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How to Say ‘May I ask you something?’ in Italian

Posso chiederle una cosa?

POHS-soh KYEH-deh-reh-leh OO-nah KO-sa

[POHS-soh KYEH-deh-reh-leh OO-nah KO-sa]

Phrase Breakdown

Posso chiederle

POHS-soh KYEH-deh-reh-leh

May I ask you (formal)

'Le' is the formal 'you' attached to 'chiedere'. Say 'POS-soh KYEH-dehr-leh'. 'Chie' sounds like 'kyeh'.

Example

Posso chiederle un favore?

May I ask you a favor?

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.

chiederle

[KYEH-deh-reh-leh]

to ask you (formal)

Infinitive 'chiedere' (to ask) with the formal pronoun 'Le' (to you) attached.

Example

Posso chiederLe un favore?

May I ask you a favor?

una cosa?

OO-nah KO-sa

something?

This literally means 'a thing'. Say 'OO-nah KOH-sah', with the 's' between vowels often soft like a 'z'.

Example

Ti dico una cosa.

Let me tell you 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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