Are you planning a trip to Italy? You can’t learn another language just reading an article. But you will easily memorize some of the tips we wrote to address the needs of travelers who come to Italy. These Italian language tips will allow you to communicate with the people you will meet in our beautiful country.
Do I need Italian language tips?
Needless to say, English is an international language. Everybody knows English and you will find plenty of English speakers here.
But, remember. Italians, just like any other community, appreciate so much those travelers who try to speak their language. So, this is the first good reason to learn some Italian words or phrase. Get to know question words, numbers, greetings and so on. You have to be sure to know how to ask for help in Italian. Last but no least: You must know how to order food and drink in Italy!
Take advantage of your first aperitivo or of the informal location where you’ll eat a real pizza. You may even be surprised how many new friends you can make.
Then…you know, everything just sounds better in Italian! 😛 So if you’re traveling to Italy, you should try to learn a little bit of this enchanting language before you go.
Read also: Useful mobile apps for your trip to Italy
Here are our Italian language tips for travelers!
Here are a few words and phrases to get you started.
Numbers!
- One: uno (uh-noh)
- Two: due (duh-eh): two,
- Three: tre (treh): three,
- Four: quattro (kwaht-troh): four,
- Five: cinque (cheen-kweh): five,
- Six: sei (sehih): six,
- Seven: sette (seht-teh): seven,
- Eight: otto (oht-toh): eight,
- Nine: nove (noh-veh): nine,
- Ten: dieci (diheh-chee): ten,
- Eleven: undici (uhn-dee-chee): eleven,
- Twelve: dodici (doh-dee-chee): twelve,
- Thirteen: tredici (treh-dee-chee): thirteen,
- Fourteen: quattordici (kwaht-tohr-dee-chee): fourteen,
- Fifteen: quindici (kwihn-dee-chee): fifteen,
- Sixteen: sedici (seh-dee-chee): sixteen,
- Seventeen: diciassette (dee-chahs-seht-teh): seventeen,
- Eighteen: diciotto (dee-chot-toh): eighteen,
- Nineteen: diciannove – dee-chahn-noh-veh
- Twenty: venti – vehn-tee
Days of the week
- Monday: lunedì – looh-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
Italian language tips
Greetings and courtesy
- Hello: Ciao – chou
- Goodbye: Ciao (informal) / Arrivederci – ahr-ree-veh-dehr-chee
- Good morning: Buongiorno – bwohn-johr-noh
- Good evening: Buonasera – bwoh-nah-seh-rah
- Goodnight: Buonanotte (when going to bed) – bwoh-nah-noht-teh
- Please: Per favore – pehr fah-voh-reh; per piacere – pehr pyah-cheh-reh
- Thank you: Grazie – grah-tsee-eh
- Thanks so much: Grazie mille – grah-tsee-eh mee-lleh
- You’re welcome: Prego – preh-goh
- I’m sorry: Mi dispiace – mee dees-pyah-cheh
- Yes: Sì – see
- No: No – noh
- How are you?: Come stai? – koh-meh stahy
- Fine, thank you: Bene, grazie – beh-neh grah-tsee-eh
- Excuse me: Scusa (informal) – skooh-zah; Mi scusi – mee skooh-zee
- Excuse me (passing through a crowd): Permesso – pehr-mehs-soh
Question words
- Who?: Chi? – kee
- What?: Che? – keh; Cosa? – koh-sah
- Where?: Dove? – doh-veh
- When?: Quando? – kwahn-doh
- Why?: Perché? – pehr-keh
- How much?: Quanto? – kwanh-toh
- How?: Come? – koh-meh
How’s it going?: Come va? – Koh-meh vah
What is your name?: Come si chiama? – koh-meh see kyah-mah
My name is…: Mi chiamo… – mee kyah-moh
Simple words for travelers without Italian pronunciation
- Left: Sinistra
- Right: Destra
- Straight: Diritto
- Airport: Aeroporto
- Train station: Stazione ferroviaria
- Train: Treno
- Bus: Autobus
- Stop (bus, train): Fermata
- Car: Macchina; Auto
- Luggage: Bagagli
- Ticket: Biglietto
- Check: Conto
- Beach: Spiaggia
- Restaurant: Ristorante
- Bathroom: Bagno
- Store: Negozio
- Hotel: Albergo
- Food: Cibo
- Drink: Bibita
- Breakfast: Colazione
- Lunch: Pranzo
- Dinner: Cena
- Snack: Spuntino
- Appetizer: Antipasto
- Wine: Vino
- Beer: Birra
- Street: Strada; Via
- Hospital: Ospedale
- Police: Polizia
- Phone: Telefono
- Bank: Banca
- ATM: Bancomat
Italian sayings for travelers
- Where is the bathroom?: Dov’è il bagno? – doh-veh eel bahn-yoh
- Do you speak English?: Parla Inglese? – pahr-lah een-gleh-zeh
- How much does it cost?: Quanto costa? – kwahn-toh koh-stah
- Check, please: Il conto, per favore – eel kohn-toh pehr fah-voh-reh
- Cheers!: Cin cin! – cheencheen
- I’m lost: Mi sono perso – mee soh-noh pehr-soh
- I like…: Mi piace… – mee pyah-cheh
- I don’t like…: Non mi piace… – nohn mee pyah-cheh
Emergencies
- Help: Aiuto! – ah-yooh-toh
- Emergency: Emergenza! – eh-mehr-jehn-tsah
- Call the police: Chiamate la polizia! – chee-ah-mah-teh lah poh-lee-tsee-ah
- Where is the hospital: Dov’è l’ospedale? – doh-veh lohs-peh-dah-leh
- Call an ambulance: Chiamate un’ambulanza! – kee-ah-mah-teh ooh-nahm-booh-lahn-tsah
- I need a doctor: Ho bisogno di un medico – oh bee-zoh-nyoh dee oohn meh-dee-koh