How to Say 'I Like' and 'I Don't Like' in Italian: Expressing General Preferences
Learn to say what you like, love, enjoy, dislike and hate in Italian using piacere, with reasons and correct singular and plural forms.
By PookieFriends & plans · Yapr Learn
In Italian, saying what you like is not done with a verb that means 'to like'. Instead you use the verb piacere, which literally works like 'to be pleasing'. This means the thing you like is the subject of the sentence, and the word for the person (mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli) is an indirect object pronoun. In this lesson you will learn to express general preferences such as 'I like coffee', 'I love music', 'I don't like cold weather' and to give a reason with perché. You will also learn the difference between mi piace (one thing) and mi piacciono (more than one thing), and how to say 'I love' and 'I hate' with stronger expressions.
By the end, you can…
- say what I like, love, enjoy, dislike and hate in Italian using mi piace, mi piacciono, adoro and odio.
- give a simple reason for a preference using perché.
- choose correctly between mi piace and mi piacciono depending on singular or plural.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Mi piace il caffè.
I like coffee.
mee PYAH-cheh eel kahf-FEH
Use mi piace with a singular noun or an infinitive verb. il caffè is singular.
Mi piacciono i gatti.
I like cats.
mee pyah-CHOH-noh ee GAHT-tee
Use mi piacciono with a plural noun. i gatti is plural, so the verb becomes piacciono.
Adoro la musica.
I love music.
ah-DOH-roh lah MOO-zee-kah
adoro is a strong 'I love'. It is a normal verb, so it agrees with io: adoro, adori, adora.
Non mi piace il freddo.
I don't like the cold.
nohn mee PYAH-cheh eel FREHD-doh
Put non before mi piace to make it negative. il freddo is singular.
Odio svegliarmi presto.
I hate waking up early.
OH-dyoh zveh-LYAR-mee PREH-stoh
odio is a strong 'I hate'. It is followed by an infinitive verb, here svegliarmi (to wake myself up).
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The core pattern is indirect pronoun + piacere + thing. The pronoun shows who likes: mi (to me), ti (to you), gli (to him), le (to her), ci (to us), vi (to you all), gli (to them). The thing liked controls the verb: Mi piace la pizza. (I like pizza.) but Mi piacciono le pizze. (I like pizzas.) With an action, use the singular: Mi piace cucinare. (I like cooking.) To give a reason, add perché: Mi piace il tè perché è rilassante. (I like tea because it is relaxing.)
When to use it
Use mi piace and mi piacciono for general preferences, not for a single occasion. Mi piace il caffè means you like coffee in general. If you want to say you feel like coffee right now, Italian uses avere voglia di: Ho voglia di un caffè. (I feel like a coffee.) For stronger feelings, adoro (I love) and odio (I hate) work like normal verbs: Adoro il cioccolato. (I love chocolate.) Odio il traffico. (I hate traffic.) These are stronger than mi piace and non mi piace, so use them when you really mean it.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Ti piace il caffè?
Do you like coffee?tee PYAH-cheh eel kahf-FEHSì, adoro il caffè perché mi sveglia.
Yes, I love coffee because it wakes me up.see, ah-DOH-roh eel kahf-FEH per-KEH mee ZVEH-lyahE ti piacciono i dolci?
And do you like sweets?eh tee pyah-CHOH-noh ee DOHL-cheeNo, non mi piacciono i dolci, ma mi piace il tè.
No, I don't like sweets, but I like tea.noh, nohn mee pyah-CHOH-noh ee DOHL-chee, mah mee PYAH-cheh eel tehA little context goes a long way
In Italian, mi piace is the standard neutral way to express a general preference and is safe in both formal and informal situations. The stronger verbs adoro and odio are common in everyday conversation, but odio can sound harsh in formal contexts; a softer alternative is non sopporto (I can't stand). Regional variation exists mainly in pronunciation and vocabulary, not in this structure: for example, in parts of the south you may hear mi piace assai instead of mi piace molto, but the grammar of piacere stays the same across Italy.
One thing to watch for
Saying 'Io piaccio il caffè' to mean 'I like coffee'.
Try this instead: Do not use piacere as a normal transitive verb with io as subject. The correct form is Mi piace il caffè. Here mi means 'to me' and il caffè is the subject. If you use a plural thing, change the verb: Mi piacciono i gatti, not Mi piace i gatti.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you say 'I like books' in Italian?
Show a sample answer
Mi piacciono i libri.
libri is plural, so the verb must be piacciono. Mi piace i libri is incorrect because piace is singular. You could also say Adoro i libri for a stronger feeling.
2Translate: 'I don't like waking up early because I'm tired.'
Show a sample answer
Non mi piace svegliarmi presto perché sono stanco. / Non mi piace svegliarmi presto perché sono stanca.
Use non mi piace with the infinitive svegliarmi. The reason follows perché. The adjective stanco/stanca agrees with the speaker's gender; both forms are correct depending on who is speaking.
3Which is correct for 'I love pizza': Adoro la pizza or Mi piace la pizza?
Show a sample answer
Both are correct, but they differ in strength.
Mi piace la pizza means 'I like pizza'. Adoro la pizza means 'I love pizza' and is stronger. Both use a singular noun, so both are grammatically fine. Choose based on how strong your feeling is.
Use mi piace for one thing or an action, mi piacciono for more than one thing, and add perché to give your reason. For stronger feelings, use adoro or odio.
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