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How to Say ‘It took me an hour.’ in Italian

Ci ho messo un'ora.

chee oh MES-soh oon OH-rah

[chee oh MES-soh oon OH-rah]

💬 Usage Tip: ci ho messo + a time says how long something took you. Swap in: ci ho messo venti minuti "it took me twenty minutes".

Phrase Breakdown

Ci ho messo

chee oh MES-soh

It took me

'Metterci' means 'to take time'. Say 'ci ho' as 'chyo' and hold the double 's': MES-so.

Example

Ci ho messo poco.

It didn't take me long.

Words in this phrase

[chee]

(it took) - part of 'metterci'

With 'mettere', 'ci' forms 'metterci', meaning 'to take (time)'.

Example

Ci ho messo dieci minuti.

It took me ten minutes.

[oh]

I have

First person singular of avere, used with a past participle to form the present perfect.

Example

Ho parlato con tre aziende oggi.

I have spoken with three companies today.

messo

[MES-soh]

taken (time)

Past participle of 'mettere'; with 'ci' it means to spend/take time.

Example

Quanto ci hai messo?

How long did it take you?

un'ora.

oon OH-rah

an hour.

Link the words: oo-NOH-ra.

Example

Aspetto da un'ora.

I've been waiting for an hour.

Words in this phrase

un'

[oon]

a / one

Shortened 'una' before a vowel.

Example

Un'insalata, per favore.

A salad, please.

ora

[OH-rah]

time / hour

Feminine noun for hour or time of day.

Example

A che ora apre il negozio?

What time does the shop open?

Guides for Italian learners

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