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How to Say ‘You're getting on my nerves!’ in Italian

Mi stai rompendo le palle!

mee sty rohm-PEN-doh Leh PAHL-leh

[mee sty rohm-PEN-doh Leh PAHL-leh]

💬 Usage Tip: stare + an -endo verb means "in the middle of doing": mi stai rompendo "you're breaking my". Same with sto mangiando "I'm eating".

Phrase Breakdown

Mi stai rompendo

mee sty rohm-PEN-doh

You're breaking (for me)

The progressive 'stare' + gerund, meaning an action in progress. Say it as 'mee STAI rom-PEN-do'.

Example

Mi stai rompendo il telefono!

You're breaking my phone!

Words in this phrase

[mee]

to me / me

An indirect object pronoun meaning 'to me' or 'me' depending on the structure.

Example

Mi ha colpito molto la tua presentazione.

Your presentation impressed me a lot.

stai

[sty]

are you

Second-person singular of stare, used with a gerund to ask what someone is doing.

Example

Stai dormendo abbastanza questa settimana?

Are you sleeping enough this week?

rompendo

[rohm-PEN-doh]

breaking

Gerund of 'rompere' (to break); with 'stai' it forms an ongoing action.

Example

Sto rompendo il ghiaccio.

I'm breaking the ice.

le palle!

Leh PAHL-leh

the balls!

With the first part, it means 'You're really annoying me' (vulgar). Stress the double 'll': leh PAHL-leh.

Example

Basta, mi hai rotto le palle!

Enough, you've pissed me off!

Words in this phrase

[Leh]

The (feminine plural)

Definite article used for feminine plural nouns.

Example

Le mele costano tre euro al chilo.

The apples cost three euros per kilo.

palle

[PAHL-leh]

Balls

Informal term for testicles, used to express frustration.

Example

Che palle stare in fila!

What a pain to stand in line!

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