Italian Travel Phrases General Pronunciation Vocabulary Grammar

Italian Travel Phrases
Ciao! Welcome to the Fodor's Italian Language Page, brought to you by the language experts at
Living Language. Here you'll find over 150 essential phrases for your trip.
General
Italian is a Romance language spoken by about 62 million people worldwide. It's the official language of Italy
and San Marino, as well as one of the official languages of Switzerland. It is also spoken to varying extents in in
Slovenia, Croatian, Argentina, Eritrea, Malta, and elsewhere.
Pronunciation
Each vowel in Italian is pronounced clearly and distinctly. Some important vowel sounds to remember in
Italian are: a as in father, e as in bent or ray, i as in police, o as in no, and u as in noon. Diphthongs include ai
as in ripe, eu as in play, ia as in yarn, oi as in boy, and uo as in war. Also, an accent over a vowel sometimes
indicates a stressed syllable, as in la città (the city), or is simply used to distinguish words, as in e (and) and è
(is). The apostrophe is sometimes used in Italian to mark the omission of a vowel. For example, when the word
dove (where) is combined with è (is), the e in dove is dropped: Dov' è? (Where is?)
Many consonants sounds are similar to English, but keep in mind some of the exceptions: c (before e or i) as in
church, g (before e or i) as in joy, z as in pits or adds, and silent h. The combinations ch and gh are pronounced
as cat and go respectively. The consonant r is a trilled sound made with the tongue against the ridge behind the
upper teeth. Some special Italian sounds are: gl as in scallion, gn as in canyon, sc before e or i as in fish, and sc
before a, o, or u, as in scout.
Vocabulary
A lot of Italian vocabulary will look familiar to you: centro (center), banca (bank), parco (park), museo
(museum), difficile (difficult), studente (student), and so on. Italian also has similar word endings as English:
conversazione (conversation), professione (profession), università (university), generale (general),
memorabile (memorable), etc. Of course, there's a lot more you need to know, but this is a good start!
Grammar
If you want to learn to speak Italian, you're going to have to deal with a few issues that we don't have in English.
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All nouns in Italian are either masculine or feminine. There are exceptions to every rule, but in most
cases, nouns ending in -o are masculine, and ones ending in -a are feminine.
When nouns are masculine, the articles il/lo (the), and un/uno (a) precede them. When they are
feminine, the definite la/l' (the) or una/un' (a) precede them: il/un fotografo (the/a photographer),
la/una famiglia (the/a family), etc. Adjectives agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify:
un bambino piccolo (a small child), i bambini piccoli (the small children).
There are both polite/formal and familiar/informal forms of the pronoun you. Use the formal Lei (you)
and Loro (all of you) when showing courtesy or respect. Use tu (you) and voi (all of you) with friends,
family, or children.
Italian verbs are highly inflected, with different endings for every person (I, you, she, all of you, etc.) in
several different tenses. There are also three major conjugation patterns, grouped according to the
infinitive endings -are, -ere, or -ire. Many common verbs are irregular.
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Greetings
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Hello!
Good morning!
Good evening!
How are you?
Fine/Well.
Very well.
So-so.
What's your name?
My name is Signor ___.
It's nice to meet you.
Goodbye.
See you soon.
Goodnight.
Where do you live? (sg./pl.)
I live in Austin.
This is my friend. (m./f.)
This is my boy/girlfriend.
I had a wonderful time. (m./f.)
Ciao!/Salve!
Buon giorno!
Buona sera!
Come va?
Bene.
Molto bene.
Così così.
Come si chiama?
Mi chiamo (Signor) ___.
Piacere (di conoscerla).
Arrivederla/ci.
A presto!
Buona notte!
Dove abiti/abitate?
Abito a Austin.
Ti presento il mio amico/la mia amica.
Questo è il/la mio/mia ragazzo/ ragazza.
Mi sono divertito/divertita.
Basic Phrases
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Thank you.
Thank you very much.
You're welcome.
Please.
Yes.
No.
Excuse me.
Pardon me.
I'm sorry.
I don't understand.
I don't know.
I don't speak Italian.
I don't speak Italian very well.
Do you speak English?
Speak slowly, please.
Repeat, please.
What's your name?
How are you?
Do you speak English?
Where is the subway?
Is the tip included?
How much does that cost? (sg./pl.)
Is there a public phone here?
Can I get on the internet?
Can you help me?
Where is the bathroom?
Grazie.
Grazie tante.
Prego.
Per favore.
Sì.
No.
Mi scusi.
Mi scusi.
Mi dispiace.
Non capisco.
No lo so.
Non parlo italiano.
Non parlo molto bene italiano.
Parla inglese?
Parli piano, per favore.
Ripeta, per favore.
Come si chiama?
Come va?
Parla inglese?
Dov’è la metropolitana?
Il servizio è incluso?
Quanto costa/costano?
C’è un telefono pubblico vicino?
Posso collegarmi con internet?
Mi può aiutare?
Dov’è la toilette?
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Dining Out
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Where is a good restaurant?
A table, please.
The menu, please.
appetizers
main course
dessert
I would like something to drink.
A glass of water, please.
A cup of tea, please.
coffee with milk
Do you have vegetarian dishes?
That's all.
The check, please.
Is the tip included?
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Enjoy the meal!
To your health!
It's delicious!
plate
fork
knife
spoon
napkin
cup
glass
ice cubes
salt/pepper
sugar
soup
salad
bread
butter
noodles
rice
cheese
vegetables
chicken / beef
pork
I like my steak rare.
I like my steak medium.
I like my steak well done.
juice
pie
ice cream
Another, please.
More, please.
Pass the… please.
spicy
sweet
sour
Dove si mangia bene?
Una tavola, per favore.
Il menu, per favore.
(gli) antipasti
i primi piatti
i dolci
Vorrei qualcosa da bere.
Una bottiglia d’acqua, per favore.
Una tazza di tè, per favore.
(un) caffè latte
Avete dei piatti vegetariani?
Basta così.
Il conto, per favore.
Il servizio è incluso?
la prima colazione
il pranzo
la cena
Buon appetito!
Salute!/Cin-cin!
È delizioso.
(il) piatto
(la) forchetta
(il) coltello
(il) cucchiaio
(il) tovagliolo
(la) tazza
(il) bicchiere
(il) ghiaccio
(il) sale / (il) pepe
(lo) zucchero
(la) zuppa, (la) minestra
(l’)insalata
(il) pane
(il) burro
(la) pasta
(il) riso
(il) formaggio
(la) verdure
(il) pollo / (la) carne
(il) maiale
Preferisco la bistecca al sangue.
Preferisco la bistecca cotta al punto giusto.
Preferisco la bistecca ben cotta.
(il) succo di frutta
una crostata
(il) gelato
Un altro, per favore.
Ancora un po’, per favore.
Mi passi … , per favore.
piccante
dolce
aspro
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Directions
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Where?
Excuse me, where is…?
Where are the taxis?
Where is the bus?
Where is the subway?
Where is the exit?
Is it near?
Is it far?
Go straight ahead.
Go that way.
Go back.
Turn right.
Turn left.
Take me to this address, please.
What is the fare?
Stop here, please.
Does this bus go to Bergamo Street?
A map of the museum, please.
A subway map, please.
Dove?
Mi scusi, dov’è...?
Dove sono i tassì?
Dov’è l’autobus?
Dov’è la metropolitana?
Dov’è l’uscita?
È vicino?
È lontano?
Si va diritto.
Si va in quella direzione.
Si va indietro.
Si gira a destra.
Si gira a sinistra.
Mi porti a questo indirizzo, per favore.
Qual’è la tariffa?
Fermi qui, per favore.
Questo autobus va in Via Bergamo?
Una pianta della museo, per favore.
Una cartina della metropolitana, per favore.
Shopping
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How much does that cost? (sg./pl.)
At what time does the store open?
At what time does the store close?
What would you like?
Can I help you?
I would like this.
Here it is.
Is that all?
I'd like to pay in cash.
I'd like to pay by credit card.
Do you accept credit cards?
Can I order this online?
Women's clothes
Men's clothes
Blouse, skirt, dress
Pants, shirt, tie
Shoes and socks
Jeans
Bookstore
Bakery
Market
Supermarket
Quanto costa/costano?
A che ora apre il negozio?
A che ora chiude il negozio?
Cerca qualcosa?
Posso aiutarla?
Vorrei questo.
Eccola.
Ha bisogno di altro?
Vorrei pagare in contanti.
Vorrei pagare con la carta di credito.
Accettate carte di credito?
Posso ordinarlo su internet?
(l’)abbigliamento donne
(l’)abbigliamento uomini
(la) camicetta, (la) gonna, (il) vestito (da donna)
(i) pantaloni, (la) camicia, (la) cravatta
(le) scarpe e (i) calzini
i jeans
(la) libreria
(il) fornaio, (la) pasticceria
(il) mercato
(il) supermercato
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