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In Italian, the adjectives *stesso* and *medesimo* compare items or add emphasis. They must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Their meaning changes based on where they are placed in relation to the noun.

### Exact Identity: "The Same"

When placed *before* a noun, *stesso* means "the same."

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*Medesimo* works exactly the same way, though it can sound slightly more formal or emphatic ("the exact same").

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To add heavy emphasis, you can pair *stesso* with *identico*.

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### Reflexive Emphasis: "Himself" or "Itself"

Placed *after* the noun, *stesso* and *medesimo* act as intensifiers, meaning "himself," "herself," "itself," or "themselves." This highlights that a specific person or thing—and no one else—is involved.

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*Stesso* is much more common for this purpose in everyday speech, but *medesimo* can also be used.

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### Putting It All Together

You can use both placements in the same sentence to emphasize *who* did something and the *identical* object involved.

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Exact identity and emphasis (stesso, medesimo)

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
version	la versione
We have the exact same version of the book.	Abbiamo la stessa identica versione del libro.
same / exact same	medesimo
shade / nuance	la sfumatura
It is not the same shade of purple.	Non è la medesima sfumatura di viola.
copy (duplicate, reproduction)	la copia
format / size (media, objects)	il formato
The two copies have the same format.	Le due copie hanno il medesimo formato.
They printed the same document.	Hanno stampato il medesimo documento.
himself / itself (emphatic)	stesso
The author himself did not have a copy.	L'autore stesso non aveva una copia.
look-alike / double (person)	il sosia
The actor himself met his look-alike yesterday.	L'attore stesso ha incontrato il suo sosia ieri.
The problem itself is not complicated.	Il problema stesso non è complicato.
The owner himself sold the same car.	Il proprietario stesso ha venduto la medesima macchina.
The teacher himself was late.	L'insegnante stesso era in ritardo.
We chose the same restaurant.	Abbiamo scelto lo stesso ristorante.
They always make the exact same mistake.	Fanno sempre il medesimo errore.
Did you buy the exact same dress?	Avete comprato lo stesso identico vestito?
duplicate	il duplicato
to coincide / to match (correspond, overlap)	coincidere
precise / exact	preciso
The duplicate itself coincides with the precise version.	Il duplicato stesso coincide con la versione precisa.
specimen / copy	l'esemplare
The exact same format and the specimen coincide.	Il medesimo formato e l'esemplare coincidono.
The lookalike himself is a precise duplicate.	Il sosia stesso è un duplicato preciso.
The specimen itself has the exact same shade.	L'esemplare stesso ha la medesima sfumatura.
We read the exact same book.	Abbiamo letto lo stesso libro.
They bought the exact same car.	Hanno comprato la medesima macchina.
The director himself explained the problem.	Il direttore stesso ha spiegato il problema.
The doctor himself called.	Il dottore medesimo ha chiamato.