Episode 23 · Words That Actually Come Up
Mi piace, not io piaccio - how to say I like in Italian
Io piaccio la pizza does not mean I like pizza. It sounds like the pizza likes you.
Sam loves Italian food and wants to say so. His sentences put him on the menu.
Laura ·
In this lesson
| Italian | Word for word | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Mi piace la pizza | the pizza is pleasing to me | I like pizza |
| Mi piacciono gli spaghetti | the spaghetti are pleasing to me | I like spaghetti (plural: piacciono) |
| Io piaccio | I am pleasing | people like me - not I like |
| A chi piace? | to whom is it pleasing? | who likes it? |
Think of piacere as to be pleasing to. The thing you like is the subject: one thing, piace; more things, piacciono. You are the mi.
SOURCES - https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/piacere2/ - https://learnitalian.web.unc.edu/home/verbs/piacere-and-like-verbs/ - https://www.thinkinitalian.com/to-like-piacere-italian - https://onlineitalianclub.com/italian-grammar-lessons-like-piacepiacciono/
What do you like most in Italy? Answer with mi piace or mi piacciono!
The dialogue
Every line from the video, with the English meaning under the Italian.
Sam✗ Mistake
Io piaccio la pizza!
I am pleasing to the pizza!
Sam✗ Mistake
E io piaccio gli spaghetti!
And I am pleasing to the spaghetti!
Laura
Sam! Tu piaci agli spaghetti?
Sam! The spaghetti like YOU?
Laura
La pizza piace... a chi?
The pizza is pleasing... to whom?
Sam✓ Correct
A me! Mi piace la pizza!
To me! I like pizza!
Laura
E gli spaghetti?
And the spaghetti?
Sam✓ Correct
Mi piacciono gli spaghetti!
I like spaghetti!
Laura
Bravo! Una cosa: piace. Tante cose: piacciono.
Well done! One thing: piace. Many things: piacciono.
Sam
Quindi io non piaccio alla pizza?
So... the pizza doesn't like me?
Laura
No, Sam. Tu la mangi!
No, Sam. You eat it!
The voices in this video are synthetic and the on-screen host is generated. The Italian itself is written and checked by a native speaker.
Ready to speak, not just watch?
Practise these phrases out loud with Laura in a small group or a private lesson.
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