🙋‍♂️❓

How to Say ‘I wanted to ask you something’ in Italian

Volevo chiederLe una cosa

voh-LEH-voh KYEH-deh-reh-leh OO-nah KO-sa

[voh-LEH-voh KYEH-deh-reh-leh OO-nah KO-sa]

💬 Usage Tip: Le means a polite "you" and attaches to the end of chiedere, which drops its final e: chiederLe. The capital L is an optional written courtesy.

🇮🇹 In Italy: Opening with Volevo ("I wanted") rather than Voglio ("I want") softens the request. It's the standard polite way to start on the phone with a restaurant.

Phrase Breakdown

Volevo chiederLe

voh-LEH-voh KYEH-deh-reh-leh

I wanted to ask you

The imperfect 'volevo' softens the request. 'Chi' sounds like 'ki'; stress 'KYE-der-le'. 'Le' is the formal 'you'.

Example

Volevo chiederLe un favore.

I wanted to ask you a favor.

Words in this phrase

Volevo

[voh-LEH-voh]

I wanted

An imperfect form often used politely in emails or messages, like 'I wanted to...'.

Example

Volevo scriverti per ringraziarti del tempo dedicato.

I wanted to write to thank you for the time you dedicated.

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 / one thing

The single 's' in 'cosa' sounds like a soft 'z' in northern Italy.

Example

Posso dire una cosa?

Can I say 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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