Sono di vs. Vengo da: Mastering Italian Prepositions
Di and da are two Italian prepositions that mean “of" and “from," respectively. They may seem straightforward, but they often trip up Italian learners. In this post, I'll clarify their usage so that you'll never mix them up again.
Di dove sei?
A common question you might hear is “Di dove sei?,” which, translated literally, means “Of where are you?,” and it means “Where are you from?”1
You can answer this question in one of two ways:
Sono di [specific city]
Sono [citizenship or identity of a city, region, or country]
(There are some exceptions to everything I discuss in this and the next section, but I cover them at the end.)
Sono di [city] literally translates to “I'm of [city],” but it means “I'm from [city].” This makes sense when you look at the literal translation of the question: “Of where are you?” “I'm of [city].”
For example, these are all valid answers:
✅ Sono di Torino (I'm from Turin)
✅ Sono torinese (I'm Turinese)
✅ Sono piemontese (I'm Piedmontese)
✅ Sono italiano (I'm Italian)
Notice that when referring to a specific city, we use sono di. However, in all other cases, we do not.
Incorrect Answers and Why They Are Wrong:
❌ Sono Torino (This literally means “I am Turin.” Since it refers to a specific city, di is required.)
❌ Sono di Piemonte (We don't use sono di with regions.)
❌ Sono di Italia (We don't use sono di with most countries.)
❌ Sono di piemontese (No di is used to specify “citizenship.”)
❌ Sono di italiano (No di is used to specify nationality.)
The rule is straightforward: use sono di only for specific locations like towns or cities. For regions, countries, or identities, drop di and use the appropriate term for people from that area.
Da dove vieni?
The situation is quite different when answering a similar question, “Da dove vieni?”2 This literally translates to “From where are you coming?” or more naturally, “Where are you coming from?”
You can answer this question in one of two ways:
Vengo da [specific city]
Vengo [contraction of da + definite article] [region or country]
For example, these are all valid answers:
✅ Vengo da Vancouver (I'm from Vancouver or I'm coming back from it)
✅ Vengo dalla Columbia Britannica (I'm from British Columbia or I'm coming back from it)
✅ Vengo dal Canada (I'm from Canada or I'm coming back from it)
Notice how, for regions and countries, we generally use the composite form of da with the definite article. Dalla is da + la since Columbia Britannica is feminine and takes the la article. So this is like saying “I'm from the British Columbia,” rather than “I'm from British Columbia” as we would in English.
Dal is da + il, since Canada is masculine in Italian, despite ending with the letter “a”, we say “vengo dal Canada.” This is like saying “I'm from the Canada,” which, admittedly, also sounds odd in English.
By the way, this is why exposure to the language is so important. Over time, incorrect phrases will begin to sound odd in Italian too. We often “feel” that a sentence is wrong much faster than we can articulate the grammatical reason behind it.
Common Errors:
❌ Vengo di Vancouver (We never say vengo di to mean “from.”)
❌ Vengo di Canada (We never say vengo di to mean “from.”)
❌ Vengo da Canada (Generally, regions and countries need the composite form of da + article.)
Since vengo da with regions and countries generally takes the composite form of da with the definite article, let’s quickly review the possible forms:
dal: da + il (e.g., vengo dal Canada)
dallo: da + lo (e.g., vengo dallo Stato Vaticano, though this is rarely used for geographic places)
dalla: da + la (e.g., vengo dalla Spagna)
dall': da + la when the following word starts with a vowel (e.g., vengo dall’Italia)
dall': da + lo when the following word starts with a vowel (e.g., vengo dall’Ontario)
dagli: da + gli (e.g., vengo dagli Stati Uniti)
Notable Exceptions
The difference in treatment between cities and regions/countries comes from the fact that regions and countries generally take an article, while cities do not.
We don’t say “il Torino” (unless referring to a sports team, typically the soccer club). We just say “Torino.” Conversely, we say “La Cina è una grande potenza” (China is a powerful nation); we don’t say “Cina è una grande potenza.”
However, some countries do not take an article, so they act more like cities linguistically. These include Cuba, Malta, Cipro, Israele, Monaco, San Marino, and Singapore.
So, everything we said about cities applies to these countries.
Here are a few examples of such exceptions:
✅ Vengo da Cuba (not dal Cuba)
✅ Vengo da Malta (not dalla Malta)
✅ Sono di Cipro (not del Cipro)
✅ Sono di San Marino (not del San Marino)
Summary
Putting it all together, we have:
For cities:
Sono di [city]
Vengo da [city]
For regions/countries:
Sono [name of people from that place]
Sono di [exception country]
Vengo da + article [region/country] (excluding exception countries)
Vengo da [exception country]
Exercises
Fill in the blanks:
________ francese. (I'm French.)
________ di Roma. (I'm from Rome.)
________ da Roma. (I'm from Rome.)
Vivo in Canada da 18 anni ma _________ Italia. (I've been living in Canada for 18 years but I'm from Italy.)
Vivo in Italia da 5 anni ma _________ inglese. (I've been living in Italy for 5 years but I'm English.)
John viene _________ Stati Uniti. (John comes from the United States.)
Sono appena tornato _________ Singapore. (I’m just back from Singapore.)
The question “Di dove sei?” is more common in Italy than “Che lavoro fai?” (“What’s your job?”) or “Di cosa ti occupi?” (literally, “What do you occupy yourself with?”), which are inquiries about what you do for a living. This difference highlights a key cultural distinction between Italy and, for example, North America. In Italy, where you are from and your cultural background often can define you more than your job.
It’s worth noting that “Da dove vieni?” can be used both to ask “Where are you from?” and to ask where someone is coming from at that moment. The context will make it clear whether the person is asking about your origins or where you've been recently. It’s also worth pointing out that “Di dove sei?” is more polite than “Da dove vieni?” It’s a subtle distinction, but an Italian would be less likely to ask another Italian “Da dove vieni?” to inquire about their city or region, whereas they might use it with someone who is clearly a foreigner.