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

Scusa, posso dirti una cosa?

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

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

🇮🇹 In Italy: A gentle, polite opener that asks permission before the compliment. It gives the other person an easy way out, which makes it land as charming rather than pushy.

Phrase Breakdown

Scusa,

SKOO-zah

Excuse me,

This is the informal 'excuse me'. You use it to get someone's attention. Stress: SCÙ-sa.

Example

Scusa, che ore sono?

Excuse me, what time is it?

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 dirti

POHS-soh DEER-tee

can I tell you

'Posso' means 'I can' and 'dirti' means 'to tell you'. Pronounce the double 's' clearly.

Example

Posso dirti un segreto?

Can I tell you a secret?

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?

Word for word this is 'a thing'. Raise your intonation at the end.

Example

Devo fare una cosa.

I have to do something.

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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