Reacting on the spot
Someone shows you a photo of the sea. You do not say È molto bello — that sounds like a line from a museum audio guide. You say Che bello!
Italian has three exclamation words, and which one you use depends on what comes directly after it.
English splits the job between How + adjective (How nice!) and What a + noun (What a day!). Italian does not make that split: che covers both.
The three exclamation words
| Word | Directly after it | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| che | adjective or noun | Che bello! | How lovely! |
| quanto | verb or noun of quantity | Quanto mi piace! | I like it so much! |
| come | verb | Come sei gentile! | How kind you are! |
Che — the all-rounder
Che covers most exclamations. It sits directly in front of the adjective or noun you are reacting to, and it takes no article. English What a day! needs the a; Italian Che giornata! refuses it.
Che also does not care whether the noun is countable, plural or a mass noun. English switches patterns — What a mess!, What lovely weather!, What beautiful flowers! — while Italian keeps one single word.
Four patterns with che
| Pattern | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| che + adjective | Che strano! | How strange! |
| che + noun | Che fortuna! | What luck! |
| che + noun + adjective | Che giornata lunga! | What a long day! |
| che + adjective + noun | Che bella idea! | What a great idea! |
An article never follows che directly.
Che in conversation
Che caldo oggi!
It is so hot today!
Che sorpresa vederti qui!
What a surprise to see you here!
Che peccato che tu non possa venire!
What a shame you can't come!
Quanto and come — in front of the verb
When a verb comes directly after the exclamation word, you use quanto or come. When an adjective or noun follows directly, it stays che: Come sei gentile! but Che gentile!
Mind the order. English keeps the subject before the verb in How kind you are!; Italian puts the verb first: Come sei gentile!
When quanto, when come
Quanto — amount and degree
Quanto stands for how much, how many, how long. English has no fronted word for this in an exclamation — it says so much at the end instead. Before a noun quanto agrees: quanta, quanti, quante.
Quanto mi piace questa canzone!
I love this song so much!
Quanto tempo è passato!
So much time has gone by!
Quanta gente c'era ieri sera!
What a crowd there was last night!
Come — the manner
Come reacts to what something or someone is like or how they do something, often with essere plus an adjective. The adjective stays after the verb. With an adjective quanto works too: Quanto sei gentile!
Come sei gentile!
How kind you are!
Come sono cresciuti i tuoi figli!
How your children have grown!
Come parli bene!
How well you speak!
Same words, different job
Che, quanto and come are question words as well. In an exclamation you are not asking, you are judging something: there is an exclamation mark at the end and the voice falls. So the same words can be a question or an exclamation, and the melody and the context decide.
English rebuilds the sentence here: How much does it cost? against It costs so much! Italian leaves everything in place.
Question and exclamation
Che film hai visto?
Which film did you see?
question
Che film!
What a film!
exclamation
Come stai?
How are you?
question
Come stai bene!
How good you look!
exclamation
Set exclamations you will need straight away
Five phrases to learn whole
Che peccato!
What a shame!
Che schifo!
That's disgusting!
Che palle!
What a drag! — slangy, among friends only
Quanto tempo!
Long time no see!
Come no!
Of course! Absolutely!
