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'Twice a day', 'two euros a kilo': saying 'per' in Italian

In English you say twice a day, ten euros a kilo or a hundred kilometres an hour. Italian expresses these rates with the preposition a joined to the definite article: due volte al giorno, dieci euro al chilo, cento chilometri all'ora. It works the same way for time words such as giorno, settimana, mese and anno, and for units of measurement such as chilo, litro and metro.

English speakers tend to make one of two mistakes. They translate the English article literally, which gives due volte un giorno, or they reach for per, which gives due volte per giorno. Neither sounds natural. Italians say al giorno.

Word list
annomA1 year una volta all'anno = once a year chilomA1 kilogram due euro al chilo = two euros a kilo chilogrammomA1 kilogram cinque euro al chilogrammo = five euros a kilogram giornomA1 day due volte al giorno = twice a day mesemA1 month mille euro al mese = a thousand euros a month minutomA1 minute settanta battiti al minuto = seventy beats a minute orafA1 hour cento km all'ora = a hundred km an hour secondomA1 second dieci metri al secondo = ten metres a second settimanafA1 week una volta alla settimana = once a week centimetromA2 centimeter un euro al centimetro = one euro a centimetre chilometromA2 kilometer un euro al chilometro = one euro a kilometre grammomA2 gram dieci euro al grammo = ten euros a gram litromA2 litre due euro al litro = two euros a litre metromA2 meter quindici euro al metro = fifteen euros a metre migliomA2 mile un dollaro al miglio = a dollar a mile secolomA2 century una volta al secolo = once a century metro quadratomB1 square metre tremila euro al metro quadrato = three thousand euros per square metre metro quadromB1 square metre tremila euro al metro quadro = three thousand euros per square metre millenniomB1 millennium una volta al millennio = once a millennium tonnellatafB1 tonne cento euro alla tonnellata = a hundred euros a tonne gallonemB2 gallon tre dollari al gallone = three dollars a gallon metro cubicomB2 cubic metre due euro al metro cubico = two euros a cubic metre metro cubomB2 cubic metre due euro al metro cubo = two euros a cubic metre semestremB2 semester due esami al semestre = two exams a semester tonnellata metricafB2 tonne cento euro alla tonnellata metrica = a hundred euros a metric ton trimestremB2 quarter una volta al trimestre = once a quarter barilemC1 barrel cento dollari al barile = a hundred dollars a barrel
How it works

The pattern is always the same: amount or frequency + a + definite article + unit. Because a merges with the article, you will mostly see the contracted forms:

  • al before most masculine nouns: al giorno, al mese, al chilo
  • alla before feminine nouns: alla settimana, alla tonnellata
  • all' before a vowel: all'anno, all'ora

A good rule of thumb: whenever English uses a, an or per in front of a unit of time or measurement to express a rate, Italian uses al, alla or all'.

Prendo questa medicina tre volte al giorno.
(I take this medicine three times a day.)
The words
Frequency and income

The calendar words giorno, settimana, mese and anno tell you how often something happens or how much someone earns or pays in a given period.

Vado in palestra due volte alla settimana.
(I go to the gym twice a week.)
Mio fratello guadagna duemila euro al mese.
(My brother earns two thousand euros a month.)
Andiamo al mare una volta all'anno.
(We go to the seaside once a year.)
Speed and rhythm

With ora, minuto and secondo you talk about speed or how often something repeats. Distances usually come in chilometri, so chilometro is part of this group too.

In autostrada si va a 130 chilometri all'ora.
(On the motorway you drive at 130 kilometres an hour.)
Il cuore batte circa settanta volte al minuto.
(The heart beats about seventy times a minute.)
La luce viaggia a trecentomila chilometri al secondo.
(Light travels at three hundred thousand kilometres a second.)
Prices by weight

At the market you will constantly hear al chilo. The full word chilogrammo is rarely used in speech. Expensive goods are priced al grammo, and heavy materials such as sand or iron are sold alla tonnellata.

Le mele costano due euro al chilo.
(Apples cost two euros a kilo.)
Lo zafferano costa più di dieci euro al grammo.
(Saffron costs more than ten euros a gram.)
Prices by volume and length

Fuel is priced al litro, fabric al metro, flats al metro quadro and water or gas al metro cubo.

La benzina costa quasi due euro al litro.
(Petrol costs almost two euros a litre.)
Questa stoffa costa quindici euro al metro.
(This fabric costs fifteen euros a metre.)
In centro le case costano cinquemila euro al metro quadro.
(In the city centre, homes cost five thousand euros a square metre.)
L'acqua costa circa due euro al metro cubo.
(Water costs about two euros a cubic metre.)
Watch out
People work differently

When the rate is per person, Italian drops the article. You can say a persona, per persona or, very colloquially, a testa. Never say alla persona.

Il biglietto costa dieci euro a persona.
(The ticket costs ten euros per person.)
A settimana is also common

In everyday speech many Italians say una volta a settimana without the article. Both forms are correct, but alla settimana is the safer choice. The other time words keep the article: al giorno, al mese, all'anno.

What about per?

In technical or written contexts you may see per, as in chilometri per ora, or a fixed adjective, as in chilometri orari. In everyday speech, though, al, alla and all' are what people actually say.

Rate or habit?

Al giorno answers the question how many times in each day? If you simply mean every day, use ogni giorno or tutti i giorni.

Summary

To express a rate with a unit of time or measurement, use a + definite article: due volte al giorno, una volta alla settimana, cento chilometri all'ora, due euro al chilo. Avoid un giorno and, in everyday speech, per giorno. The one big exception is people, where you say a persona, per persona or a testa without the article.