Dire – to say, to tell

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A Telling Italian Verb

Dire is one of the most common and useful Italian verbs and has irregular conjugations. Dire literally means "to say" or "to tell."

Dire = to say / to tell

Dire can mean either "to say" or "to tell." For English speakers learning Italian, this is easy: you can use dire for either. For Italian speakers learning English, however, it’s a bit more difficult.*

Per esempio…

Ha qualcosa da dire.		She has something to say.
Io dico no!		I’m telling you no!
Ho detto "ciao" tre volte.		I said "hello" three times.
Dicci cosa è successo.		Tell us what happened.

Dire che = to say (that)

Dice che possiamo iniziare.		She says (that) we can start.
Ha detto che pioverà?		Did he say (that) it was going to rain?

Dire di + noun = to have an opinion about

Cosa dite di questa proposta?		What do you think about this proposal?
Che ne dici del mio cappello?		How do you like my hat?

Dire present tense conjugations

Dire is an irregular –ire verb:

io	dico		noi	diciamo
tu	dici		voi	dite
lui, lei	dice		loro	dicono

 Related lessons

• Regular –ire verbs
• Subject pronouns
   

 En español

• Decir
   

 En français

• Dire
   

 * In English

• Say vs Tell
   

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