Italian phrasebook

Italian is the official language of Italy, San Marino and the Swiss Canton Ticino. It is the de facto primary language of the Vatican City.

Even if in most of the touristic resorts along Italy English and German are widely spoken, most of the Italian people can't speak a foreign language (we are lazy, I know) so you'd better know some basic phrases in Italian, just to make yourself understood.

In Italian, you use the polite form ("lei") with all the people you don't know; it doesn't matter whether they are older or younger than you. You'll use the confidential form ("tu") with the people you know. The two forms differs in the use of the 2nd and 3rd persons in verbs.

Italian has two genders, masculine (-o, pl. -i) and feminine (-a, pl. -e), and some remnants of the neuter (uovo "egg", pl. uova). So a woman would say Mi sono persa while a man would say Mi sono perso.

Italian has a range of dialects from Lombard and Piemontese (which are influenced by French) to Calabrese and Sicilian. Some of these are mutually unintelligible, but you should be able to speak standard Italian with them. Standard Italian is Florentine Tuscan dialect spoken with a Roman accent. Sardinian is a different language entirely; it is no closer to Italian than to Spanish.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is relatively easy in Italian since most words are pronounced exactly how they are written. Unless accented, words are normally pronounced with the emphasis on the second to last syllable. Double consonants are pronounced double; e.g. sono "I am" vs. sonno "sleep".

Vowels

a: as in "father"
e: as in "set", but more closed
i: as in "machine"
o: as in "close", but undiphthongized
u: like 'oo' in "hoop"

Consonants

b: like 'b' in "bed"
c: like 'ch' in "chipper" (before 'i' or 'e'), 'k' in "kid" (before 'a', 'o', 'u')
d: like 'd' in "dog"
f: like 'ph' in "phone"
g: like 'g' in "go", like 'j' in "jello"
h: silent
l: like 'l' in "love"
m: like 'm' in "mother"
n: like 'n' in "nice"
p: like 'p' in "pig"
q: like 'q' in "quest" (with "u", almost always)
r: trill with the tip of the tongue
s: like 'ss' in "hiss", like 'z' in "haze"
t: like 't' in "top"
v: like 'v' in "victory"
z: as in "pizza" or "adze"

Common diphthongs

ai: like 'i' in "fight"
au: like 'ow' in "brown"

ei: like 'ay' in "say"
eu: doesn't exist in English, run 'e' and 'u' together

ia: like "ya" in "yard"
ie: like 'ye' in "yes"
ii: not a diphthong but two syllables
io: like "yo" in "Yorick"
iu: like "ew" in "few"

oi: like 'oy' in "boy"

uo: like 'wo' in "won ton"

Digraphs

ch: like 'k' in "keep"
sc: before "e" or "i", like 'sh' in "sheep"
gh: like "g" in "get"

Phrase list

For this phrasebook, we use the polite form for all phrases, on the presumption that you'll mostly be talking to people you don't already know.

Basics

Hello.: Buongiorno. (bohn JYOHR-noh)
Hello. (informal): Ciao. (chow)
How are you?: Come sta? (koh-may STAH?)
Fine, thank you.: Bene, grazie. (BAY-nay, GRAHT-zee)
What is your name?: Come si chiama? (KOH-may see kee-AH-mah?)

; My name is _____________________________________? (...)

...the American/Canadian/Australian/British consulate?: ...al consolato Americano/Canadese/Australiano/Inglese? (...)
Where are there a lot of...: Dove ci sono molti (...)
;more usally: Dove trovo molti (...)
...hotels?: ...hotels? (...)
...restaurants?: ...ristoranti? (...)
...bars?: ...bar? (...)
...sites to see?: ...cose da vedere? (...) or luoghi da vedere (...)
Can you show me on the map?: Potete mostrarmelo sulla carta? (...)
street: strada (...)
Turn left.: Giri a sinistra. (...)
Turn right.: Giri a destra. (...)
left: sinistra (...)
right: destra (...)
straight ahead: diritto (...)

; towards the _______________________________________? (...)

expensive: caro (...)
cheap: economico (...)
I can't afford it.: Non posso permettermelo. (...)

: very unusual to be said in Italian. Better I am looking for something cheeper Cerco qualcosa di più economico

; I don't want it. : Non lo voglio. (...)

You're cheating me.: Mi state imbrogliando. (...)
I'm not interested.: Non son interessato. (..)
OK, I'll take it.: Va bene, lo prendo. (...)
Can I have a bag?: Posso avere una borsa? (...)
Do you ship (overseas)?: Potete spedirlo (all'estero)? (...)
I need...: Ho bisogno di... (...)
...toothpaste.: ...dentifricio. (...)
...a toothbrush.: ...uno spazzolino. (...)
...tampons.: ...tampone/assorbente. (...)
...soap.: ...sapone. (...)
...shampoo.: ...shampoo. (...)
...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen): ...analgesico (aspirina). (...)
...cold medicine.: ...medicina per il raffreddore. (...)
...stomach medicine.: ...medicina per lo stomaco. (...)
...a razor.: ...un rasoio. (...)
...an umbrella.: ...un ombrello. (...)
...sunblock lotion.: ...lozione/crema contro il sole. (...)
...a postcard.: ...una cartolina. (...)
...postage stamps.: ...francobolli. (...)
...batteries.: ...batterie. (...)
...writing paper.: ...carta. (...)
...a pen.: ...una penna. (...)
...English-language books.: ...libri in inglese. (...)
...English-language magazines.: ...riviste in inglese. (...)
...an English-language newspaper.: ...un giornale in inglese. (...)
...an English-Italian dictionary.: ...un dizionario Inglese-Italiano. (...)

Driving

I want to rent a car.: Desidero noleggiare una macchina. (...) or Vorrei noleggiare una macchina
Can I get insurance?: Posso avere un'assicurazione? (...)
stop (on a street sign): stop (...)
one way: senso unico (...)
yield: dare la precedenza (...)
no parking: vietata la sosta (...) or vietato parcheggiare
speed limit: limite di velocità (...)
gas (petrol) station: benzinaio (...) or stazione di rifornimento or (in an highway) area di servizio
petrol: petrol (...) benzina (you have to clarify benzina verde benzina senza piombo benzina super benzina normale)
diesel: diesel (...) or gasolio

Authority

I haven't done anything wrong.: Non ho fatto nulla di male. (...)
It was a misunderstanding.: È stato un malinteso. (...)
Where are you taking me?: Dove mi state portando? (...)
Am I under arrest?: Sono in arresto? (...)
I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen.: Sono un/una cittadino/a americano(a)/australiano(a)/britannico(a)/canadese. (...)
I want to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate.: Voglio parlare con l'ambasciata/il consoloato Americano/Australiano/Inglese/Canadese. (...)
I want to talk to a lawyer.: Voglio parlare con un avvocato. (...)
Can I just pay a fine now?: Posso semplicemente pagare una multa adesso? (...)

Learning more

Hear and learn useful expressions in Italian

The authors of this document are Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel, Evan Prodromou, Rich Daley, Rory, Wikitravel user AnyFile, Yann Forget and the following WikiTravel users: Giorgio, Huttite, PierreAbbat. The original version of this article can be seen at http://wikitravel.org/en/Italian_phrasebook.