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How to Say ‘What do you do here?’ in Italian

Di cosa ti occupi qui?

dee KO-sa tee OK-koo-pee kwee

[dee KO-sa tee OK-koo-pee kwee]

🇮🇹 In Italy: This is the natural workplace way to ask someone's role. Che lavoro fai? "what's your job?" sounds odd when you already work at the same place.

Phrase Breakdown

Di cosa

dee KO-sa

What / Of what

This is a question opener. 'Cosa' is KOH-zah.

Example

Di cosa hai bisogno?

What do you need?

Words in this phrase

[dee]

Preposition linking nouns, often translated as of.

Example

Che tipo di ruolo è disponibile?

What kind of role is available?

cosa

[KO-sa]

What

Used to specify something unknown.

Example

Dire cosa vuoi vedere.

Say what you want to watch.

ti occupi qui?

tee OK-koo-pee kwee

do you do here?

Say OHK-koo-pee, then 'qui', which sounds like 'kwee'. Your voice rises at the end.

Example

Lavori qui?

Do you work here?

Words in this phrase

[tee]

yourself

Reflexive pronoun for 'tu', needed with 'occuparsi'.

Example

Ti occupi tu della cena?

Will you take care of dinner?

occupi

[OK-koo-pee]

you deal with / handle

From 'occuparsi di': to be in charge of, to work on something.

Example

Ti occupi di marketing?

Do you handle marketing?

qui

[kwee]

here

Indicates this place; useful when talking about the current company or environment.

Example

"Qui" l'ambiente sembra molto collaborativo.

"Here" the environment seems very collaborative.

Guides for Italian learners

Duolingo vs Busuu: Which Is Better for Actually Improving?Duolingo vs Busuu compared: a free gamified habit versus structured levels with corrections from native speakers. Which to choose, and when to use both.

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