Irregular present tense verbs - How to use the verb ‘dire’ in Italian

The next verb in my ongoing irregular present tense verb series is the verb ‘dire’. This verb often means ‘to say’, but it can also mean ‘to tell’’. A verb can be defined as a doing or action word. Here you can see three example sentences with today’s verb ‘dire’:
Io dico di no - I say no
Tu dici ‘ciao’ - You say ‘hello’
Noi non diciamo niente - We don’t say anything
Italian verbs are grouped into three types, -are verbs, -ere verbs and -ire verbs. Italian verbs can be either regular or irregular. Regular verbs follow a pattern, whereas irregular verbs don’t follow one. So, we just have to learn them individually. You may already have done this with two very common irregular verbs – ‘essere’ (to be) and ‘avere’ – (to have). If you need a reminder, have a look here and here.
I have also covered some other common irregular verbs, check them out: ‘fare’ (to do), ‘stare’ (to be),‘dare’ (to give) and ‘bere’ (to drink).
So, returning the verb ‘dire’ (to say) - see it in full below:
Io dico - I say
Tu dici - You (singular) say
Lui / lei dice - He / she says
Noi diciamo - We say
Voi dite - You (plural) say
Loro dicono - They say
As you can see, the endings are the same as regular -ere verbs. It’s the beginning of the word which is different, in grammar terms this is called the root.
Here are some sentences using the verb ‘dire’:
Io dico una preghiera – I say a prayer
Tu non dici la verità – You don’t tell the truth
Lui dice che è un bel film – He says that it’s a good film
Lei dice di essere una brava studentessa – She says that she’s a good student
Noi non diciamo una parola – We don’t say a word
Voi dite che qui la pizza è buonissima – You say that the pizza here is really nice
Loro dicono che è vero – They say that it’s true
There are some common expressions with the verb ‘dire’ that it can be useful to learn.
For example ‘un modo di dire’ is a ‘common saying’ in Italian.
Another common expression is ‘voler dire’: to mean. Here are some examples:
Cosa vuol dire ‘un verbo’ – What does ‘a verb’ mean?
Non ho capito. Cosa vuoi dire? – I don’t understand. What do you mean?
Vuoi dire che non partiamo domani? – Do you mean that we’re not leaving tomorrow?
Let’s look at some other expressions and idiomatic phrases with the verb ‘dire’:
Dire la propria
Literal meaning: to say one’s own
Real meaning: to express your opinion, to give your opinion, to have a say
Example: Certo che Marco ha voluto dire la propria! – Of course Marco wanted to give his opinion!
Dire pane al pane e vino al vino
Literal meaning: to say bread is bread and wine is wine
Real meaning: to call a spade a spade i.e. to call something by its true name
Dirne quattro
Literal meaning: to say four of them
Real meaning: to give someone a telling off, to give someone a piece of your mind
Tra il dire e il fare c’è di mezzo il mare
Literal meaning: There is the sea between what is said and what is done
Real meaning: It’s easier said than done