	Questo interrogatorio è diventato interminabile.
to rummage	frugare
What a bore it is to rummage through this luggage!	Che noia che è frugare in questi bagagli!
meticulous (careful)	meticoloso
The customs officer is very meticulous when he has to rummage.	Il doganiere è molto meticoloso quando deve frugare.
What a meticulous professional he is!	Che professionista meticoloso che è!
They are increasingly meticulous at the border.	Sono sempre più meticolosi al confine.
What an endless wait there is at the border!	Che attesa interminabile che c'è al confine!
strictness / rigidity	la rigidità
What a surprise the strictness of these rules is!	Che sorpresa che è la rigidità di queste regole!
These tourists do not understand the strictness of the border.	Questi turisti non capiscono la rigidità del confine.
What a problem these restrictions are!	Che problema che sono queste restrizioni!
What fear the customs officer caused us!	Che paura che ci ha fatto il doganiere!
What a fussy customs officer he is, he suspects smuggling!	Che doganiere pignolo che è, sospetta il contrabbando!
to congratulate	congratularsi
What great news! I congratulate you.	Che bella notizia! Mi congratulo con te.
Everyone congratulated her.	Tutti si sono congratulati con lei.

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