“Da Grande” — When I Grow Up Song in Italian for Kids
In “Da Grande” (When I Grow Up), kids sing key Italian words like dottore, maestro, cuoco and pompiere, going back and forth between English and Italian, so the meaning is never a mystery. It's a next-step (A2) song from Unit 18: Jobs, 1:59 long, made for ages 2–8.
- 🇮🇹 Italian
- Level: A2
- Unit 18 · I Mestieri
- ⏱ 1:59
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“Da Grande” lyrics with English translation
Every line as it's sung, with its meaning beside it. Italian is shown in teal.
| Sung | Meaning |
|---|---|
| When I grow up, what can I be? | Da grande, cosa posso fare? |
| Voglio fare—come and see! | |
| A doctor helps you feel okay. | Il dottore ti aiuta a stare bene. |
| Dottore! Dottore!—say it today! | |
| A teacher helps us learn and grow. | Il maestro ci aiuta a imparare e a crescere. |
| Maestro! Maestro!—now you know! | |
| I want to be a dottore, | |
| I want to help you more and more! | Voglio aiutarti sempre di più! |
| Doctor! — Dottore! | |
| Teacher! — Maestro! | |
| Who will I be? — Who will you be? | Chi sarò? — Chi sarai? |
| Voglio fare! Say it with me! | |
| I want to be, voglio fare, | |
| Big kind dreams we all can share! | Grandi sogni gentili da condividere! |
| Doctor! — Dottore! | |
| Teacher! — Maestro! | |
| A chef makes pasta, yum, yum, yum! | Il cuoco fa la pasta, gnam, gnam, gnam! |
| Cuoco! Cuoco! Here it comes! | |
| A firefighter helps when there’s a fire. | Il pompiere aiuta quando c’è un incendio. |
| Pompiere! Pompiere! Climbing higher! | |
| A farmer grows the food we eat. | Il contadino coltiva il cibo che mangiamo. |
| Contadino! Fields of wheat! | |
| Chef! — Cuoco! Say it again! | |
| Farmer! — Contadino! Tell a friend! | |
| Doctor! — Dottore! | |
| Teacher! — Maestro! | |
| Who will I be? — Who will you be? | Chi sarò? — Chi sarai? |
| Voglio fare! Say it with me! | |
| I want to be, voglio fare, | |
| Big kind dreams we all can share! | Grandi sogni gentili da condividere! |
| Doctor! — Dottore! | |
| Teacher! — Maestro! | |
| What do you want to do one day? | Cosa vuoi fare da grande? |
| Voglio fare! What do you say? | |
| Help and teach, cook and grow, | Aiutare e insegnare, cucinare e coltivare, |
| Every dream can start right now! | Ogni sogno può iniziare adesso! |
| Doctor! — Dottore! | |
| Teacher! — Maestro! | |
| Chef! — Cuoco! | |
| Firefighter! — Pompiere! | |
| Farmer! — Contadino! | |
| Who will I be? — Who will you be? | Chi sarò? — Chi sarai? |
| Voglio fare! Say it with me! | |
| I want to be, voglio fare, | |
| Big kind dreams we all can share! | Grandi sogni gentili da condividere! |
| Doctor! — Dottore! | |
| Teacher! — Maestro! | |
Key Italian words in this song
The 6 words and phrases this song is built around.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| dottore | doctor |
| maestro | teacher |
| cuoco | chef |
| pompiere | firefighter |
| contadino | farmer |
| voglio fare | I want to be |
How to use this song with your child
- 1
Listen for “dottore”
“dottore” (doctor) is sung on 6 lines of this song. Ask your child to clap or raise a hand every time they hear it; by the end they will be saying it with the song.
- 2
Split the parts
Once the song is familiar, you sing the English lines and your child sings the Italian ones, then swap. It turns listening into speaking.
- 3
Make it a routine
At 1:59, play it once a day at the same moment for a week. Play pretend: set up a little clinic, kitchen or fire station for toys.
“When I Grow Up” in other languages
The same song, written for each language we teach.
134 Italian songs, 32 topics, one joyful habit
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