Italian Phrases for Travel

Colosseum Rome Tickets — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 08:11:34 +0000

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