Italian · Everyday Verbs

"to laugh" in Italian: ridere

ridere

Say it: REE-deh-rehverb/ˈri.de.re/

To laugh in Italian is ridere (REE-deh-reh). Io rido, tu ridi, lui/lei ride. Ho riso means I laughed. Do not use riso for rice here.

Funny video

Rido sempre con i suoi video.
I always laugh at his videos.
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How to pronounce ridere

Say it

REE-deh-reh

/ˈri.de.re/

Ridere stresses REE: REE-deh-reh. Rido is REE-doh. Ho riso is oh REE-zoh (verb).

"to laugh" in Italian: quick reference

ItalianEnglish
ridereto laugh

Default verb.

rido / ridi / rideI / you / he-she laugh(s)

Present singular.

ridiamowe laugh

Together.

ho risoI laughed

Past of ridere.

How to use ridere in real life

  1. 1Funny video

    Rido sempre con i suoi video.

    I always laugh at his videos.

    Rido conjugation.

  2. 2Dinner joke

    Abbiamo riso per tutta la cena.

    We laughed through the whole dinner.

    Riso as past of ridere.

  3. 3Cinema

    Il pubblico ride a ogni battuta.

    The audience laughs at every line.

    Ride conjugation.

Mistakes English speakers make with ridere

Incorrect: Io ridere tanto.

Correct: Rido tanto.

Conjugate: io rido.

Incorrect: Mangio il riso (for this verb)

Correct: Ho riso.

Riso here must mean laughed, not rice; ridicolo does not count.

Good to know

Italians pile on ridiamo together after a shared joke—laughter is social glue at the table. Ho riso is the past; keep rice as il riso only when food is clear from context, never as a cheat for this verb page.

Try it in a ChatPal conversation

Watching a comedy together

  1. ChatPal

    Ridi pure forte, non disturbiamo nessuno.

    Go ahead and laugh loudly, we won't bother anyone.

  2. You

    Non posso: rido troppo con questa scena.

    I can't help it: I laugh too much at this scene.

  3. ChatPal

    Anch'io ho riso fino alle lacrime ieri.

    I laughed until I cried yesterday too.

  4. You

    Rimettiamo la puntata da capo.

    Let's put the episode back to the start.

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"to laugh" in other languages

FAQ

Common questions about "to laugh" in Italian

How do I say I laugh?

Rido.

I laughed?

Ho riso.

We laugh?

Ridiamo.

Does ridicolo count?

No—use verb forms of ridere.

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  4. Step 4: Use it in real scenarios

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