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ITALIAN VERB

voler dire

to mean

  • #75 most used
  • Irregular -ere verb
  • Past participle: voluto dire
  • Gerund: volendo dire

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

How to use voler dire

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

  1. Present

    Cosa vuol dire questa parola?

    What does this word mean?

  2. Past

    Non ho voluto dire questo, scusa.

    I didn't mean that, sorry.

  3. Imperfect

    Voleva dire un'altra cosa, l'ho capito dopo.

    He meant something else, I understood later.

  4. Future

    Vorrà dire che andiamo a piedi.

    That'll mean we go on foot.

  5. Conditional

    Questo vorrebbe dire aspettare un'altra ora.

    This would mean waiting another hour.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Non so cosa voglia dire quel cartello.

    I don't know what that sign means.

Good to know

  • Che vuol dire? asks what something means; cosa vuoi dire? asks what you mean.
  • Volere drops its final e in front of dire: vuol dire.

Where you hear voler dire

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

Italian · Beginner Level 1

  • Fontelupo vuol dire la fonte del lupo. Fontelupo means the wolf's spring.
  • Non ho capito cosa ha voluto dire. I didn't understand what she meant.
  • Domani vuol dire alle nove meno un quarto, non alle nove! Tomorrow means a quarter to nine, not nine!

Italian · Intermediate Level 1

  • Fontelupo vuol dire la fonte del lupo. Fontelupo means the wolf's spring.
  • Non ho capito cosa ha voluto dire. I didn't understand what she meant.
  • Domani vuol dire alle nove meno un quarto, non alle nove! Tomorrow means a quarter to nine, not nine!
5
Salvo's Sicilian Words

Intermediate Level 1 · Bonu assai? Cosa vuol dire? · Vuol dire molto buono, in siciliano.

Needs a subscription 5
A Formal Letter

Advanced Level 1 · In allegato? Cosa vuol dire?

Needs a subscription 16
Pietro Reads the Fine Print

Advanced Level 1 · E ai sensi di legge? Cosa vuol dire? · Vuol dire secondo la legge. Niente di grave.

Needs a subscription 3
Milan, the Train

Fluency Level 1 · La sciura? Cosa vuol dire?

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Verbs like this one

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