Which one should you use?
While dire is used for the general act of saying something, you should use raccontare when you want to express the idea of telling a story or sharing an anecdote. If you wish to assert or affirm something in a formal context, use affermare.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the present indicative tense, the forms are dico (I say), dici (you say), dice (he/she says), dite (you plural say) and dicono (they say). The past participle is detto and the gerund form is dicendo.
How do you pronounce it?
{'ipa': '/ˈdi.re/', 'syllables': 2, 'stressed_syllable': '1 of 2'}
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use dire to mean 'to tell' in all contexts. While dire works for the act of saying a specific thing, use raccontare when you are telling a story or a long account.
Did you know?
- The Italian word dire is actually an ancient way to say 'to show' or 'to point out'. It comes from a root that meant to indicate something visually rather than just through speech.
- In certain regional or emphatic contexts, using the phrase a dire il vero is the standard way to start a sentence when you mean 'to tell you the truth' or 'actually'.
- While dire means 'to say', the phrase dire tutto can be used colloquially to mean 'to confess' or 'to spill the beans'.
Examples in context
- Non so che dire.I don't know what to say.This sentence shows how to use dire when expressing that you do not know what to say.Tatoeba #2466099 by Guybrush88, translation #436541 by lukaszpp
- Io non lo direi.I wouldn't say that.This sentence uses dire in a conditional context to say what you wouldn't say.Tatoeba #2575018 by Guybrush88, translation #2548368 by CK
- Io so cosa dire.I know what to say.This sentence demonstrates using dire to express knowing what to say.Tatoeba #3544405 by Guybrush88, translation #2376339 by CK
- Ho qualcosa da dire.I have something to say.
- Voglio esprimerti il mio parere.I want to express my opinion to you.
- Posso affermare che è vero.I can say/affirm that it's true.
- Sai, devo raccontarti cosa è successo oggi.You know, I have to tell you what happened today.
- Puoi dirmi cosa pensi?Can you tell me what you think?
- 1169 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Giulia and Alessandro are discussing a secret.
- GiuliaPuoi dire la verità ad Alessandro?Can you tell the truth to Alessandro?
- AlessandroNon voglio dire niente a nessuno.I don't want to say anything to anyone.
- GiuliaPerché non vuoi dire tutto ora?Why don't you want to say everything now?
- AlessandroPreferisco non dire nulla per oggi.I prefer not to say anything for today.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “say” translations and entries dire, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dire, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
