Relative Pronoun *Che* in Italian

In Brief

Italian che can mean who, which, that, or sometimes whom when it introduces a relative clause: La donna che parla means “The woman who is speaking.” It never changes for gender or number, and it can replace either the subject or the direct object. Unlike English that, who, or which, Italian che cannot simply be left out.

Overview

A relative clause is a part of a sentence that identifies or adds information about a person or thing. In il libro che leggo (“the book that I am reading”), che leggo tells us more about il libro. The word being described—libro in this example—is called the antecedent (the person or thing to which the relative pronoun refers).

The relative pronoun che is one of the most useful connecting words in Italian. It lets you combine short statements without repeating the same noun. Instead of saying Conosco una ragazza. La ragazza vive a Napoli, you can say Conosco una ragazza che vive a Napoli—“I know a girl who lives in Naples.” This basic use is introduced at A2 and appears constantly in conversation, messages, news, and stories.

For an English-speaking learner, che is pleasantly regular: there is no choice between who, whom, which, and that. The important questions are not whether the antecedent is a person or a thing, but what job che has inside its own clause and whether a preposition is needed.

How It Works

The basic pattern

A sentence with relative che normally follows this pattern:

antecedent + che + relative clause

• la collega che lavora con me — the colleague who works with me
• il film che guardiamo — the film that we are watching

The two ideas share one person or thing. Che connects them and prevents repetition:

• Il treno arriva alle nove. Il treno viene da Milano.
• Il treno che viene da Milano arriva alle nove.

The relative clause usually comes immediately after its antecedent. Keeping them together makes the relationship clear.

One form for every antecedent

Che is invariable, meaning that its form never changes. It is used with masculine and feminine nouns, in both the singular and the plural.

Antecedent	Italian phrase	Meaning
masculine singular	il ragazzo che studia	the boy who studies
feminine singular	la ragazza che studia	the girl who studies
masculine plural	i ragazzi che studiano	the boys who study
feminine plural	le ragazze che studiano	the girls who study

Although che does not change, the verb still agrees with its own subject. When che is the subject, that subject is the antecedent: compare la persona che parla with le persone che parlano.

Che as the subject

The subject is the person or thing that performs the action or is described by the verb. When che is the subject of the relative clause, no other subject appears before that clause’s verb.

• Il ragazzo che parla è mio fratello.
• Le persone che aspettano sono turisti.

In the first sentence, the boy is speaking; in the second, the people are waiting. English usually translates this che as who, which, or that.

A useful test is to split the sentence into two statements:

• Il ragazzo è mio fratello. Il ragazzo parla.
• Il ragazzo che parla è mio fratello.

The repeated noun is the subject of parla, so che is also the subject.

Che as the direct object

The direct object is the person or thing directly affected by the verb—what someone sees, buys, knows, reads, and so on. When che is the direct object, the relative clause already has another subject, either stated or understood from the verb ending.

• Il libro che ho letto è interessante.
• Le persone che conosco sono simpatiche.
• La pizza che hai fatto è buonissima.

In il libro che ho letto, the understood subject of ho letto is io: I read the book. The book is the direct object, so che replaces it.

English often omits an object relative pronoun: “the book I read” and “the pizza you made” are complete English phrases. Italian cannot do this. You must say il libro che ho letto and la pizza che hai fatto.

How to tell subject and object apart

Look at the words after che:

What follows che?	Likely role of che	Example
a verb, with no other subject	subject	la donna che parla
a stated subject	direct object	la torta che Marco prepara
a verb whose ending identifies another subject	direct object	il messaggio che ho ricevuto

This is a practical guide, not a rule based only on word order. Italian often leaves subject pronouns unstated, so ho ricevuto still has the understood subject io.

When che is not possible

Basic relative che works as a subject or direct object without a preposition. If the missing element needs a preposition such as a, di, con, per, or in, standard Italian normally uses preposition + cui instead.

• la persona con cui lavoro — the person I work with
• la città in cui vivo — the city I live in
• l’amico a cui scrivo — the friend I write to

Do not choose che merely because English uses “that” or leaves its relative word out. First check the Italian verb or expression: lavorare con qualcuno, vivere in una città, scrivere a qualcuno.

Examples in Context

Italian	English	Note
Il ragazzo che parla è mio fratello.	The boy who is speaking is my brother.	Che is the subject of parla.
La vicina che abita al piano di sopra è molto gentile.	The neighbor who lives upstairs is very kind.	Person; feminine singular.
I bambini che giocano in cortile fanno molto rumore.	The children who are playing in the courtyard are making a lot of noise.	Plural antecedent; giocano is plural.
Cerco un autobus che va in centro.	I’m looking for a bus that goes downtown.	Thing; che is the subject.
Il libro che ho letto è interessante.	The book (that) I read is interesting.	Object che is required in Italian.
La pizza che hai fatto è buonissima.	The pizza (that) you made is delicious.	The understood subject is “you.”
Le persone che conosco sono simpatiche.	The people (whom) I know are nice.	Che refers to people as a direct object.
Questa è la foto che Marta ha scelto.	This is the photo that Marta chose.	Marta is the subject; che is the object.
Non trovo le chiavi che uso di solito.	I can’t find the keys I usually use.	English omits “that”; Italian keeps che.
Abbiamo visto un film che ci è piaciuto molto.	We saw a film that we liked a lot.	Literally, the film “was pleasing to us”; che is the subject.
Il ristorante che mi hai consigliato è chiuso oggi.	The restaurant you recommended to me is closed today.	Mi means “to me”; che replaces the restaurant.
Ho un collega che parla quattro lingue.	I have a colleague who speaks four languages.	The same form is used for a person.

Common Mistakes

Leaving out object che as in English

• Wrong: Il film abbiamo visto era lungo.
• Right: Il film che abbiamo visto era lungo.
• Why: English permits “the film we saw,” but Italian needs a relative word connecting film to abbiamo visto.

Using chi because the antecedent is a person

• Wrong: la donna chi parla; gli amici chi conosco
• Right: la donna che parla; gli amici che conosco
• Why: English “who” does not automatically become Italian chi. After a stated antecedent such as la donna or gli amici, use relative che for a subject or direct object. The form che is the same for every gender and number.

Using che after a preposition

• Wrong: la persona con che lavoro
• Right: la persona con cui lavoro
• Why: When the relative element requires con, standard Italian uses con cui. The same pattern applies to forms such as a cui, di cui, and per cui.

Repeating the object with a full noun or pronoun

• Wrong: Il libro che ho letto il libro è interessante.
• Right: Il libro che ho letto è interessante.
• Why: Che already stands for il libro inside the relative clause. Do not repeat the same object.

In informal speech, Italians sometimes use resumptive pronouns in structures such as un argomento che ne parliamo spesso. You may hear them, but they are not the neutral standard pattern to copy in careful speech or writing. Standard Italian has un argomento di cui parliamo spesso.

Choosing the wrong verb number when che is the subject

• Wrong: Le persone che aspetta sono già qui.
• Right: Le persone che aspettano sono già qui.
• Why: Here che refers to plural le persone and acts as the subject of aspettano, so the verb must be plural.

Usage Notes

People and things use the same pronoun

English makes distinctions among who, which, and that. Basic Italian does not: che is normal with both people and things. It can also correspond to English object whom, although “whom” is now formal in much everyday English:

• l’uomo che conosco — the man whom I know / the man I know
• la macchina che preferisco — the car that I prefer

Essential and extra information

Che can introduce a clause that identifies exactly which person or thing you mean:

• Gli studenti che hanno finito possono uscire. — The students who have finished may leave.

It can also add extra information about an already identified antecedent. In writing, commas mark this added comment:

• Paolo, che vive a Torino, viene domani. — Paolo, who lives in Turin, is coming tomorrow.

The pronoun remains che in both cases. The commas matter because they can change the meaning. Without commas, the clause selects a group; with commas, it comments on the whole already identified group or person.

Do not confuse relative che with conjunction che

The same written word has other jobs. In Penso che sia tardi (“I think that it is late”), che is a conjunction—a linking word that introduces the content of what is thought. It does not refer back to an antecedent. In il treno che arriva, relative che refers back to il treno and fills a role inside arriva.

A quick check is to ask whether there is a noun or pronoun immediately before the clause that che stands for. If so, it is likely relative che.

Beyond the Basics

You do not need to produce all of the following at A2, but recognizing these patterns will make later reading much easier.

Cui and il quale

When a preposition is required, cui is the usual next step: la persona di cui parlo. Italian also has the variable relative forms il quale, la quale, i quali, and le quali. They are more common in formal writing, can make a reference clearer, and are especially useful after prepositions. Unlike che, they agree with the antecedent:

• la collega con la quale lavoro — the colleague with whom I work
• i motivi per i quali sono qui — the reasons why I am here

For ordinary subject and direct-object relatives, che is normally the simpler and more natural choice.

Quello che and ciò che: “what” or “the thing that”

Sometimes there is no stated noun before the relative clause. Italian then often uses quello che or the more formal ciò che:

• Non capisco quello che dici. — I don’t understand what you are saying.
• Ciò che conta è il risultato. — What matters is the result.

Here English what already means “the thing that.” Plain che cannot normally carry that whole meaning by itself: not Non capisco che dici for the neutral relative construction.

Time expressions

You may encounter che after a time noun, especially in everyday phrases:

• il giorno che ci siamo conosciuti — the day we met
• l’ultima volta che l’ho visto — the last time I saw him

Forms with in cui are also possible, especially where the sense “in/on which” is explicit: il giorno in cui siamo partiti. These time uses do not change the beginner rule that prepositions required by an ordinary verb or expression call for cui.

Cleft sentences

Italian can highlight one element with è ... che, a structure called a cleft sentence (a sentence split to put one part in focus):

• È Giulia che ha chiamato. — It was Giulia who called.
• È questo che voglio. — This is what I want.

The second example is naturally translated with English “what,” but Italian che still refers back to the highlighted questo.

Practice Tips

1. Combine pairs of sentences. Start with Ho comprato un libro. Il libro parla di Roma. Then remove the repeated noun: Ho comprato un libro che parla di Roma. Repeat with cases where the shared noun is the object.
2. Label subject or object. For every relative clause you meet, ask: “Who performs this clause’s action?” In la donna che canta, che is the subject; in la canzone che la donna canta, la donna is the subject and che is the object.
3. Check for hidden prepositions. Learn verbs together with their prepositions—parlare di, scrivere a, lavorare con. This helps you notice when you need di cui, a cui, or con cui instead of che.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subject Pronouns — helps you identify stated and unstated subjects inside a relative clause.
• Next step: prepositional relative pronouns with cui — learn how Italian connects clauses when the missing element requires a, di, con, in, or another preposition.