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You don't need to learn this, but it will definitely help make you feel more comfortable. In any country in the world, the only absolute essentials are: yes/no, please/thank you, help, how much does it cost, and where's the bathroom?
Pronunciation Basics
Pronunciation Basics
Every word is spelled phonetically and pronounced exactly the way it is spelled!
A - ah (pasta)
E - eh (pesto)
I - ee (ravioli)
O - oh (gelato)
U - oo (ragu)
Z - tz (pizza)
GN - nyuh (lasagna)
GLI - lyuh (sounds like million, tagliatelle)
The only tricky bits:
C - k (cannoli)
G - guh (graffiti)
SC - sk (scuola)
EXCEPT before an I or E
CI - chee, CE - cheh (arrivederci, dolce)
GI - jee, GE - jeh (magenta)
SCI - shee, SCE - sheh (prosciutto)
H is always silent, mostly used just to separate a C, G, or SC from an I or E (spaghetti)
R should be rolled if you can, but don't sweat it
Double consonants are both pronounced (don't say pene, say pen-ne!)
Accent is most often on the next to last syllable, or marked over the final vowel like è
Useful Vocabulary
Useful Vocabulary
Yes - Si see
No - No noh
Please - Per favore pear fah-VOR-eh
Thank you - Grazie GRAT-zee-eh
How much does it cost - Quanto costa? QWAN-toh COST-ah
Help - Aiuto eye-YOU-toh
Excuse me - Scusi SKOO-zee
I want that - Vorrei quello vor-RAY QUELL-loh
Water (plain) - Acqua naturale AHK-wah nah-too-RAH-leh
I don't understand - Non capisco nohn kah-PEES-koh
Do you speak English? - Parla inglese? PAR-lah een-GLEH-seh
Where is - Dov'è... doh-VEH
the bathroom - il toilette eel toy-LEHT-teh
the station - il stazione eel staht-zee-OH-neh
the train platform - il treno binario eel TREH-noh bin-AR-ee-oh
the bus stop - la fermata autobus lah fer-MAH-tah OW-toh-bus
the ticket - il biglietto eel bee-LYET-toh
Left - Sinistra sin-EES-trah
Right - Destra DES-trah
Straight - Drrito DREE-toh
Near - Vicino vee-CHEE-noh
Far - Lontano lon-TAH-noh
Ground floor - Terra piano TER-rah pee-AH-noh
(Be aware that Europeans count floors starting *above* the ground level, so their "second" floor is what Americans call the third floor. In an elevator, you will see buttons for T, 1, 2, etc.)
I have a reservation - Ho una prenotazione oh OO-nah pren-oh-tah-tzee-OH-neh
Inside/Outside - Dentro / Fuori DEN-tro / foo-OR-ree
What do you (waiter) recommend? Cosa mi consiglia? COH-zah mee con-SEE-lyah
At what time? - A che ora? ah keh OR-ah
When - Quando? KWAN-doh
Which - Quale? KWAL-eh
Late - Ritardo ree-TAR-doh
Exit - Uscita oo-SHEE-tah
The bill - il conto eel CON-toh
1: uno 2: due 3: tre 4: quattro 5: cinque 6: sei 7: sette 8: otto 9: nove 10: dieci
Be able to recognize these signs:
Sciopero - strike
Vietato Entrare - do not enter
Non Toccare - do not touch
Don't forget that the Google Translate app is your best friend. Install it for free on your phone and then click the settings to download Italian for use offline. You can use the "conversation" button to listen to a native talking. But the best feature is the camera functionality. Just click the icon in the app and hold your phone in front of a sign or menu to watch it magically translate in real time (although this part only works when you have internet access).
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