The Basics
When you visit Italy, locals will appreciate that you are trying to learn the language, even though you may get a puzzled face as they try to figure out what you are trying to say. Below you will find the most common words and phrases.
Note – If you are not talking with your hands, are you even speaking Italian at all?!
- Hi – Ciao (informal) – Ch-ow | Salve (formal) – Sol-veh
- Yes – Si – See
- No – No – Noh
- Please – Per favore – Pehr fah-voh-reh
- Thank you – Grazie – Grah-tsee-eh
- You’re welcome – Prego – Preh-goh
- Cheers! (To your health) – Salute! – Sah-loo-tay
- Excuse me (for attention) – Scusi – Skooh–zee
- Excuse me (to pass by) – Permesso – Pehr-mehs-soh
- Do you speak English? – Parla Inglese? – Parh-la een-glay-zeh
- I don’t understand – Non capisco – Non kah-pee-skoh
- I’m sorry – Mi dispiace – Mee dees-pyah-cheh
Related: 10 Tips for Surviving a Long Haul Flight
Common Greetings
A friendly “buon giorno!” with a smile will go a long way. So here are the most common greetings and their context so you get it right! Generally you use the formal with people you don’t know, especially older people. The informal is used between friends.
- Good morning (formal) – Buon giorno – Bwohn-johr-noh
- Good afternoon (formal) – Buona sera – Bwoh-nah-seh-rah
- Good night (formal) – Buona notte – Bwoh–nah–noh–teh
- Hi / Bye (informal) – Ciao! – Chow
- Good bye (formal) – Arrivederci – Ahr-ree-veh-dehr-chee
- My name is … – Mi chiamo – Mee kyah-moh
- What is your name? – Come si chiama? – Koh-meh see kyah-mah?
- Pleased to meet you – Piacere – Pyah-cheh-reh
- How are you? (formal) – Come sta? – Koh-meh stah?
- Good thank you – Bene grazie – Beh-neh grah-tsee-eh
Related: Everything you Need to Know About International Travel
Counting in Italian
While you don’t need to be able to count to 100, a good grasp of numbers up to 12 at least (for the hours of the day) will stand you in good stead. After all, you need numbers when you’re at a restaurant – una pizza per favore! (a pizza please!); at a museum –
- One – Uno – Oo-noh
- Two – Due – Doo-eh
- Three – Tre – Treh
- Four – Quattro – Kwah-troh
- Five – Cinque – Cheen-kweh (Cinque Terre – cheen-kweh teh-rreh)
- Six – Sei – Say
- Seven – Sette – Seht-tey
- Eight – Otto – Oh-toh
- Nine – Nove – Noh-veh
- Ten – Dieci – Dee-EH-chee
- Eleven – Undici – Oon–dee-chee
- Twelve – Dodici – Doh-dee-chee
Italian Days & Time
Italians use a 24 hour clock but also understand the 12 hour clock if you specify morning and afternoon.
Here are the basics of telling time in Italian plus days of the week and other useful sentences for making reservations and plans.
- In the morning – Di Mattina – Dee mah-teen-ah
- In the afternoon – Di pomeriggio – Dee poh-meh-reed-joh
- In the evening – Di Sera – Dee seh–rah
- Noon – Mezzogiorno – Mehd-dzoh-johr-noh
- At what time? – A che ora? – Ah kay oar-ah?
- Nine o’clock in the morning – Le nove – Le noh-vay
- Eight o’clock in the evening – Le otto di sera / – Le ot-to dee seh-rah
- Monday – Lunedì – Loo-neh-dee
- Tuesday – Martedì – Mahr-teh-dee
- Wednesday – Mercoledì – Mehr-koh-leh-dee
- Thursday – Giovedì – Joh-veh-dee
- Friday – Venerdì – Veh-nehr-dee
- Saturday – Sabato – Sah-bah-toh
- Sunday – Domenica – Doh-meh-nee-kah
- Today – Oggi – Ohd-jee
- Yesterday – Ieri – Yeh-ree
- Tomorrow – Domani – Doh-mah-nee
Useful Phrases at Restaurants
If you are not eating your way through Italy, you are doing it wrong!
Note- EAT ALL THE GELATO!
Let’s get you ready with these essential Italian phrases you need for ordering food or at restaurants.
- Can I see the menu please? – Il menu, per favore – Eel men-oo, pehr fah-voh-reh
- What do you recommend? – Che cosa ci consiglia? – Kay koh-za chee kon-seel-ya?
- I’m allergic to… – Sono allergica/o a... – Son-oh ah-ler-gee-koh / kah ah
- Gluten / Dairy / Fish – Glutine / Lattecini / Pesce – Gloo-teen-ay / Lah-tay-cheen-ee / Pesh-ay
- House wine – Vino della casa – Vee-noh del-lah car-sah
- Red / white wine – Vino rosso / bianco – Vee–noh ross-oh / bee-ahn-koh
- A glass / bottle – Una bicchiere / una bottiglia – OO-nah beek-kyeh-reh / boht-tee-lyah
- Appetizer – Antipasto – Ahn-tee-pah-stoh
- First course – Primo – Pree-moh
- Second course – Secondo – Sek-kon-doh
- Dessert – Dolci – Doll-chee
- Two flavors please – Due gusti, per favore – Doo-eh goo-stee, pehr fah-voh-reh
- Where’s the bathroom? – Dov’è il bagno? – Doh-veh eel bahn-yoh?
- The check (bill) please – Il conto, per favore – Eel kon-toh, pehr fah-voh-reh
- Can I pay by card? – Posso pagare con la carta? – Pohs-soh pah-gah-reh kon la cahr-tah?
Words to know Visiting Museums
Visiting museums and attractions is a big part of many Italian itineraries. In this section we’ve given you some useful phrases in Italian to help you buy tickets and ask common questions.
- When does it open / close? – Quando si apri / chiude? – Kwahn-doh see ah-pree / chee-oo-deh?
- Two adults / one child – Due adulti / un bambino – Doo-eh ah-dool-tee / oon bahm-bee-noh
- One / two ticket/s – Un / due biglietto/i – Oon beel-yet-toh / tee
- One senior – Un pensionato – Oon pen-seyoh-nah-toh
- One student – Uno studente – Ooh-noh stoo-den-teh
- Where is the bag store / cloak room? – Dov’è la guardaroba? – Doh-veh lah gard-ah-robe-ah?
Asking for Directions in Italian
If you get lost or need help with directions, these helpful words in Italian will come in handy.
- Where is… ? – Dov’è…? – Doh-veh … ?
- Entrance – Entrata – En-trah-tah
- Exit – Uscita – Ooh-shee-tah
- Left – Sinistra – See–nee-stra
- Right – Destra – Deh-stra
- Right – Uno studente – Ooh-noh stoo-den-teh
- Straight ahead – Dritto – Dree-toh
- Forward – Avanti – Ah-vahn-tee
- Back – Dietro – Dee-et-roh
Transportation and Getting Around
Most visitors to Italy will need to take a train or bus, or ride in a taxi. These phrases will be useful in these situations when it is likely you may need to ask for help to reach the right platform or bus stop.
- Where is the train station? – Dov’è la stazione? – Doh-veh lah stah-tzee-oh-neh?
- Where is the bus stop? – Dov’è la fermata – Doh-veh lah fur-mah-tah?
- One / two ticket/s – Un / due biglietto/i – Oon beel-yet-toh / tee
- One way – Andata – Ahn–dah-tah
- Return – Ritorno – Ree-torn-oh
- What platform for Rome? – Da quale binario per Roma? – Dah kwah-lay bin-ah-rio pehr Roh-mah?
- Newstand (for bus tickets) – Tabacchi – Tah-back-kee
Going Shopping
Time to go shopping! Make sure you’re ready with these key ph
- I would like… – Vorrei… – Vor-ray…
- How much is this? – Quanto costa questo? – Kwahn-toh kohs-tah kwehs-toh??
- OK I’ll take it – Va bene, lo prendo – Vah beh-neh, loh prehn-doh
- I don’t want it – Non lo voglio – Nohn loh voh-lyoh
- Can you ship to…? – Quanto costa questo? – Kwahn-toh kohs-tah kwehs-toh??
Calling For Help
We hope you never need to use these phrases but it’s a good idea to know them “just in case”.
- Help! – Aiuto! – Ay-oo-toh!
- I need a doctor – Ho bisogno di un dottore – Ho biz-ohn-nyo dee oon dot-tor-reh
- Call the police – Chiami la polizia – Kee-ya-mee la po-lee-zee-ah
- Look out! – Attento! – At–ten-toh
- Go away! – Vai via! – Vy vee-ah!
Italian Slang Words
- Dope! – Che figata! – keh fee-GAH-tah
- Of course! – Avoglia! – ove-ah-mentay
- A lot – Un sacco – un-sak-oh
- See you later – Ci becchiamo dopo – chee-vah-diamo-dopo
- What the heck – Che cavolo – k-de-ah
- Chill! – Scialla – fred-dah
LEARN TO VALUE TRAVEL.
Traveling doesn’t have to be expensive if you know what you are doing. 😎
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