Many of you may have certainly experienced that having a discussion with someone in a foreign language can be sometimes very arduous and frustrating if you have the feeling that you are missing the words and expressions that give your arguments and thoughts the right meaning and weight.
In this article, we will have a look at some useful Italian phrases which will help you to agree or disagree with someone’s opinion and will make your discussions sound more Italian and help your point of view be more effective.
Let’s start with a simple everyday situation. Let’s imagine that you are chatting with a friend about a movie you’ve just seen together:
- Questo film di Salvatores è un vero capolavoro. (Salvatores’ movie is a real masterpiece)
- Sì, è vero. E’ piaciuto anche a me. (That’s right. I also enjoyed it.)
- Il protagonista interpreta il suo ruolo in modo molto convincente. Merita un premio. (The main actor did a really good job in his role, he deserves an award)
- Giusto! Speriamo che vinca il David di Donatello. (Right! Let’s hope he will be awarded with a David di Donatello.)
The easiest way to agree with someone is “sì, è vero.” (yes, it’s true). We can, however, replace this by saying
- Sono d’accordo con te. (I agree with you)
- Sono assolutamente/pienamente d’accordo. (I absolutely agree / I fully agree)
- Sì, lo penso anch’io. (This is also my thought.)
- Lo stavo per dire anch’io. (I was just saying the same.)
If you didn’t like the movie, you may say
- Ma che dici ? Non è stato per niente un bel film. (What are you saying? It wasn’t a great movie at all)
or - Per me no. (Not for me.)
- Non concordo/Non sono d’accordo. A me non è sembrato niente di speciale. (I don’t agree. I didn’t like it at all.)
- Non direi. (I wouldn’t say so.)
In more complex situations, other ways of agreeing may be more suitable. Let’s have a look at some examples
- Penso che molti sottovalutino spesso le proprie capacità.
- Concordo con te/Anch’io la penso così. Infatti noi tutti abbiamo più risorse di quanto si possa immaginare. (I agree with you./That’s also my thought. …)
- Molte persone preferiscono non andare a votare piuttosto che votare la persona sbagliata. (Many people prefer not to vote, rather than voting the wrong person.)
- Sono della tua stessa opinione./Hai ragione, è proprio così./Anch’io la vedo così e aggiungerei che sbagliano questo atteggiamento. (I’m of the same opinion. / You are right, that’s exactly how it is./That’s also the way I see it and I would add that their attitude is wrong.).
- La cucina italiana piace perché è molto varia. (The Italian cuisine is very popular because of its great variety.)
- Esatto!/Assolutamente. Infatti è considerata la più varia d’Europa. (That’s right …/Absolutely! In fact, it is considered to be Europe’s most varied cuisine.)
To strongly agree you can also say:
- Le donne sono spesso più determinate dei loro colleghi maschi. (Women are often more determined than their male colleagues.)
- Senza ombra di dubbio!/Nessun dubbio su questo. (There’s no doubt about that.)
- Hai afferrato la questione./Hai afferrato il problema. (You got it!)
In case you don’t know whether to agree or not, you can answer
- Non lo so. Forse è così. (I don’t know. Maybe you are right.)
- Dipende. (It depends.)
- Non sono sicuro/a. (I’m not sure.)
- Probabilmente hai ragione. (You are probably right.)
- Non è sempre così. (That’s not always the case.)
But what if you want to disagree or, at least, partially disagree? You can use the following expressions:
- Per me la cucina italiana è la migliore in assoluto. (I think the Italian cuisine is the best.)
- Non concordo./Non la penso per niente così. Credo che ogni cucina abbia I suoi pregi.(I don’t agree./I don’t think this way at all.)
- Lidia ha lasciato il suo fidanzato perché le mentiva sempre. (Lidia broke up with her boyfriend because he always lied to her.)
- Forse sarà per questo, ma non penso che sia vero. (Maybe that’s the reason, but I don’t think it’s true.)
Other ways to disagree or partially disagree are:
- Hai torto! (You are wrong)
- Se lo dici tu! Io invece direi che …. (If you say so. But I would rather say …)
- Probabilmente hai ragione, ma secondo me … (Maybe yodu are right, but I think that …)
- In parte è vero, ma penso che (+ subjunctive) (That’s partially true. However, I think that …)
- Non è del tutto corretto. Bisogna dire che … (That’s not entirely correct. It must be said that …)
- Non è assolutamente/per niente vero. A mio avviso … (That’s not true at all. According to me …)
- Purtroppo non posso essere d’accordo. Direi piuttosto che … (I’m afraid, but I can’t agree. I’d rather say …)
- Non sono in disaccordo con te, ma …
Please be careful when using “penso che”, “credo che”, “sono dell’opinione che”. These verbs are used to express opinions and subjective points of view and this means, that the verb following has to be conjugated in the subjunctive. Not so with “secondo me” or “a mio avviso” which take an indicative verb tense.
Of course, the expressions we have seen so far will not come immediately to your mind, but at least you will start recognizing them when you hear them pronounced by Italians and you will see, that if you try to use the easy ones, you will feel more and more comfortable and when it comes to the next discussion you will feel confident enough to tell others your opinion and make them understand your point.
Now, try to fill in the following expressions in the sentences. To help you you will find the translation in brackets:
Hai torto - è vero - Non sono d’accordo - Sono più che d’accordo - Forse - Non sono sicuro - In parte è vero - Hai completamente ragione - Dipende - Concordo pienamente - Non è assolutamente vero - Hai ragione.
This language article is curated by the expert instructors from L'Italiano Porticando Italian language and culture school located in the heart of historic Turin. Accredited by the ASILS (Association of Schools Teaching Italian as a Second Language), L'Italiano Porticando offers individual and group lessons, themed courses, and cultural classes on everything from Italian cinema to Turin’s famed chocolate. 
