di
/di/
The Italian word for 'of' is di.
di is the most common way to translate 'of' in Italian. It is primarily used as a preposition to indicate possession, similar to how English uses 'of' or the possessive 's.
Meaning: possessive genitive: belonging to (prep)
How does it change in a sentence?
When using di to mean 'of the', it combines with definite articles to form articulated prepositions. These include del (masculine singular), della (feminine singular), dello, dei, degli and delle. If di precedes a noun starting with a vowel, it often combines with the article to form the elided form dell'.
How do you pronounce it?
/di/
Did you know?
- While di usually means 'of', when it follows certain verbs it can function like the English word 'to' before an infinitive.
- The Italian word di is a cognate with the English word 'to'. Both share a common ancestor in the Latin preposition dē.
- To express a person's origin or nationality, Italians use di when mentioning a specific city, such as sono di Roma.
Examples in context
- È uno di noi.You are one of us.This sentence shows how to use di to indicate belonging to a group.Tatoeba #4316370 by Guybrush88, translation #2892983 by CK
- È piena di se.You're full of yourself.This sentence uses di to express being full of something.Tatoeba #2888889 by Guybrush88, translation #2153214 by Rebeca
- È parte di me.You're a part of me.This sentence uses di to indicate a part of someone.Tatoeba #3078761 by Guybrush88, translation #1881825 by CM
- La casa di PaoloPaolo's house
- Un libro di storiaA history book
- Il cuore di una madreA mother's heart
- L'odore dello zuccheroThe smell of sugar
- Il parco dello zooThe zoo's park
- Il fondatore dello studioThe founder of the firm
- Vado a casa di MarcoI'm going to Marco's place
- Ricorderò sempre l'estate di quell'annoI will always remember that year's summer
- Mangio la pasta del ristorante italianoI eat pasta from the Italian restaurant
- Ho comprato il libro del professoreI bought the professor's book
- Guarda la foto dell'eventoLook at the picture of the event
- La coda del caneThe dog's tail
- La borsa è mia, non di MariaThe bag is mine, not Maria's
- 10325 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Giulia and Alessandro are in a kitchen looking at a book.
- GiuliaIl colore di questo libro è bellissimo.The color of this book is beautiful.
- AlessandroSì, è il libro di un mio amico.Yes, it is the book of a friend of mine.
- GiuliaÈ un regalo di sua madre?Is it a gift from his mother?
- AlessandroNo, è un regalo di suo padre.No, it is a gift from his father.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “of” translations and entries di, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries di, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
