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fluentbyear

ITALIAN VERB

dire

to say, to tell

  • #4 most used
  • Irregular -ire verb
  • Past participle: detto
  • Gerund: dicendo

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. io I say
  2. tu you say
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she says
  4. noi we say
  5. voi you all say
  6. loro they say

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

  1. io I said
  2. tu you said
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she said
  4. noi we said
  5. voi you all said
  6. loro they said

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. io I used to say
  2. tu you used to say
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she used to say
  4. noi we used to say
  5. voi you all used to say
  6. loro they used to say

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

  1. io I will say
  2. tu you will say
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she will say
  4. noi we will say
  5. voi you all will say
  6. loro they will say

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

  1. io I would say
  2. tu you would say
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she would say
  4. noi we would say
  5. voi you all would say
  6. loro they would say

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

  1. io (that) I say
  2. tu (that) you say
  3. lui, lei, Lei (that) he/she say
  4. noi (that) we say
  5. voi (that) you all say
  6. loro (that) they say

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders: tu, Lei, noi, voi

  1. tu say!
  2. Lei say! (formal)
  3. noi say! (let’s)
  4. voi say! (all of you)

How to use dire

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Dico sempre la verità ai miei figli.

    I always tell my children the truth.

  2. Past

    Ti ho detto di aspettare fuori.

    I told you to wait outside.

  3. Imperfect

    Mio nonno diceva sempre questa frase.

    My grandfather always said this sentence.

  4. Future

    Glielo dirò domani a colazione.

    I'll tell him tomorrow at breakfast.

  5. Conditional

    Direi di prendere un taxi, è tardi.

    I'd say let's take a taxi, it's late.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Spero che dicano la verità.

    I hope they tell the truth.

  7. Imperative

    Di' a tua madre che arrivo alle otto.

    Tell your mother I'll arrive at eight.

Good to know

  • Dire is to say or to tell; parlare is to speak or to talk. Dire a is to tell someone: dillo a Marco.
  • Dimmi is tell me; come si dice...? asks how you say something.

Where you hear dire

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Italian · Beginner Level 1

  • Cosa dice Matteo? What does Matteo say?
  • Matteo mi ha detto cosa vuol dire. Matteo told me what it means.
  • Domani ti dico tutto. Tomorrow I'll tell you everything.

Italian · Intermediate Level 1

  • Cosa dice Matteo? What does Matteo say?
  • Matteo mi ha detto cosa vuol dire. Matteo told me what it means.
  • Domani ti dico tutto. Tomorrow I'll tell you everything.
11
A Ticket to Rome

Beginner Level 1 · Mi dica!

Needs a subscription 5
Salvo's Sicilian Words

Intermediate Level 1 · Da noi si dice così. · L'ho detto a Walter, e non ha capito! · Allora stasera lo dico anch'io!

Needs a subscription 6
A Guest Complains

Intermediate Level 1 · Mi dica.

Needs a subscription 9
Pietro on the Phone

Intermediate Level 1 · Bene. Mi ha detto che ti aspetta.

Needs a subscription 12
A Letter from the Bank

Intermediate Level 1 · Cosa dicono?

Needs a subscription 19
Chiara Is in Love

Intermediate Level 1 · Dimmi! Cosa c'è? · Una cosa. · E tu? Gli hai detto che ti piace? · No! Non gliel'ho detto. Ho paura.

Needs a subscription 20
Advice for Chiara

Intermediate Level 1 · Io, al posto tuo, glielo dico. · Glielo dico io. · Dirgli cosa? Che mi piace? · Sì. Diglielo! Ma aspetta un po'.

Needs a subscription 27
Hilde's Offer

Intermediate Level 1 · Certo, signora. Mi dica.

Needs a subscription 29
Chiara's News

Intermediate Level 1 · Dimmi! Cos'è successo? · Davvero? Te l'avevo detto!

Needs a subscription 10
The Heat in the Kitchen

Intermediate Level 2 · Non è una brutta idea. Lo dico a Donato.

Needs a subscription 14
Chiara in Love

Intermediate Level 2 · E se glielo dicessi?

Needs a subscription 16
Ciro's Doubts

Intermediate Level 2 · Certo, Ciro. Dimmi. · Ma no! Perché dici così? · E se poi mi dice di no?

Needs a subscription

And 64 more lessons.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ire verb.