Italian in the mouth of a Roman can be be a lazy, guttural language, laden with dialect and at times incomprehensible even to native speakers. (Generally, the further south you go in Italy, the more opaque the dialects.) Nonetheless, you should be able to make yourself understood, and Italians respond to foreigners who make an effort to speak their language.
Illustrated Map of Italy
Younger Romans may have a smattering of English, and in up-scale hotels and restaurants you should have few problems. Most Italian words are pronounced as written, with each vowel arad consonant sounded. Consonants are generally the same as in English, except for c when followed by i or e, when it becomes the soft ch of ‘children’; otherwise, c is hard, as in the English ‘cat’.
The same applies to g when followed by i or e—soft in giardino, as in the English ‘giant’; hard in gat to, as in ‘gate’.
Words ending in o are almost always masculine gender (plural: i); those ending in a are feminine (plural: e).
Italian Phrases for Travel: Days of the week
- Monday: lunedi
- Tuesday: martedi
- Wednesday: mercoledi
- Thursday: giovedi
- Friday: venerdi
- Saturday: sabato
- Sunday: Domenica
Italian Phrases for Travel: Months of the Year
- January: gennaio
- February: febbraio
- March: marzo
- April: aprile
- May: maggio
- June: giugno
- July: luglio
- August: agosto
- September: settembre
- October: ottobre
- November: novembre
- December: dicembre
Italian Phrases for Travel: Numbers
- one: uno
- two: due
- three: tre
- four: quattro
- five: cinque
- six: sei
- seven: sette
- eight: otto
- nine: nove
10: dieci
11: undid
12: dodici
13: tredici
14: quattordici
15: quindici
16: sedici
17: diciassette
18: diciotto
19: diciannove
20: venti - 30: trenta
- 40: quaranta
- 50: cinquanta
- 60: sessanta
- 70: settanta
- 80: ottanta
- 90: novanta
100: cento
101: cento uno - 200: duecento
1.000: mille
2.000: due mila - 1,000,000: milione
Italian Phrases for Travel: Basic Vocabulary
- OK/alright: va bene
- please: per favore
- thank you: grazie
- you’re welcome: prego
- good morning: buon giorno
- good afternoon/good evening: buona sera
- good night: buona notte
- morning: mattino
- afternoon: pomeriggio
- evening: sera
- night: notte
- early: presto
- late: tardi
- yesterday: ieri
- today: oggi
- tomorrow: domani
- next week: la settimana prossima
- last week: la settimana scorsa
- here: qui/qua
- there: li / la
- small: piccolo
- large: grande
- nothing: niente
- what?: che?
- who?: chi?
- where?: dove?
- when?: quando?
- why?: perche?
- how?: come?
- how much is it?: quant’e?
- expensive: caro
- good: buono
- bad: cattivo
- beautiful: bello
- ugly: brutto
- well: bene
- badly: male
- with: con
- but: ma
- and: e/ed
- very: molto
- all: tutto
- near: vicino
- far: lontano
- on the left: a sinistra
- on the right: a destra
- straight ahead: diritto
- slow: piano
- fast: presto/rapido
- hot: caldo
- cold: freddo
- up: su
- down: giu
- open: aperto
- closed: chiuso
- entrance: entrata
- exit: uscita
- how are you?: come sta?
- very well, thank you: benissimo, grazie
- do you speak English?: parla inglese?
- I would like…: vorrei…
- do you have…?: avete…?
- is there…?: c’e un…?
- what time is it?: che ore sono?
- I’m sorry: mi scusi
- I don’t know: non lo so
- I don’t understand: non capisco
- excuse me (to attract attention): senta
- excuse me (on a bus, train, etc): permesso
- help: aiuto
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Rome is the most important tourist destination in the world. Get your ticket in advance to avoid spending time in museum queues. Do not wait long queues to enter the Colosseum and the Vatican.
People waiting to enter the Vatican Museums
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