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How to Say ‘It took me three hours!’ in Italian

Ci ho messo tre ore!

chee oh MES-soh treh OH-reh

[chee oh MES-soh treh OH-reh]

💬 Usage Tip: Ci ho messo plus a length of time means "it took me". Swap in another time: ci ho messo un'ora "it took me an hour".

Phrase Breakdown

Ci ho messo

chee oh MES-soh

It took me

'Metterci' means 'to take (time)'. 'Ci ho' sounds like 'chee-oh', because the 'h' is silent. Double the 's' in 'messo'.

Example

Ci ho messo un'ora ad arrivare.

It took me an hour to get here.

Words in this phrase

[chee]

(it) - used with 'metterci' for time taken

Particle forming the idiom 'metterci', meaning to take time to do something.

Example

Ci vuole un'ora, ci ho messo tanto.

It takes an hour, it took me a long time.

[oh]

I have

First person singular of avere, used with a past participle to form the present perfect.

Example

Ho parlato con tre aziende oggi.

I have spoken with three companies today.

messo

[MES-soh]

taken (time)

Past participle of 'mettere'; with 'ci' it means to spend/take time.

Example

Quanto ci hai messo?

How long did it take you?

tre ore!

treh OH-reh

three hours!

Roll or tap the 'r' in 'tre'. 'Ore' has two clear syllables: 'OH-reh'.

Example

Il film dura tre ore.

The film lasts three hours.

Words in this phrase

tre

[treh]

three

A number used to count quantity or duration.

Example

Ho fatto tre colloqui questa settimana.

I had three interviews this week.

ore

[OH-reh]

hours

Plural of 'ora' (hour).

Example

Il ristorante apre tra due ore.

The restaurant opens in two hours.

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