Polite Address with Lei

In brief

Use Lei to address one person politely in Italian, regardless of their gender. It means formal ‘you’ and takes a third-person singular verb, even when you are speaking directly to someone.

Form

Lei + third-person singular verb: Lei è (you are), Lei ha (you have), Lei parla (you speak). The pronoun can be omitted when the context is clear.

Usage

• Use Lei with strangers, customers, or people you would address formally; use tu in familiar settings.
• In writing, capitalizing Lei can make the polite form clear, but lowercase lei is also possible.
• When the pronoun is omitted, the third-person singular verb still signals polite address in context.

Examples

• Buongiorno, Lei è la signora Rossi? — Good morning, are you Ms. Rossi?
• Lei ha un appuntamento? — Do you have an appointment?
• Scusi, parla inglese? — Excuse me, do you speak English?

Common mistake

❌ Lei hai un appuntamento?

✅ Lei ha un appuntamento?

Although Lei means ‘you’ here, it takes the third-person singular form ha, not the tu form hai.

Remember

Formal Lei refers to one person of any gender; match its verb to the third-person singular form.