te l'avevo detto
The Italian for "I told you so" is te l'avevo detto. Adding io, te l'avevo detto io, makes it more emphatic.
Meaning: told you so! (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Italian |
|---|
| te l'avevo detto |
| te l'avevo detto io |
Use it when someone ignored your warning. To more than one person, say ve l'avevo detto.
Which one should you use?
Standard spelling has no accents on these words. Write te l'avevo detto.
How do you pronounce it?
teh lah-VEH-voh DET-toh
Did you know?
- In te l'avevo detto the l' stands for lo, "it", so the phrase is literally "I had told it to you".
Examples in context
- Come avevo previsto!As I had predicted!
- Te l'avevo detto!I told you so!
- Te l'avevo detto io che quel ristorante non era buono!I told you that restaurant wasn't good!
- Te l'avevo detto che pioveva!I told you it would rain!
- Visto? Te l'avevo detto io.See? I told you so.
Example conversation
Two friends come back from a walk, soaking wet.
- SofiaSono tutto bagnato!I'm soaking wet!
- LorenzoTe l'avevo detto di prendere l'ombrello.I told you to take the umbrella.
- SofiaHai ragione, la prossima volta ti ascolto.You're right, next time I'll listen to you.
- LorenzoLo dici sempre!You always say that!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “I told you so” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
