How to say I MISS YOU in Italian with MANCARE (QUIZ + FREE PDF)

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So, you’ve made a wonderful Italian friend, or maybe there’s someone special whose absence is giving you major heart pangs and you’re just dying to tell them how much you miss them in their beautiful language. Well, this guide is perfect for you! I’ll explain how to say ‘I miss you’ in Italian using the verb mancare (to miss)!

Now, you might think it’s as simple as translating directly to Io manco tu! (I miss you) but it’s not! Just like the Italian verb piacere (to like), mancare (to miss) is a bit of a linguistic puzzle that we need to piece together. But don’t worry, once you understand how it works, you’ll be pouring out your emotions like a seasoned romantic Italian! To see how much you’ve learned, don’t forget to take the free quiz at the end of this lesson!

But first, make sure to download your free PDF cheat-sheet, which includes all the key points we’ll cover in this guide. Just enter your email below and I’ll send it to you straight away.

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Table to Contents

Here’s what we’ll cover in this guide. Click on any title to jump to each section.

• How MANCARE works in Italian
• How to conjugate MANCARE in Italian
• How to emphasize MANCARE in Italian
• How to say ‘I miss you’ in Italian with MANCARE
• How to say ‘I miss you too!‘ in Italian
• How to ask ‘do you miss me?’ in Italian
• Other meanings of MANCARE
• TAKE THE QUIZ

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How MANCARE works in Italian

The Italian verb mancare means ‘to miss’ but it functions differently from its English counterpart. In English, the verb agrees with the person feeling the absence (the subject). In Italian, however, mancare agrees with the person or thing being missed (the object), while the person feeling the absence is expressed through an indirect object pronoun.

This is the structure:

Indirect object pronoun + verb ‘mancare’ conjugated + who/what is being missed

Here’s a step-by-step guide to understanding how it works:

1. Identify who or what is being missed, for instance la mia famiglia (my family).
2. Conjugate mancare (to miss) to match the person or thing being missed; in this case, la mia famiglia (my family) is singular, so you’ll need to use the third person singular form, which is manca.
3. Specify who feels the absence using an indirect object pronoun (for instance, io – I becomes mi – to me), and place it at the beginning of the sentence.

There you have it: Mi manca la mia famiglia (I miss my family) 

See how it works? The verb mancare shifts the perspective: in Italian, instead of saying ‘I miss something/someone,’ you express it as ‘something/someone is missing to me’!

Attenzione! Unlike in English, the thing being missed in Italian is always preceded by a definite article il, lo, la, i, gli, le (the). For example:

• Mi manca la vecchia libreria del quartiere – I miss the old neighborhood bookshop (Literally: The old neighborhood bookshop is missing to me)
• Gli manca il suo cagnolino – He misses his little dog (Literally: His little dog is missing to him)
• Ci mancano i nostri amici – We miss our friends (Literally: Our friends are missing to us)

Lastly, when explicitly mentioning the person who misses something, you will need to use the preposition a (to) followed by the person’s name, instead of using indirect object pronouns:

• A Mario manca la sua ex – Mario misses his ex girlfriend (Literally: To Mario his ex girlfriend is missing)
• A Serena manca viaggiare – Serena misses traveling (Literally: To Serena, travelling is missing)
• A mia sorella mancano le serate con le amiche – My sister misses nights out with her girlfriends (Literally: To my sister, nights out are missing)

How to conjugate MANCARE in Italian

The verb mancare is conjugated according to what is being missed, not who is missing it. Therefore, it always appears either in the third person singular or the third person plural form:

To master the verb mancare in Italian, just memorize these tricks:

1. If the thing someone’s missing is singular, use manca:

• Ci manca la Sardegna – We miss Sardinia
• Le manca la sua famiglia – She misses her family

2. If the thing someone’s missing is an action, expressed through an infinitive verb, use manca:

• Gli manca giocare a calcio con i ragazzi – He misses playing football with the guys
• Mi manca viaggiare da sola – I miss traveling alone

3. If the thing someone’s missing is plural, use mancano:

• Mi mancano le mie sorelle – I miss my sisters
• Ci mancano i nostri amici in Italia – We miss our friends in Italy 

In Italian compound tenses, mancare requires the auxiliary essere (to be) and the participle must agree in gender and number with the subject (which, in Italian, is the thing that’s missed):

Let’s practice with some examples:

• Ci è mancata questa casa! – We missed this house
• Lo so, vi sono mancata! – I know you (all) missed me!
• Gli siete mancati tanto – He/They missed you a lot
• Mi siete mancate ragazze! – I missed you guys!

How to emphasize MANCARE in Italian

To emphasize how much you’re missing someone or something in Italian, you can use adverbs like tanto (so much), già (already), or the informal expression un casino (a lot). Here are some examples:

• Mi manca un casino Stefano. Quando torna? – I miss Stefano a lot. When is he coming back?
• Le manca tantissimo il mare, non vede l’ora di andare in Sardegna – She misses the sea so much, she can’t wait to go to Sardinia
• A Claudio mancano già i manicaretti di sua nonna – Claudio already misses his grandma’s ​​delicacies
• Ci manca tanto la nostra amica Elena – We miss our friend Elena so much

How to say ‘I miss you’ in Italian with MANCARE

Now that you know that Italians use the verb mancare (to miss) in a way that translates to ‘you are missing to me’, it follows that to say ‘I miss you’ in Italian is Mi manchi – a phrase famously featured in Fausto Leali’s song!

Let’s break it down so it’s easier to memorize:

• Mi = to me
• manchi = are missing (tu – you, second person singular)

Notice that in Italian, it’s not necessary to include the subject pronoun tu (you) because the conjugated verb already indicates who is being addressed. Therefore, Italians simply say Mi manchi instead of Mi manchi tu. You would only use tu (you) for emphasis, for example:

• Non mi manca l’Italia, mi manchi tu! (I don’t miss Italy, I miss you!).

Here are some additional examples:

• Mi manchi, non vedo l’ora di rivederti – I miss you, I can’t wait to see you again
• Mi mancate, quando venite a trovarmi? – I miss you (all), when are you coming to visit me?
• Che bello vederti, mi sei mancata! – It’s so good to see you, I missed you!

How to say ‘I miss you too!‘ in Italian

When someone tells you they miss you, it’s only natural to reply with ‘I miss you too!’, right? Here are some common ways to express this in Italian:

• Anche tu! (You too) for a simple and direct response 
• Mi manchi anche tu! or Anche tu mi manchi! for a more complete reply; both phrases mean ‘I miss you too’ and can be used interchangeably. Note that in these cases, tu (you) cannot be omitted because anche (too) needs a pronoun to be clear.
• If you’re feeling particularly romantic, you can enhance Mi manchi anche tu with additional affectionate phrases such as Sei sempre nei miei pensieri (You’re always on my mind), Non vedo l’ora di rivederti (I can’t wait to see you again) or Sono pazzo/a di te (I’m crazy about you)

How to ask ‘do you miss me?’ in Italian

So, you know how to say ‘I miss you’ in Italian and how to respond, but what if you want to ask your friends, family, or that special someone if they miss you? It’s actually quite simple! Just take a statement, turn it into a question by adding a question mark, and use a questioning tone. Voilà!

For example:

• Ti manco (You miss me) → Ti manco? (Do you miss me?)
• Vi manco quando non sono a casa (You miss me when I’m not home) → Vi manco quando non sono a casa? (Do you miss me when I’m not home?)
• Le mancano le amiche ora che si è trasferita all’estero (She misses her girlfriends now that she has moved abroad) → Le mancano le amiche ora che si è trasferita all’estero? (Does she miss her girlfriends now that she has moved abroad?)

Other meanings of MANCARE

In Italian, the verb mancare (to miss) extends beyond just the feeling of missing someone or something. It can also be used to:

1. Indicate that something or someone is missing:

• Mancano 2 euro, chi li ha? – Two euros are missing, who has them?
• Non manca niente, possiamo andare. – Nothing is missing, we can go.
• Manca lo zucchero, vai a comprarlo per favore. – The sugar is missing; please go buy some.

2. Discuss time in Italian, describing how long one has to wait before something happens:

• Quanto manca all’inizio dello spettacolo? – How long until the show starts?
• Manca un’ora alla chiusura del museo – There’s an hour left until the museum closes
• Mancano pochi minuti all’apertura del negozio – There are just a few minutes left until the shop opens

Attenzione! The verb mancare cannot be used for expressions like ‘I missed the train’ or ‘I missed the opportunity.’ For these situations, Italians use the verb perdere, which also means ‘to lose.’ For example:

• • Ho perso la coincidenza per Roma, devo aspettare il prossimo treno – I missed the connection to Rome; I have to wait for the next train
  • Mia sorella ha perso l’ultimo autobus, vado a prenderla – My sister missed the last bus; I’m going to pick her up
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How well do know how to use MANCARE in Italian? TAKE THIS QUIZ!

Now it’s your turn! Test your knowledge of expressing that you’re missing something or someone in Italian. For each question, choose the option that is grammatically correct:

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