🤷‍♂️💢

How to Say ‘I don't give a damn.’ in Italian

Non me ne frega niente.

nohn meh neh FREH-gah NYEN-teh

[nohn meh neh FREH-gah NYEN-teh]

💬 Usage Tip: Italian needs both non and niente here. The double negative is correct, just like non vedo niente "I see nothing".

🇮🇹 In Italy: frega is informal but not vulgar. You can say this among friends without shocking anyone.

Phrase Breakdown

Non me ne frega

nohn meh neh FREH-gah

I don't care (about it)

An informal set expression. 'Me ne' means 'to me, about it'. Say it as one flowing unit: 'non-me-ne-FRAY-gah'.

Example

Non me ne frega di quello che pensi.

I don't care what you think.

Words in this phrase

Non

[nohn]

Not

A negation used to indicate denial or refusal of an action.

Example

Non può essere vero.

It cannot be true.

[meh]

The stressed pronoun 'me', used after prepositions like 'per'.

Example

Per me è stato molto utile sentirti parlare del progetto.

For me it was very useful to hear you talk about the project.

[neh]

of it

Refers to a part or quantity of a previously mentioned item.

Example

Ne voglio due.

I want two of them.

frega

[FREH-gah]

matters (slang)

From 'fregarsene', a slangy way to say to care.

Example

Non gliene frega niente.

He doesn't care at all.

niente.

NYEN-teh

at all / nothing.

'Niente' means 'nothing'. Here it adds emphasis, so the phrase means 'I don't care at all'. Stress 'NIEN'.

Example

Non ho fatto niente.

I didn't do anything.

Words in this phrase

niente

[NYEN-teh]

nothing

Indicates that something is not a problem or issue.

Example

Non c'è di niente.

It's nothing.

Guides for Italian learners

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