chi
/ki/
The Italian word for "who" is chi.
chi is an interrogative pronoun used to ask about the identity of a person.
Meaning: who? (interrogative pronoun) (pron)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
chi is used for both the subject and the object of a sentence when asking "who". Unlike English, the form of chi does not change whether it is acting as the subject or the object of the verb.
How do you pronounce it?
/ki/
Did you know?
- The word chi is an invariant pronoun, meaning it never changes form for gender or number. Whether you are asking about one person or a thousand people, you always use chi.
- The word chi is a direct descendant of the Latin word quis, which also served as the root for the English word 'question'.
- While chi asks 'who', the word chi can also be used as a relative pronoun meaning 'whoever'. For example, chi dorme non piglia vermi means 'whoever sleeps catches no worms'.
Examples in context
- Io so chi è.I know who he is.This sentence shows how to use chi in an indirect question.Tatoeba #3663026 by Guybrush88, translation #260119 by CK
- Lo so chi è.I know who you are.Tatoeba #4463727 by Guybrush88, translation #1520797 by Spamster
- Tu sai chi è?Do you know who she is?This sentence shows how to use chi in a direct question.Tatoeba #2477429 by Guybrush88, translation #308085 by CK
- Chi è il direttore?Who is the director?
- Colui che è seduto laggiù è il sindaco.The person who is sitting over there is the mayor.
- Che cosa ha detto chi ti ha telefonato?What did the person who called you say?
- Sai chi è il cantante più famoso d'Italia?Do you know who the most famous singer in Italy is?
- La persona che ha vinto il premio è mio cugino.The person who won the prize is my cousin.
- Sto cercando qualcuno che sappia suonare il pianoforte.I am looking for someone who knows how to play the piano.
- 4515 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Francesco and Martina are at a party meeting new people.
- FrancescoChi è quell'uomo?Who is that man?
- MartinaÈ un amico di mio padre.He is a friend of my father's.
- FrancescoE chi è la ragazza accanto a lui?And who is the girl next to him?
- MartinaLei è mia cugina.She is my cousin.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “who” translations and entries chi, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries chi, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
