😅🗣️👍

How to Say ‘Good thing you told me!’ in Italian

Meno male che me l'ha detto!

MEH-noh MAH-leh keh meh l ah DET-toh

[MEH-noh MAH-leh keh meh l ah DET-toh]

💬 Usage Tip: ha here means "you have", the polite form for someone you don't know, which uses the same verb form as "he" or "she". With a friend it would be me l'hai detto.

Phrase Breakdown

Meno male

MEH-noh MAH-leh

Thank goodness

A very common expression of relief. The stress falls on 'ME' and 'MA'.

Example

Meno male, sei arrivato!

Thank goodness, you've arrived!

Words in this phrase

Meno

[MEH-noh]

less

In 'meno male', meaning 'thank goodness'.

Example

Meno male che sei qui!

Thank goodness you're here!

male

[MAH-leh]

bad

In 'meno male', literally 'less bad'.

Example

Meno male, è finita.

Thank goodness, it's over.

che me l'ha detto!

keh meh l ah DET-toh

that you told me!

'Che' sounds like 'keh'. 'L'ha' sounds just like 'la'.

Example

Grazie che me l'ha detto.

Thanks for telling me.

Words in this phrase

che

[keh]

that

Used to identify a specific thing or person.

Example

Quello che lei fa è incredibile.

What she does is incredible.

[meh]

to me

Form of 'mi' used before another pronoun like 'lo'.

Example

Me lo spieghi?

Will you explain it to me?

[l]

Shortened 'la' (it) before a vowel, as an object pronoun.

Example

La borsa? L'ho comprata ieri.

The bag? I bought it yesterday.

[ah]

you have (formal)

Third person form of 'avere', used for formal 'Lei'.

Example

Ha tempo domani?

Do you have time tomorrow?

detto

[DET-toh]

said

Past participle of 'dire', to say.

Example

Ho detto di no.

I said no.

Guides for Italian learners

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