How to use ‘mi piace’ and similar expressions in Italian?

In Italian, we use the expression mi piace to say “I like,” but the expression literally means “(something) is pleasing to me!” The verb piacere is very common in Italian and is part of the best conversation starter on earth: Cosa ti piace fare nel tempo libero? (meaning What do you like to do in your free time?), but it can be a little bit tricky for language learners to use.

In this post, we’ll go over everything you need to know about using piacere (meaning to be pleasing to) and its “sister” verbs such as bastare/mi basta (meaning It is enough (for me)), and servire/mi serve (meaning I need). I like to think of these as “dancing” verbs, because the subjects and objects “dance” around the verb to create a different word order from English. Intrigued? Let’s go and take a look!

Though piacere is usually translated into English as “to like,” you may notice that it is grammatically different. This is because the closest literal translation for piacere is actually “to be pleasing.” What does this mean?

In English, the basic order of the words in a sentence with the verb “to like” is:

But if we use the expression “to be pleasing” instead of “to like,” we need to use a different grammatical structure. Rephrase your sentence and you will end up with:

Notice that, in the second sentence, even though “I” am the one doing the liking, I’m not the subject of the sentence! Instead the thing that I like is the subject.

This second sentence structure, with “to be pleasing” is more like the grammar you’re using when you use piacere in Italian!

But even though the grammar of piacere matches “to be pleasing,” the word order in Italian Is a little different! In Italian, an indirect object will always come before the verb, and the subject will follow!

That’s why I call these “dancing” verbs! Because the indirect object and the subject “dance” around to the opposite sides of the verb!

Whenever you use the verb piacere in Italian, you’ll need to mention two things: an indirect object, which is the person who does the liking (or the person who is pleased) and the subject, which is whatever that person likes (or the thing that pleases them). Here’s how to use and position these in a sentence:

1. The subject of piacere is the thing that you like. Remember, that the subject comes after piacere, not before!

   Because the subject is something that someone likes, the subject will almost always use piacere in its third-person (lui/lei/loro) forms. Here are the rules to follow:

   • Use piace to like a singular noun or an action:

     • singular noun

       Mi piace il gelato.

       Translation: I like ice cream.
     • infinitive verb

       Ti piace leggere.

       Translation: You like to read.

   • Use piacciono to like a plural noun or a list of things:

     • plural noun

       Ci piacciono le tagliatelle.

       Translation: I like tagliatelle.

       Tagliatelle are long, flat, egg noodles.
     • list

       Ci piacciono il caffè e il gelato.

       Translation: We like coffee and ice cream.

2. Piacere always has an indirect object, which is the person who is pleased or the person who does the liking. With piacere the indirect object usually comes before the verb.

   There are two ways to give an indirect object in Italian: with an (unstressed) indirect object pronoun, or with a (meaning to) + a stressed pronoun / noun:

   Indirect object pronoun	a + stressed pronoun a + noun	Translation
   mi	a me	to/for me
   ti	a te	to/for you
   gli	a lui	to/for him
   le	a lei	to/for her
   ci	a noi	to/for us
   vi	a voi	to/for you all
   gli / loro	a loro	to/for them
   –	a Gianni	to/for Gianni
   –	ai bambini	to/for the children

Below, you can find a list of the most common verbs that work exactly like piacere. Notice that in each case, an indirect object comes before the verb, and the subject comes after the verb!

• bastare

  Translation: to be enough
  • Mi basta un uovo.

    Translation: For me, one egg is enough.
  • Mi bastano dieci minuti per finire.

    Translation: Ten minutes are enough for me to be finished.
• servire

  Translation: to be necessary; to need
  • Mi serve il vostro aiuto.

    Translation: I need your help.

    Literally: lit. Your help is necessary to me.
  • A Lia servono dei soldi.

    Translation: Lia needs money.

    Literally: lit. Some money is necessary for Lia.
• mancare

  Translation: to be lacking; to not have
  • Mi manca il fiato.

    Translation: I am short of breath.

    Literally: lit. Breath is lacking for me.
  • Ci monaco le parole.

    Translation: We lack words.

    Literally: lit. Words are lacking to us.

  Mancare can also mean to “miss something/someone” as in:

  Mi manchi.

  Translation: I miss you.

  Literally: lit. You’re lacking to me.

If you love to speak with your Italian friends about what you like or do NOT like, just put on your “dancing” shoes and “spin” the subject/object of the phrase and if you say...

Ti piace il tiramisù, think about it as, “The tiramisu is pleasing to you,” or if you think that Vi basta un caffè, spin it into, “For you a coffee is enough!”

Let’s summarize our “dancing” verbs:

• indirect object

  

  piace / serve / basta / manca

  (singular verb)

  

  singular noun / infinitive

  Ci piace l’Italia.

  Translation: We like Italy.

  Vi piace leggere.

  Translation: You like reading.

• indirect object

  

  piacciono / servono / bastano / mancano

  (plural verb)

  

  plural noun / list

  Mi piacciono gli italiani.

  Translation: I like Italians.

And now… ci serve un po’ di pratica (meaning we need some practice)! Click the link to access our activities on mi piace and similar expressions!