Two concepts: here and there.
Four words: qui, qua, lì, la.
That equation seems a bit difficult to balance at first. What's the difference? Which do I use?
First, the reassuring simple answer: don't worry. They'll all be understood, and you'll be fine.
But the not-so-simple answer is a bit more nuanced (and as it turns out, the nuance is why I like these words so much). It basically breaks down to two main principals:
1) Locality: above all, the difference comes in the very very fine distinction as to exactly where it is. Qui and Lì are more general. Qua and La, however, imply a tiiiiny bit more specificity. To put it a different way, "Sono qui" means "I'm here", like "I'm here at the store". "Sono qua" can be a bit more specific, like I'm right here where I stand. Similar for lì and la, where lì is like "over there", and la is "that specific point".
2) Speech style: I've noticed that people from different areas will lean toward one or the other for certain situations. So, it basically becomes an issue of style, and you use whichever sounds better according to you.
The most concrete example of this that comes to mind is someone telling someone else to "come here". I've heard parents yell at their children using both "vieni qui", and others "vieni qua". It seems to be purely regional.
So there you go. It almost falls into the realm of useless trivia, but it's subtleties like this that will eventually make you sound more and more natural.
Ciao alla prossima!
(P.S. Bonus tip! To say "it's over there" you say "è di la". I learned this wandering haplessly through the streets of napoli with my friends one night)
