Word
Scusi, Lei è italiano?
Meaning
Excuse me, are you Italian?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Scusi, Lei è italiano?
Why is it Scusi here instead of Scusa?
Scusi is the formal way to say excuse me. You use it when talking to adults you don't know well, like a stranger on the street. Scusa is the informal version you use with friends, family, and children.
Doesn't lei mean she? Why is it capitalized here?
If Lei means you, why does the sentence use è (is) instead of sei (are)?
Since the pronoun Lei is grammatically feminine, shouldn't the adjective be italiana?
Not unless you are talking to a woman! Even though the formal pronoun Lei looks feminine, any adjectives describing the person still match their actual gender. Because this sentence uses the masculine italiano, we know the speaker is asking a man.