Log inSign up

Sei italiano?

Sei italiano?
Are you Italian?
From Lesson 5:Yes/No questions·Italian

Breakdown of Sei italiano?

essere
to be
italiano
Italian

Questions & Answers about Sei italiano?

How do I know this is a question and not a statement?
In written Italian, the question mark is the only clue! Unlike English, where we swap words around (saying 'Are you' instead of 'You are'), Italian keeps the exact same word order. You just raise your pitch at the end of the sentence when speaking to turn it into a yes/no question.
Where is the word for 'you' in this sentence?
The word for 'you' is tu, but Italians usually drop it. The verb sei already means 'you are', so adding tu is not necessary unless you want to put special emphasis on who you are talking to.
What if I want to ask a woman if she is Italian?
You would change the ending of the describing word. Because italiano ends in -o, it is masculine. To ask a woman, you would change the ending to the feminine -a and say Sei italiana?
Why isn't 'italiano' capitalized like it is in English?
In Italian, nationalities and languages are not capitalized unless they appear at the very beginning of a sentence.

Learn Sei italiano and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →