Learn Italian demonstrative pronouns

In this video I would like to talk about the difference between the demonstrative pronoun "questo" and the demonstrative pronoun "ciò".

This video is for those amazing people who wish to learn Italian well. If you are one of them, and want to learn Italian well, you've come to the right place!

(Channel Intro)

Hi, everybody! I am Luca and in this video I wanted to talk about Italian demonstrative pronouns.

More specifically, I wanted to reply to a request I received some time ago from one of my subscribers.

This person essentially asked me to talk about the difference between the pronoun "questo" and the pronoun "ciò".

Alright! Let me say right away that - with respect to meaning - these 2 pronouns are equivalent.

There's a difference in style, though. In the sense that "ciò" is a more formal and old-fashioned word. By contrast, "questo" is a more informal and modern word, so to speak.

So, well, the meaning is the same. These words are used in the same way, it's just that "ciò" is more old-fashioned, whereas "questo" is contemporary Italian, standard Italian, spoken Italian.

It should also be said that "ciò" is slightly more formal. So in writing you might find it more frequently. By contrast, in spoken Italian you will usually find "questo".

Nowadays, almost everybody says "questo" and there are very few people who say "ciò". Or rather, there are some people who say "ciò" in certain cases, but, to be honest, the vast majority of people use, in the vast majority of cases, the pronoun "questo". So the standard form in today's spoken Italian is "questo".

So, for example, if we compare two sentences - "Ciò non mi piace" and "Questo non mi piace" - I for one find that the second sentence sounds way more natural. Namely, "Questo non mi piace". Especially if we talk about spoken Italian.

Or "Ciò va contro i miei principi" vs. "Questo va contro i miei principi". Honestly, also in this case the second sentence seems much more natural to me.

Another example could be: "Ciò è poco probabile" and "Questo è poco probabile". Again, I prefer the sentence with "questo".

Me personally, when I hear someone saying "ciò", I find it weird. Because "ciò" is one of those words that I perceive as words used two centuries ago, words from 18th century's Italian.

I don't know how to explain this. They sound old-fashioned to me. Meaning that, if I hear someone saying "Ciò non va bene", this makes me immediately think: How come this person is using such an old-fashioned word? Why didn't they just say: "Questo non va bene"?

Similarly, if someone says "Ciò potrebbe creare dei problemi", I think: Why is this person using the word "ciò" and not the word "questo"? Why didn't they say: "Questo potrebbe creare dei problemi"?

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I for one find that "questo" sounds way more natural. So, if the question was: When is it better to use "ciò" and when is it better to use "questo?", my answer would be: it's always better to use "questo". You should always say "questo", no matter what.

You may happen to hear people saying "ciò" in certain cases. There's nothing bad in saying "ciò". It's just that "ciò" is a more old-fashioned word. That is, it's not that if someone says "ciò", they are making a mistake.

It's just that I for one perceive this word as being a bit out of place. Like I said, this word takes me back to the 18th century, it makes me think of the 18th century.

That is, back in the day it was common, everybody said "ciò". Nowadays, in today's Italian, almost everybody says "questo". There are also people who say /quaesto/ - but that's another story.

It is clear that in phrases such as "nonostante ciò", "a dispetto di ciò" - these forms have been fixed like so, so they are not perceived as old-fashioned.

Well, that is it! I hope the difference between CIÒ e QUESTO is clear.

Some time ago I made a video about the difference between "poiché" and "perché", in which I made somewhat similar remarks. If you feel like it, take a look at that video too! I'll add a card to it in the top corner! Check it out!