CI and NE are two tiny Italian words that can replace almost anything you say. They’re so versatile that Italians use them all the time. But textbooks often overcomplicate them, leaving you more confused than before.So, in this guide, I’ll show you six cheat codes that reveal exactly when to use each one, plus the ONE place you should never put them and what to do instead.

Pronti? Iniziamo!

CI and NE are tiny Italian words that replace information you’ve already mentioned, so you don’t have to repeat yourself. The key is not to ask “What do they mean?” but “What are they replacing?”

• CI replaces a place introduced by a, in, su or da: Vai spesso in quel bar? Sì, ci vado. — Do you often go to that bar? Yes, I go there.
• CI replaces an idea, plan or situation introduced by a, in or su: Pensi al futuro? Sì, ci penso. — Do you think about the future? Yes, I think about it.
• CI can mean “us” as a direct object, indirect object or reflexive pronoun: Angela ci adora. — Angela adores us.
• NE replaces di + something: Hai bisogno di aiuto? Sì, ne ho bisogno. — Do you need help? Yes, I need it.
• NE is used with quantities: Quanti cornetti vuoi? Ne voglio uno. — How many croissants do you want? I want one.
• Some verbs include CI or NE as part of the verb, such as volerci, metterci, tenerci, andarsene and valerne la pena. Learn these as complete expressions.

Word order: With a normal conjugated verb, CI and NE usually go before the verb: Ci penso, Ne parlo. With an infinitive, they can either go before the conjugated verb or attach to the infinitive: Ne voglio parlare or Voglio parlarne.

The biggest shortcut: Use CI when you are replacing a place, idea, situation or “us”. Use NE when you are replacing di + something or talking about a quantity of something already mentioned.

First, there’s one thing you need to know about CI and NE, because if you don’t understand this, none of these cheat codes will help you speak more confidently without second-guessing yourself.

Most learners ask: “What does CI mean? What does NE mean?” But they don’t have just ONE meaning in English. And that’s exactly what makes them so incredibly versatile and why Italians use them so often.

Think of them as handy linguistic shortcuts. Instead of repeating a whole phrase or object you already mentioned, you use CI and NE to replace entire parts of a sentence and avoid needless repetition.

We do this in English too with words like “it”, “there” and “some”.

For example:

Are you going to Marco’s place tonight? Yes, I’m going there.

You don’t have to say, “Yes, I’m going to Marco’s place tonight.” “There” does all the work for us.

CI and NE are called pronominal particles, and this is exactly what they do. They stand in for something already mentioned.

On their own, they don’t have one fixed meaning. It’s the context around them that gives them meaning.

So, instead of asking, “What do they mean?” ask:

“What are they REPLACING?”

Once you know what they’re replacing, choosing between them becomes much easier.

Attenzione! NE without an accent is the pronominal particle we’re learning in this lesson. But NÉ with an accent is a completely different word and means “neither” or “nor”.

For example:

Non mangio né carne né pesce. — I eat neither meat nor fish.

Now let me show you the six cheat codes to master CI and NE.

The first cheat code will help you sound more natural and less like a robot repeating the same words.

Imagine asking a friend:

Sei mai stata a Firenze? — Have you ever been to Florence?

Instead of her saying:

Sì, sono stata a Firenze tre volte. — Yes, I have been to Florence three times.

She answers:

Sì, ci sono stata tre volte. — Yes, I’ve been there three times.

A Firenze has been replaced with CI.

So, cheat code number one is: CI replaces a place that’s already been mentioned.

Here’s how to remember it: the C in CI reminds you of City, and a city is a PLACE.

That place is usually introduced by the prepositions a, in, su or da.

• Vai spesso in quel bar? Sì, ci vado ogni mattina. — Do you often go to that bar? Yes, I go there every morning. (CI replaces in quel bar)
• Sei salito sul tetto? Sì, ci sono salito. — Did you go up onto the roof? Yes, I went up there. (CI replaces sul tetto)
• Vai dal dentista domani? Sì, ci vado alle tre. — Are you going to the dentist tomorrow? Yes, I’m going there at three. (CI replaces dal dentista)

So the rule isn’t “CI means there”. It’s that CI can replace a place already introduced by prepositions such as a, in, su or da.

CI → City → a place.

Are you enjoying this lesson? Don’t let the learning stop here. Make sure you download your free PDF cheat-sheet for this lesson, which includes 6 BONUS tips to master CI and NE, plus a quiz to practise what you’ve learned. To get your copy, enter your email below.

Next, I’ll share the cheat code that helps when you go blank mid-sentence because you don’t know how to say “it” without repeating yourself.

Imagine your friend tells you her plan to quit her job and move to Italy. Later, she asks:

Hai pensato al mio piano? — Have you thought about my plan?

You could answer:

Sì, ho pensato al tuo piano. — Yes, I’ve thought about your plan.

But you’re repeating information you both already know. Instead, you can say:

Sì, ci ho pensato. — Yes, I’ve thought about it.

Al tuo piano has disappeared. CI has taken its place again, but this time it’s not a physical place.

So, cheat code number two is: CI can also replace an idea, plan or situation that’s already been mentioned.

Here’s how to remember it: the first two letters of CIrcumstance are CI. CI = CIrcumstance.

You’ll see this with verbs followed by prepositions such as prepositions a, in or su.

• Pensi spesso al futuro? Sì, ci penso spesso. — Do you often think about the future? Yes, I think about it often. (CI replaces al futuro)
• Credi in questa idea? Sì, ci credo. — Do you believe in this idea? Yes, I believe in it. (CI replaces in questa idea)
• Posso contare sul tuo aiuto? Certo, ci puoi contare. — Can I count on your help? Of course, you can count on it. (CI replaces sul tuo aiuto)

This next cheat code fixes one of the most common mistakes, because getting it wrong changes who you’re talking about.

Imagine you want to say, “My parents are visiting us this weekend.”

You might translate it word for word:

I miei genitori visitano noi questo weekend.

While this is possible for emphasis, it sounds unnatural as the neutral way to say the sentence. Instead, Italians would normally say:

I miei genitori ci visitano questo weekend. — My parents are visiting us this weekend.

Noi has disappeared. CI has taken its place again, but this time it’s not a place or an idea.

So, cheat code number three is: CI can also mean us.

Here’s how to remember it: think of CI here as CIrcling back to us. CI = Us.

CI can cover three different jobs here: a direct object, where the action happens to us; an indirect object, where something is done to or for us; and a reflexive pronoun, where we do something to ourselves.

• Angela adora noi. → Angela ci adora. — Angela adores us. (direct object: CI replaces noi)
• Roberto ha regalato due biglietti a noi. → Roberto ci ha regalato due biglietti. — Roberto gave us two tickets. (indirect object: CI replaces a noi)
• Ci siamo addormentati sul divano. — We fell asleep on the sofa. (reflexive: CI refers back to ourselves)

So, if CI is standing in for us in any of these three ways, remember: CI = Us.

This next cheat code solves one of the most common mistakes learners make, and there’s a simple clue hidden in plain sight that reveals exactly which of these two words you should use.

Imagine someone asks:

Hai bisogno di aiuto? — Do you need help?

You could repeat the whole thing:

Sì, ho bisogno di aiuto. — Yes, I need help.

Instead, Italians can say:

Sì, ne ho bisogno. — Yes, I need it.

Di aiuto has disappeared. NE has taken its place.

So, cheat code number four is: NE replaces something introduced by di that’s already been mentioned.

Here’s how to remember it: the first two letters of NEver are NE.

NE = NEver repeat DI.

• Prova questo vino nuovo. Che ne pensi? — Try this new wine. What do you think of it? (NE replaces di questo vino)
• Antonio parla sempre di Maria. Antonio ne parla sempre. — Antonio always talks about Maria. Antonio always talks about her. (NE replaces di Maria)
• Hai voglia di un gelato? Sì, ne ho voglia. — Do you feel like an ice cream? Yes, I feel like one. (NE replaces di un gelato)

So whenever you hear a verb or expression followed by di, ask yourself: has that di + something already been mentioned? If yes, NE can often replace it.

This next cheat code is especially useful when ordering, shopping or talking about amounts. It’ll help you sound much more natural because, without NE, some answers can sound incomplete to Italian ears.

Imagine someone asks:

Quanti cornetti vuole? — How many croissants would you like?

You want one of them. You could repeat the whole thing:

Voglio un cornetto. — I want one croissant.

Instead, Italians can say:

Ne voglio uno. — I want one of them.

Cornetto has disappeared. NE has taken its place.

So, cheat code number five is: NE can stand in for a quantity of something already mentioned.

Here’s how to remember it: NE is hiding inside the English word oNE.

oNE → NE → quantity.

You can use it with an exact number, an amount, or no stated quantity at all.

• Quanto latte hai usato? Ne ho usato mezzo litro. — How much milk did you use? I used half a litre. (NE replaces latte)
• Vuoi dell’insalata? Sì, ne prendo un po’. — Would you like some salad? Yes, I’ll have some. (NE replaces insalata)
• Hai dei panini? No, non ne ho. — Do you have any sandwiches? No, I don’t have any. (NE replaces panini)

So whenever you’re talking about how many or how much of something already mentioned, remember: oNE → NE → quantity.

Are you enjoying this lesson? Don’t let the learning stop here. Make sure you download your free PDF cheat-sheet for this lesson, which includes 6 BONUS tips to master CI and NE, plus a quiz to practise what you’ve learned. To get your copy, enter your email below.

This next cheat code will save you from trying to translate Italian word for word and ending up even more confused. Once you understand this, you’ll start recognising some of the most useful everyday Italian expressions.

Take this sentence:

Quanto tempo ci vuole? — How long does it take?

The verb looks like volere, which means “to want”. But the expression used here is actually volerci, which means “to take” or “to be needed”.

If you try to translate it piece by piece, the sentence doesn’t make much sense.

So, cheat code number six is: some verbs have CI or NE built into them, and the meaning can change significantly from the original verb.

These are called pronominal verbs. The best strategy is to learn them as complete expressions rather than trying to translate each individual piece.

There are lots of common pronominal verbs with CI and NE. Here are some you’ll hear frequently:

The important thing is to treat these verbs as idiomatic expressions and learn each one as a fixed phrase.

Now I’ll show you where CI and NE go in a sentence and the one position you should avoid.

You now know six cheat codes for CI and NE. But knowing which word to use is only half the job. You also need to know where it goes.

Before the verb? After the verb? Attached to it?

With a normal conjugated verb, CI and NE normally go BEFORE the verb.

• Ci penso. — I’ll think about it.
• Ci vado. — I’ll go there.
• Ne parlo. — I’ll talk about it.
• Ne voglio due. — I want two of them.

But with an infinitive, such as after volere, potere or dovere, you have two choices.

1. You can put CI or NE before the conjugated verb:

• Ci voglio andare. — I want to go there.
• Ne voglio parlare. — I want to talk about it.

2. Or you can attach it to the end of the infinitive. When you do this, the final -e of the infinitive disappears:

• Voglio andarci. — I want to go there.
• Voglio parlarne. — I want to talk about it.

Both are correct.

CI and NE can also attach to affirmative commands and gerunds:

• Pensaci! — Think about it!
• Parliamone! — Let’s talk about it!
• Parlandone… — Talking about it…

And here’s the one place they can NEVER go: separately after the verb with nothing attached.

Even though you now know these cheat codes for CI and NE, none of it matters if you can’t put together the sentences you’re using them in. So read this guide next, where I’ll show you the ONLY 3 Italian tenses you need to speak Italian.

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