How do you say "Can I tell you something?" in Italian?

"Can I tell you something?" in Italian is "Posso dirti una cosa?". This phrase is commonly used in Italy.

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

Q: What does "Posso dirti una cosa?" mean in English?

"Posso dirti una cosa?" means "Can I tell you something?" in English. Usage tip: [Dirti] packs [to you] into the end of the verb: [dire] becomes [dirti]. Italian does this a lot with short words like [mi], [ti], [gli]: [aiutarmi] = [help me].

Posso dirti una cosa?

POHS-soh DEER-tee OO-nah KOH-zah

[POHS-soh DEER-tee OO-nah KOH-zah]

💬 Usage Tip: [Dirti] packs [to you] into the end of the verb: [dire] becomes [dirti]. Italian does this a lot with short words like [mi], [ti], [gli]: [aiutarmi] = [help me].

Phrase Breakdown

Posso dirti

POHS-soh DEER-tee

May I tell you

Used to politely ask permission to say something to someone.

Example

Posso dirti una cosa importante?

May I tell you something important?

Words in this phrase

Posso

[POHS-soh]

I can / may

Used here to politely ask permission before saying something.

Example

Posso chiederti una cosa?

Can I ask you something?

dirti

[DEER-tee]

tell you

Infinitive with attached pronoun ti, meaning to tell you.

Example

Vorrei dirti che il tuo look è molto elegante.

I’d like to tell you that your look is very elegant.

Una cosa

OO-nah KOH-zah

Something

A simple phrase meaning ‘one thing’ or ‘something’ in this context.

Example

Ti devo dire una cosa.

I have to tell you something.

Words in this phrase

una

[OO-nah]

a / one

Feminine singular indefinite article before a feminine noun.

Example

Ho una domanda per te.

I have a question for you.

cosa

[KOH-zah]

thing

Often used in expressions like una cosa? meaning something / one thing.

Example

C'è una cosa che noto subito: il tuo stile.

There’s one thing I notice right away: your style.

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