Your email address will not be published. and Good-bye!) Now, here’s a quick starter guide to essential Italian words and phrases… and, of course, you’ll now be able to pronounce them! So to experience off-the-beaten-path Italy, a little Italian goes a long way! Doesn’t “parla inglese?” mean “Do you speak English?”. Prego! "Dai!" Arrivederci! Italian words can be rather long (and poetic! as in, "Please, oblige me." Get curated Italy travel tips delivered to your inbox! And yet, there will be some Italian phrases which you’ll hear all the time but won’t quite understand. I enjoyed going to Italy so much I started my own Italian site and can’t wait to go back again. Have no idea where to start? Prego means either “you’re welcome” or simply “welcome.” An easy “grazie” is the perfect way to respond! This phrase is used when talking about serious situations. I work sia con italiano sia con inglese and these results and everyday use of engish words are obvious for me because of well…. A chi fa male, mai mancano scuse. It will be more helpful than just learning phrases. We get it: If you're relying on Italian public transport, it can be tough... Our series on cheap travel in Italy continues with how to find budget hotels and cheap... How to travel in Italy on a budget, including how to save money on trains, renting a car, and... What could be better than enjoying a coffee... in Italy? I couldn’t sit in a cafe and understand what people at the next table was saying but I could get my point across and understand the answer I was getting. ( sahl -veh) (Hello! 1 Comment. Vowels show up a lot in lyrical Italian. Knowing what to order, and how (and... Stay up to date with travel tips, local insights and all things Italy on our social channels! Italian Phrases & Sayings and Their English Translations. After “grazie”, “prego” simply means “you’re welcome”, so you wouldn’t respond. Why learn the most common Italian phrases first. Hey if they say prego when you walk in a restaurant, store or something what are you supposed to answer? The letters j, k, w, x, and y do not exist in Italian, so if you happen to see them used in an Italian text, that means the word is borrowed from another language! For feminine words, you should use ‘un for words beginning with a vowel and una for words beginning with a consonant. (So “Venezia” is “Ve-NE-zia”; “castello” is “cas-TELL-o”). "No." We always drive a lot and here are som useful words: uscita= exit, rallentare=slow down, sensa unico= one way street, lavoro in corso= road work going on. Walks of Italy, Via Caio Mario 14A, Rome, Italy, Update your browser to view this website correctly. Our website uses cookies to improve your user experience. With a pronunciation not unlike a drawn out English "die," it may sound initially off-putting as you hear it shouted between sweet Italian children and little old ladies. (Cosa + é gets shortened to cos’é). Allora: Perhaps one of the most popular Italian words, allora is a great way to transition between sentences. bye. good morning (used before noon) buon pomeriggio. In Italian, there are four words to cover the English indefinite articles a and an. good evening (used after 6pm) The following expressions, on the other hand, are some different things you can say when saying goodbye: Ciao. Dai: This exclamation is short, but packs a lot of meaning. The most important exceptions: the letter “c” before “i” or “e” is pronounced like a “ch,” “g” before an “i” or “e” is pronounced like the g in “general,” “h” is always silent, “r” is almost always rolled and “z” is pronounced like the “ds” in “lads” at the beginning of the sentence, and like the “ts” in sets in all other cases. For example, to say colloquially in Italian, ‘ I like you a lot ’ translates to ‘ Mi piaci un sacco’ or ‘ I like you a sack ’. (chow) #2 Salve! So just remember that “a” is pronounced like the a in father, “i” like the “ee” in greet, and “u” like the u in rule. ), but here’s a helpful tip for pronouncing them: most of the time, stress falls on the second-to-last syllable. – Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. It literally translates to “to extreme wrongs, extreme cures”, but would usually be rendered in English as “desperate times call for drastic measures”. The vowels “e” and “o” can be open or closed, depending on the word. Required fields are marked *. A caval donato non si guarda in bocca. Though you don’t need to be familiar with the language to appreciate an Italian vacation, knowing a few of basic phrases can make your trip much better. Double consonants can be a bit tricky, but here are some rules to remember: “ch” sounds like the “c” in “car,” “gli” sounds like the “ll” in million, “gn” sounds like the “ny” in “canyon,” and “sc” sounds like the “sh” in “shush” before i and e, and like “sk” in “skip” in all other cases. Check it out in context: Here’s help, including some of the most useful Italian words and phrases you’ll love having on hand! Or che cosa é? List of Italian musical terms used in English Jump to navigation Jump to search. (chou) (Hello! Thank you for you most useful word list. Per piacere (pehr pyah-cheh-reh) (Please.) This is one of the most common Italian expressions out there. When you walk into a restaurant, a host will often say “prego” as a way to say “Please, go ahead, sit down,” and similarly, a shop owner will say “Prego” to mean “Help yourself, make yourself comfortable in my shop.” I have some good news: you only need to know a fraction of the total number of Italian phrases to be able to speak Italian fluently. Practice using these common Italian greetings: Buongiorno! Italian Courtesy Phrases. (Formal) Ciao! When you enter a shop, a restaurant or you see your host in the morning at breakfast, you should use the word buongiorno, which means both “hello” and “good morning.”. (Neutral) Buonasera! Grazie (grah-tsee-eh) (Thank you.) Then I just followed a car which was showing me where to go.