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How to Say ‘How tall are you, more or less?’ in Italian

Quanto è alto, più o meno?

KWAHN-toh eh AHL-toh pyoo oh MEH-noh

[KWAHN-toh eh AHL-toh pyoo oh MEH-noh]

🇮🇹 In Italy: Italy uses metres, so answer in centimetres or as un metro e settanta "one metre seventy". Feet and inches will leave the nurse guessing.

Phrase Breakdown

Quanto è alto,

KWAHN-toh eh AHL-toh

How tall are you,

Formal 'Lei' question about height. 'Quanto è' flows together as 'quan-toè'.

Example

Quanto è alto suo figlio?

How tall is your son?

Words in this phrase

Quanto

[KWAHN-toh]

how (much)

Asks about quantity or degree; with 'alto' it means 'how tall'.

Example

Quanto è lungo il tavolo?

How long is the table?

[eh]

Third-person singular of 'essere'; used to describe a person, company, or situation.

Example

Quando dici È in È molto umana, stai descrivendo l'azienda.

When you say 'È' in 'È molto umana,' you are describing the company.

alto

[AHL-toh]

tall

Describes a person's height.

Example

Mio fratello è molto alto.

My brother is very tall.

più o meno?

pyoo oh MEH-noh

more or less?

A common expression meaning 'roughly' or 'approximately'. Say it in one breath: 'più-o-MÉ-no'.

Example

Costa dieci euro, più o meno.

It costs ten euros, more or less.

Words in this phrase

più

[pyoo]

Comparative word used to indicate a greater amount or degree.

Example

Con più responsabilità. impari di più.

With more responsibility, you learn more.

[oh]

Conjunction offering an alternative.

Example

Carne o pesce?

Meat or fish?

meno

[MEH-noh]

less

Means 'less'; with 'male' forms 'thank goodness'.

Example

Meno male che sei arrivato.

Thank goodness you arrived.

Guides for Italian learners

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