Subject Pronouns - Italiano

This is an article to help those understand the Subject Pronouns in Italian:

Io: To say “I” in every Italian speaking person and/or country always uses: Io. (Pronounced EE-OOH)

Tu: To say “you” in the informal or familiar setting one always uses "tu". This informal form is used when speaking to children, friends, and depending where you’re from in Italy, your family members. (In the north the new generation might use “tu” when talking to parents. However, with their grandparents always the “Lei” or "Voi" form”)

lei: This pronoun usually means “she, it”. (One way to distinguish it from the “Lei” meaning you formal is by seeing if the “L” is capitalized, and by context. Unless of course the “Lei” is the first word of the sentence) (It is conjugated usually the same way as lui and Lei. (Everything in Italian is divided between male and female nouns)

Lui: This pronoun means “he, it” (It is usually conjugated the same way as lei and Lei.

Lei: This pronoun means “You” in a formal form. One uses this form to speak to older people, grandparents, unknown adults, in a professional settings, and those of a higher rank. (Anyone that you would call “sir, mister, ma’am). One of the difference between the North and South is that the people from the north will use Lei to address someone in a formal way. While the people from the south might usually use "Voi" to address someone in the formal singular form. However, the standard Italian way of speaking will always be "Lei."

Noi: To say we in Italian we usually say noi.

voi: In standard modern informal Italian "voi" will mean “You all”. (You will see it lowercase usually)

Voi : In old Italian, and the South of Italy, it might mean “You” in the singular formal form. (Uppercase)

loro: In the informal usage of loro it can mean only “they”. Whether is a group of boys only, girls only, or a mix, it will always mean “they”. (this pronouns will usually be lowered cased, unless it is the first word of a sentence)

Loro: The uppercase version = the formal form of Loro it will mean “You All”.

Let’s imagine that you are meeting with the king and queen of a country, in this extreme setting of formality you will use Loro to say “You All” formally, instead of voi.

Breakdown:

Io

I

tu

You (Informal)

lei

She/it

Lei

You (Formal) (mostly in the north of Italy and standard Italian)

lui

He/it

noi

We

voi

You All

loro

They

Loro

You all (formal)

If you have any questions, please let me know!