Yes in Italian - No in Italian
The Italian words for Yes is Sì, and the Italian word for No is No! Find out how to pronounce them in this free Italian lesson.
How to say Yes in Italian
As we saw earlier, Yes is translated as Sì, and here is how it is pronounced:
Sì
Yes
Always remember to add the accent sign on the i, because otherwise you will say an entirely different word! Sì means yes, but si can be roughly translated as self, himself, herself.
Other ways of conveying Yes in Italian are:
Certo
Certain / Certainly / Of course
Certamente
Certainly / Of course
Certo che sì!
Of course!
Va bene
Ok (literally- It goes well)
D’accordo
Ok / Fine (literally- Of agreement)
Ok
Ok
How to say No in Italian
This cannot get any easier! Let’s listen to the pronunciation, which is very different from the English way.
No
No
The o in no is a “pure” sound, meaning it does not tend towards an “u” sound at the end like the English no, and the mouth is a bit wider when pronouncing it. Just keep practicing and you will see tremendous results in no time.
Saying no is not always easy, so you may want to accompany it with these words:
No, mi dispiace
No, I’m sorry
Vorrei, ma non posso
I’d like to, but I can’t
La ringrazio, ma devo rifiutare
I thank you, but I must say no (literally- I have to refuse)
Sarà per la prossima volta
Maybe next time (literally- it will be for the next time)
In an informal situation, you could say:
Neanche per idea!
No way! (literally- not even for idea)
Neanche per sogno!
Not even in your dreams! (literally- not even for dream)
Scordatelo!
Forget it!
Non ci penso neanche!
No way! (literally- I’m not even thinking about it)
Proprio no!
Definitely no!
Certo che no!
Of course not!
That’s it for today’s lesson. I hope you enjoyed it, that you learned new ways to convey Yes and No in Italian, and bettered your pronunciation!
Here are a few recommended Italian lessons to try next!
- Describing the colors in Italian is essential to spice up your conversational skills.
- The Italian alphabet has some subtle difference to the English alphabet. Find out all about it.
- Got an emergency? I hope not! Learn some Italian medical words just in case!
- Know how to say nationalities in Italian.
A presto!
Maria DiLorenzi
Rocket Italian
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