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How to Say ‘Excuse me, can I ask you something?’ in Italian

Scusa, posso chiederti una cosa?

SKOO-zah POHS-soh kyeh-DEHR-tee OO-nah KO-sa

[SKOO-zah POHS-soh kyeh-DEHR-tee OO-nah KO-sa]

🇮🇹 In Italy: Scusa is the informal version, natural with someone around your age in a casual setting. With someone older or in a formal context, use Scusi.

Phrase Breakdown

Scusa,

SKOO-zah

Excuse me,

This is the informal way to get attention. Stress: SCÙ-sa.

Example

Scusa, dov'è la stazione?

Excuse me, where's the station?

Words in this phrase

Scusa

[SKOO-zah]

excuse me

Informal way to get someone's attention politely.

Example

Scusa, sai che ore sono?

Excuse me, do you know what time it is?

posso chiederti

POHS-soh kyeh-DEHR-tee

can I ask you

'Posso' means 'I can' and 'chiederti' means 'to ask you'. Say 'chi' as 'kee'.

Example

Posso chiederti come stai?

Can I ask you how you are?

Words in this phrase

posso

[POHS-soh]

I can

First-person singular of potere; expresses ability or possibility.

Example

Posso aiutarti dopo l'evento.

I can help you after the event.

chiederti

[kyeh-DEHR-tee]

to ask you

Infinitive 'chiedere' (to ask) joined to 'ti' (you, informal).

Example

Voglio chiederti un favore.

I want to ask you a favor.

una cosa?

OO-nah KO-sa

something?

This means 'a thing' and ends the question.

Example

Vuoi una cosa da bere?

Do you want something to drink?

Words in this phrase

una

[OO-nah]

Feminine singular indefinite article before a feminine noun.

Example

Ho lavorato in una piccola azienda.

I worked in a small company.

cosa

[KO-sa]

Thing

An object, item, or matter.

Example

Questa cosa è molto interessante.

This thing is very interesting.

Guides for Italian learners

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