Sometimes DI and DA translate directly to “of” and “from” in Italian, but not always! So, how do you know which one to use? Well, there’s a small set of patterns in Italian that make choosing between DI and DA insanely intuitive. So, in this guide, I’ll show you what those patterns are and share some simple tricks that will help you pick the correct Italian preposition every time. Pronti? (Ready) Cominciamo! Let’s get started!
TL;DR: How to Use Italian Prepositions DI and DA
DI and DA can both translate as “of” or “from” in Italian, but they are not interchangeable. The easiest way to master them is to learn the core patterns Italians actually use.
Use DI for:
- Origin: Sono di Londra – I’m from London
- Possession: La macchina di mia sorella – My sister’s car
- Material: Un tavolo di legno – A wooden table
Think: DI = origin, ownership, or what something comes from
Use DA for:
- Movement from a place: Vengo da Roma – I come from Rome
- Going to someone’s place: Vado da Marco – I’m going to Marco’s place
- Who did the action in passive sentences: Il film è stato diretto da Fellini – The film was directed by Fellini
Think: DA = departure, destination, or doer of the action
The key difference
- DI describes where something or someone comes from, belongs to, or is made of
- DA points to a starting point, a person’s place, or the agent in a passive sentence
One more thing
Some uses of DI and DA appear in fixed expressions like:
- di solito – usually
- di fretta – in a hurry
- da solo – alone
- da vicino – up close
These are best learned as complete chunks. If you focus on these few patterns, choosing between DI and DA becomes much easier and far more intuitive.
Watch this lesson on my YouTube Channel
Italian Prepositions DI and DA: Talking about origin
To start, let’s fix one of the most common mistakes learners of Italian make when choosing between DI and DA. Imagine you’re introducing yourself in Italian to the guide who’ll be showing you around Florence. She asks ‘Where are you from?’ and you hesitate. Do you say Sono di Londra? Or Sono da Londra?
They can both mean “from,” you’ve seen both used with cities, with places… so which one is right? Here’s an easy way to remember it:
On your ID card it shows where you are from, your origin. That’s your clue! Take the word ID, flip the letters, and you get DI. So, the correct response to Di dove sei? is Sono di Londra.
Here are some more examples:
- Sono di Roma. – I’m from Rome.
- Lei è di Milano. – She is from Milan.
- Siamo di Napoli. – We are from Naples.
And it works the same way with things too, not just people.
- La focaccia di Recco – Recco focaccia (Literally, the focaccia originates/is from Recco)
And if you haven’t tried it, it’s two paper-thin layers of dough filled with a creamy heart of fresh cheese!
- Le ceramiche di Caltagirone. – Caltagirone ceramics. (Literally, the ceramics originates/is from Caltagirone)
- Una specialità di Napoli. – A Naples speciality. (Literally, a specialty originating/is from Naples)
So here’s rule number one: if you’re saying where someone or something is from, use DI.
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Italian Prepositions DI and DA: Talking about possession
Next we’ll look at which prepositions to use, when you’re not talking about where someone or something is from. As the conversation with your guide continues, you want to tell her about your family. Your mom’s special pasta recipe, your sister’s old Italian car… things that belong to someone. How do you say these things?
Think of a deed, like the deed to a house. A deed proves ownership, right? And what sound does it start with? DEE — exactly how you pronounce DI. A deed proves ownership. DI proves ownership. So, whenever something belongs to someone in Italian, you need the DEEd: DI.
Here’s how we say this:
- La ricetta di mia mamma. – My mum’s recipe. (Literally, the recipe of my mum)
- La macchina di mia sorella. – My sister’s car. (Literally, the car of my sister)
See how it works? First the thing, then DI (for DEEd), then the person it belongs to. In English, we just add ’s and we’re done. In Italian we use DI.
Here are some more examples:
- Il libro di Maria. – Maria’s book. (Literally, the book of Maria)
- La casa di Luca. – Luca’s house. (Literally, the house of Luca)
- Il telefono di Giulia. – Giulia’s phone. (Literally, the phone of Giulia)
- La borsa di Anna. – Anna’s bag. (Literally, the bag of Anna)
So here’s the second rule: when you’re saying who something belongs to, use DI.
Italian Prepositions DI and DA: Talking about what something is made of
This brings us to the next situation where choosing between DI and DA will always feel obvious to you.
Next, the guide takes you shopping and you spot a gorgeous bag and you want to know if it’s real leather. So, how do you ask that in Italian?
What something is made of is its DNA. That’s its origin. So whenever you talk about the material of something, just think of the D in DNA which will lead you to the correct preposition: DI.
So, to ask this question we say:
- Questa borsa è di pelle? – Is this bag made of leather? (Literally, Does this bag originate from leather?)
Here are some more examples:
- Un tavolo di legno. – A wooden table. (Literally, a table originating from wood)
- Un pavimento di marmo. – A marble floor. (Literally, a floor originating from marble)
So here’s the third rule: when you’re saying what something is made of, use DI. The material is the origin of the object: same logic, same preposition!
Italian Prepositions DI and DA: Talking about movement from a place
Next, I’m going to show you a simple memory trick that will make choosing between DI and DA feel easy.
At the end of the tour, your guide asks about your plans for tomorrow. You want to tell her you’re leaving from Santa Maria Novella Station at 8 am sharp to catch a train to Rome. But how do you say that? When you travel, every journey has a Departure Address. The place where you leave from. Now, if we abbreviate Departure Address to D. A. we get DA — the correct preposition you need.
Then say:
- Partiamo da Santa Maria Novella alle 8 di mattina. – We’ll leave from Santa Maria Novella at 8 am.
DA is always anchored to an address — sometimes you’re arriving at it, sometimes you’re leaving from it. The verb tells you which direction you’re traveling.
Here are some more examples:
- Vengo da Roma. – I come from Rome.
- Arrivo da Milano. – I’m arriving from Milan.
- Torno da Firenze. – I return from Florence.
So, here’s the fourth rule: every time there’s movement away from a place, use DA.
- Parto da casa. – I leave from home.
- Arrivo dal lavoro. – I’ll arrive from work.
Attenzione! Did you catch that? Dal lavoro, not da lavoro. That’s because DA merged with the article il to become dal, which is called an articulated preposition. Don’t worry about these too much for now, just know they exist, and keep an eye (and ear) out, because they’ll pop up again.
Italian Prepositions DI and DA: Talking about going to someone’s place
This brings us to another problem that we can’t solve by translating directly from English.
While sharing your travel plans with your guide, you want to say “We’re going to Tito’s”, a restaurant she recommended. How do you say that in Italian?
Think of it like the internet. Every website has a domain address, a URL, like theintrepidguide.com. And behind every domain, there’s an owner. Tito is the owner of his domain. His restaurant. To go to someone’s domain, you need their Domain Address. There is our clue: If we abbreviate Domain Address (D. A.) we get DA, the preposition we need here.
And we can say:
- Stasera andiamo da Tito. – Tonight we’re going to Tito’s. (Literally, we’re going to the destination address of Tito)
- Vado da Marco. – I’m going to Marco’s house/place. (Literally, I’m going to the destination address of Marco)
- Passo da mio cugino. –I’ll stop by my cousin’s house/place. (Literally, I’ll stop by the destination address of my cousin)
- Vado dal dottore. – I go to the doctor’s office. (Literally, I’m going to the destination address of the doctor)
There it is again, the articulated preposition DAL. I told you it would keep showing up! You can learn how to use and master articulated prepositions in my video here.
So rule number five: when you’re going to someone’s destination address, place, or domain, use DA.
Italian Prepositions DI and DA: Talking about who did something
Now let’s look at a situation where English gives us a clue as to which preposition to use.
You’re back at the hotel and want to watch the movie your guide recommended. She said: The film was directed by Fellini. But, how do you say this in Italian?
Think of it like this: Whenever you say “by someone” in English, you’re talking about who Did the Action.
- Directed by Fellini
- Written by Dante
- Made by Da Vinci
That “by” always tells us who Did the Action. Next we can abbreviate Did the Action to D. A. → DA which is the preposition we need to use here. This is also what we call a passive sentence.
And now we can say:
- Il film è stato diretto da Fellini. – The film was directed by Fellini.
Here are some more examples:
- Il libro è stato scritto da Umberto Eco. – The book was written by Umberto Eco.
- La pizza è stata preparata dal cuoco. – The pizza was prepared by the chef.
There’s DAL again (da + il) an articulated preposition.
So rule number six: when you’re saying who did something, use DA.
Expressions you just have to learn
Now let’s look at when DI and DA don’t follow any of the rules we just covered. DI and DA appear in a bunch of everyday expressions that Italians use all the time. But the problem is, there’s no logic behind them. What do you do? The best strategy is to learn them as chunks, that is, as set phrases. Here are some common ones with DI.
In all these expressions, DI highlights the quality, manner, or time. It’s the Italian equivalent of English phrases like “in a hurry”, “on purpose”, “at night” — it Describes It.
| Italian | Literally | English |
|---|---|---|
| Di solito | of the usual | usually |
| Di notte | of night | at night |
| Di mattina | of morning | in the morning |
| Di fretta | of hurry | in a hurry |
| Di proposito | of purpose | on purpose |
| Di nascosto | of hidden | secretly |
| Di recente | of recent | recently |
| Di nuovo | of new | again |
| Di tanto in tanto | of so much in so much | from time to time |
And these are some frequent expressions with DA. These DA expressions all mark a vantage point, condition, or state — where you’re standing, how far along you are, what state you’re in. You’re always departing from or operating within a specific position.
| Italian | Literally | English |
|---|---|---|
| Da solo/a | from alone | by oneself |
| Da vicino | from close | up close |
| Da lontano | from far | from far away |
| Da poco | from little ago | recently |
| Da tempo | from time | for a long time |
| Da sempre | from always | since forever |
| Da grande | from big/grown | when I grow up |
| Da capo | from the head | from the beginning |
| Da paura | from fear | incredible / mind-blowing |
The more you hear them and use them, the less you’ll think about DI or DA, and they’ll just come out naturally.
Quick Summary
| Role | Preposition | Hook | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Origin | DI | Think of an ID card | Sono di Roma |
| Possession | DI | Think of a DEEd | La ricetta di mia mamma |
| What something is made of | DI | DNA | Questa borsa è di pelle? |
| Going to someone’s place | DA | Think of a Domain Address | Vado da Marco |
| Passive agent (“by”) | DA | Think of who Did the Action | Diretto da Fellini |
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