Der unterschied zwischen iniziare und cominciare

Often times I use "cominciare" when I am talking about anything "starting" or "beginning", but over half the times my Italian friend (native of Venezia) corrects me and says to use "initiziare". Since she doesn't speak english, her explanations to me sometimes are difficult to follow. I would like to know if there is some distinction where I can know when to use Cominiciare or Iniziare. Grazie in anticipo.

Examples. We are beginning our ride at my house,

Often times I use "cominciare" when I am talking about anything "starting" or "beginning", but over half the times my Italian friend (native of Venezia) corrects me and says to use "initiziare". Since she doesn't speak english, her explanations to me sometimes are difficult to follow. I would like to know if there is some distinction where I can know when to use Cominiciare or Iniziare. Grazie in anticipo.

Examples. We are beginning our ride at my house,

Actually I would say that they mean exactly the same!!

If you emphasize where the ride initiates you can use iniziare. The distinction in English between begin or start and initiate should serve your needs in Italian. And, as in English, it's often a matter of personal choice or emphasis.

The answer given by ISP is clear, but I'm still a bit confused. I view the distinction in English as follows: I think of initiate as formal and not much used in daily conversation, and therefore not interchangeable with start or begin,which strike me as informal and conversational. Would the same hold true in Italian? Gabrigabri's response suggest that these synonyms are interchangeable in Italian.

Yes, cominciare and iniziare have exactly the same meaning, and as noted by others, their use depends on personal preferences (and sometimes regional background, too). I have noticed that in Tuscany people of older generations prefer cominciare (my grandparents would actually use "principiare" most of the times), whereas younger people give a slight preference to iniziare. I don't know if it is just my impression. Probably your Venetian friend has a strong preference for iniziare: that's the only reason I can think of for her correcting you.

Grazie - Ora e' molto chiaro.

Hi, come si traduce : "Sta per iniziare (titolo film) su satellite" non penso si usi proceed to, forse get started? 'on sat' va bene?

Thanks in advance

My personal opinion is that they are both interchangeable but "iniziare" is more elegant. Bye!

D'accordo.." che inizino le danze".." che la seduta abbia inizio".

To be clear: in English "to begin" and "to initiate" are not as interchangeable as "cominciare" and "iniziare." You could absolutely never say, "I initiated the book." And you really can't say, "I began the breakup."

Yes, cominciare and iniziare have exactly the same meaning, and as noted by others, their use depends on personal preferences (and sometimes regional background, too). I have noticed that in Tuscany people of older generations prefer cominciare (my grandparents would actually use "principiare" most of the times), whereas younger people give a slight preference to iniziare. I don't know if it is just my impression. Probably your Venetian friend has a strong preference for iniziare: that's the only reason I can think of for her correcting you.

S.V