As a foreigner in Italy, it is inevitable that you will face a language barrier. It can be confusing to navigate a country without knowing how to communicate with locals. Luckily, a basic understanding of the Italian language is enough to “get by” during a vacation. Most major cities in Italy are quite accommodating to English-speakers. However, even knowing a little bit of Italian will only enrich your travels. As you learn how to speak the native language, you can better understand Italy’s culture and history. And locals appreciate your efforts!

Italian pronunciations are similar to English. A good rule-of-thumb when you aren’t sure how to say a particular word is to pronounce it as you would in English, and you will usually be close. There are, of course, exceptions. The best place to start is to learn the alphabet. Italian is very much a phonetic language, so it helps to hear the letters being pronounced as you’re learning them. A video created by Italy Made Easy can help walk you through each letter and how to say it.

Now you can start to build your vocabulary. This “crash course” will focus on three topics: greetings, expressions, and getting around. The Italian word or phrase will appear first, followed by the English translation. As you work through these, remember the phonetics of the alphabet. Refer back to the video if needed.

Greetings

Caio = Hello/goodbye (informal)

Buongirono — Good morning (used until lunchtime)

Buonasera — Good afternoon/evening (used between lunchtime and bedtime)

Buonanotte — Good night (used around bedtime)

Come stai? — How are you?

Bene, e tu? — Good, and you?

Come si chiama? — What is your name?

Mi chiamo… — My name is…

Piacere — Nice to meet you

Expressions

Si — Yes

No — No (very convenient!)

Bene — Good

Male — Bad

Scusi — Excuse me

Per favore — Please

Grazie — Thank you

Prego — You’re welcome

Getting Around

Che ora é? — What time is it?

Dové…? — Where is…?

Vorrei… — I would like… (used when ordering food or drinks)

Quanto costa…? — How much is…?

Mi sono perso — I’m lost

Parla inglese? — Do you speak English?

Non parlo italiano — I do not speak Italian

When you travel, your smartphone will be an extremely helpful tool for conversing in Italian. Google Translate has an app that allows you to to translate text or speech, and with access to the camera, can also translate images. Apps such as Duolingo and Learn Italian make language learning an interactive process through lessons, games, and quizzes.

With these tools and a little bit of practice, you should have no problem navigating the beautiful country of Italy. In bocca al lupo! (that’s how Italians say good luck!)