Let’s speak Italiano – Basic Italian phrases
Basic Italian phrases – The language we now call Standard Italian derives from 13th-century Tuscan, or Florentine, to be specific. This choice was made after a few centuries of disputes between linguists, and was down to a number of factors.
Italian is an official national language in Italy, Switzerland, Vatican City, San Marino, and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta – not to be confused with Malta the country, where it enjoyed official status for centuries until 1934 but no longer does. It’s also an official language of the European Union.
Italian Language is recognized as a minority language in three other countries: Slovenia, Croatia and Brazil.
Curiosity:
- The longest word in the Italian language is generally said to be ‘precipitevolissimevolmente’ meaning ‘very quickly’
- Two words have eight consecutive vowels in them: ghiaiaiuolo and cuoiaiuolo.
- Italian is the fourth most studied language in the world – an impressive feat, considering Italy’s relatively small size.
Basic Italian phrases
Essentials
1 | Hello | Buongiorno |
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2 | Good evening | Buonasera |
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3 | Goodbye | Arriverderci |
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4 | See you later | A dopo |
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5 | Yes | Sì |
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6 | No | No |
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7 | Excuse me! | Per favore! |
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8 | Thanks | Grazie |
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9 | Thanks a lot | Grazie mille |
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10 | Thank you for your help | Grazie per il suo aiuto |
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11 | Don’t mention it | Prego |
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12 | Ok | Va bene |
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13 | How much is it? | Quanto costa, per favore? |
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14 | Sorry! | Mi scusi ! |
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15 | I don’t understand | Non ho capito |
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16 | I get it | Ho capito |
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17 | I don’t know | Non so |
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18 | Forbidden | Vietato |
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19 | Excuse me, where are the toilets? | Dov’è il bagno per favore ? |
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20 | Happy New Year! | Buon anno! |
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21 | Happy birthday! | Buon compleanno! |
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22 | Happy holiday! | Buone feste! |
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23 | Congratulations! | Congratulazioni! |
Conversation
1 | Hello. How are you? | Buongiorno. Come stai ? | ||
2 | Hello. I’m fine, thank you | Buongiorno. Bene, grazie | ||
3 | Do you speak Italian? | Parli italiano ? | ||
4 | No, I don’t speak Italian | No, non parlo italiano | ||
5 | Only a little bit | Soltanto un po’ | ||
6 | Where do you come from? | Di dove sei ? | ||
7 | What is your nationality? | Di che nazionalità sei? | ||
8 | I am English | Sono inglese | ||
9 | And you, do you live here? | E tu, vivi qui? | ||
10 | Yes, I live here | Si, abito qui | ||
11 | My name is Sarah, what’s your name? | Mi chiamo Sara, e tu ? | ||
12 | Julian | Giuliano | ||
13 | What are you doing here? | Che fai qui? | ||
14 | I am on holiday | Sono in vacanza | ||
15 | We are on holiday | Siamo in vacanza | ||
16 | I am on a business trip | Sono in viaggio d’affari | ||
17 | I work here | Lavoro qui | ||
18 | We work here | Lavoriamo qui | ||
19 | Where are the good places to go out and eat? | Dove mi consigli di andare a mangiare? | ||
20 | Is there a museum in the neighbourhood? | C’è un museo qui vicino? | ||
21 | Where could I get an internet connection? | Dove posso collegarmi a internet? |
Learning
1 | Do you want to learn a few words? | Vuoi imparare un po’ di vocabolario ? |
2 | Yes, sure! | Con piacere! |
3 | What’s this called? | Come si chiama ? |
4 | It’s a table | È un tavolo |
5 | A table. Do you understand? | Un tavolo, hai capito ? |
6 | I don’t understand | Non ho capito |
7 | Can you repeat please? | Puoi ripetere per favore ? |
8 | Can you talk a bit more slowly, please ? | Puoi parlare più lentamente? |
9 | Could you write it down, please? | Potresti scriverlo per favore? |
10 | I get it | Ho capito |
Numbers
1 | Zero | Zero |
2 | One | Uno |
3 | Two | Due |
4 | Three | Tre |
5 | Four | Quattro |
6 | Five | Cinque |
7 | Six | Sei |
8 | Seven | Sette |
9 | Eight | Otto |
10 | Nine | Nove |
11 | Ten | Dieci |
12 | Eleven | Undici |
13 | Twelve | Dodici |
14 | Thirteen | Tredici |
15 | Fourteen | Quattordici |
16 | Fifteen | Quindici |
17 | Sixteen | Sedici |
18 | Seventeen | Diciassette |
19 | Eighteen | Diciotto |
20 | Nineteen | Diciannove |
21 | Twenty | Venti |
22 | Twenty-one | Ventuno |
23 | Twenty-two | Ventidue |
24 | Twenty-three | Ventitre |
25 | Twenty-four | Ventiquattro |
26 | Twenty-five | Venticinque |
27 | Twenty-six | Ventisei |
28 | Twenty-seven | Ventisette |
29 | Twenty-eight | Ventotto |
30 | Twenty-nine | Ventinove |
31 | Thirty | Trenta |
32 | Thirty-one | Trentuno |
33 | Thirty-two | Trentadue |
34 | Thirty-three | Trentatre |
35 | Thirty-four | Trentaquattro |
36 | Thirty-five | Trentacinque |
37 | Thirty-six | Trentasei |
38 | Forty | Quaranta |
39 | Fifty | Cinquanta |
40 | Sixty | Sessanta |
41 | Seventy | Settanta |
42 | Eighty | Ottanta |
43 | Ninety | Novanta |
44 | One hundred | Cento |
45 | A hundred and five | Cento-cinque |
46 | Two hundred | Duecento |
47 | Three hundred | Trecento |
48 | Four hundred | Quattrocento |
49 | A thousand | Mille |
50 | A thousand five hundred | Millecinquecento |
51 | Two thousand | Duemila |
52 | Ten thousand | Diecimila |
Time tracking
1 | When did you get here? | Da quando sei qui? |
2 | Today | Da oggi |
3 | Yesterday | Da ieri |
4 | Two days ago | Da due giorni |
5 | How long are you staying for? | Quanto tempo resti ? |
6 | I’m leaving tomorrow | Riparto domani |
7 | I’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow | Riparto dopodomani |
8 | I’ll be leaving in three days | Riparto tra tre giorni |
9 | Monday | Lunedì |
10 | Tuesday | Martedì |
11 | Wednesday | Mercoledì |
12 | Thursday | Giovedì |
13 | Friday | Venerdì |
14 | Saturday | Sabato |
15 | Sunday | Domenica |
16 | January | Gennaio |
17 | February | Febbraio |
18 | March | Marzo |
19 | April | Aprile |
20 | May | Maggio |
21 | June | Giugno |
22 | July | Luglio |
23 | August | Agosto |
24 | September | Settembre |
25 | October | Ottobre |
26 | November | Novembre |
27 | December | Dicembre |
28 | What time are you leaving at? | A che ora parti ? |
29 | Morning, at eight o’clock | La mattina, alle otto |
30 | Morning, at a quarter past 8 | La mattina, alle otto e un quarto |
31 | Morning, at half past 8 | La mattina, alle otto e trenta |
32 | Morning, at a quarter to nine | La mattina, alle otto e quarantacinque |
33 | Evening, at 6pm | La sera, alle diciotto |
34 | I am late | Sono in ritardo |
Italian gesture
The average Italian uses 250 every day. Italians love to let their hands do the talking.
Italian hand gestures and meanings: How to interpret Italian hand gestures and how to use them in conversation.
Basic Italian phrases