# Essere VS stare: Two Verbs That Confuse a Lot of Learners

An episode of [Learn Italian with Joy of Languages](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1217040140), 27 Jan 2026, 16 min.

Audio: https://adbarker.com/stream/kZsruxNUus3B5CELdV5CwnkP/aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/615cd05e-2c3d-4505-941a-58adf362e42a/7f5551d3-d5be-4a36-bb16-86cfa8d9c537.mp3

In Italian, there are two verbs that mean “to be”: essere and stare. When should you use each one? Find out in this simple guide! Learn about our Online Italian School and get a free mini lesson every week: https://joyoflanguages.online/italian-school Subscribe to our new Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@joyoflanguages.italian?sub_confirmation=1 Get the bonus materials for this episode: https://italian.joyoflanguages.com/podcast/essere-vs-stare Today's Italian words: Sono felice = I'm happy Sono italiano = I'm Italian (m) Sono alto = I'm tall (m) Sono qui = I'm here Sto bene = I’m well Sto male = I’m not well, literally “I’m bad” Sto meglio = I’m better Stare con le persone = to spend time with people, literally “to stay with people” Stare con la famiglia = to spend time with the family, literally “to stay with the family” Stare zitto = to be quiet, to shut up Stare fermo = to stay still Stare attento = to pay attention, literally “to stay attentive” Stare calmo = to stay calm

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