Unit 84 Guidebook: describe people

KEY PHRASES

Describe people

Lei è una persona molto interessante.
She is a very interesting person.
Sì, siamo vecchi amici.
Yes, we are old friends.
Mio figlio è solo un adolescente.
My son is only a teenager.
La piazza è piena di gente.
The square is full of people.
Vedo un gruppo di donne.
I see a group of women.
TIP

Gente

The word gente is a tricky one! Gente means people, but it's a singular noun, so you have to use la before this word.

Keep in mind that any verb after gente will also be singular, so you'll use the same verbs you would use with lui and lei.

La gente è brava.
People are good.
Lui è bravo.
He is good.
Lei è brava.
She is good.

In the same way, any adjective referring to gente will also be singular.

Noi vediamo gente strana ovunque.
We see strange people everywhere.

To talk about one person, use the word persona.

Lei è una persona molto interessante.
She is a very interesting person.
TIP

Italian sounds

English doesn't have a sound that is exactly like gn in Italian. It's pretty close to ni in the word onion or ny in the word canyon though. Just try to make it a little bit stronger, and you'll be ordering gnocchi in Italy in no time!

compagno
compagno , ragno, cognome (as in onion, but stronger)
signore
signore, giugno, bagno (as in canyon, but stronger)
TIP

Quanti anni hai?

Età means age in Italian.

Loro hanno la stessa età.
They are the same age.

To ask about someone's age, say Quanti anni hai? This literally means How many years do you have?

Quanti anni hai?
How old are you?

Notice how all these expressions related to age and years use the verb to have in Italian, while we use to be in English.

Loro hanno circa la stessa età.
They are approximately the same age.