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How to Say ‘Can I tell you something?’ in Italian

Posso dirti una cosa?

POHS-soh DEER-tee OO-nah KO-sa

[POHS-soh DEER-tee OO-nah KO-sa]

💬 Usage Tip: ti "to you" attaches to the end of dire "to tell", which drops its final e: dirti. Same with parlarti "to talk to you".

Phrase Breakdown

Posso dirti

POHS-soh DEER-tee

Can I tell you

'Posso' means 'I can'. 'Dirti' is 'dire' (to tell) joined to 'ti' (to you). Stress: PÒS-so DÌR-ti.

Example

Posso dirti la verità?

Can I tell you the truth?

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.

dirti

[DEER-tee]

tell you

Infinitive 'dire' (to say/tell) joined with 'ti' (to you).

Example

Voglio dirti un segreto.

I want to tell you a secret.

una cosa?

OO-nah KO-sa

something? (one thing)

'Una cosa' means 'a thing'. Here it means 'something'. Let your voice rise at the end for the question.

Example

Ho una cosa per te.

I have something for you.

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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