What's the difference between "cominciare" and "iniziare"?

Question

Recently, an Italian friend of mine corrected my sentence, "Sono a dieta, **l'ho cominciata** tre giorni fa", like this: "Sono a dieta, **ho iniziato la dieta** tre giorni fa." Is there any difference between the two verbs in meaning or usage? Just for the record, my friend is from Mantova, if this is something regional.

Answer 1

Hello!

The meaning is the same but there is a slight difference in the tone. Iniziare is more formal while cominciare is used informally. In the south of Italy, cominciare is used more frequently than iniziare.

Also, there is another verb incominciare which has the main meaning. It is used in more informal contexts and predominantly in the south of Italy.

I hope it helps.

Fabio

Answer 2

same difference as TO START and TO BEGIN. Almost none.