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Inspiration and resources for discerning holidaymakers aged 40 plus.

Italian phrase book - The basics

Buon giorno
bwon zhor-no
Hello / Good morning/afternoon

Buona sera
bwoh-nah seh-rah
Good evening

Buona notte
bwoh-nah noht-teh
Good night

Ciao
chow
Hi / Hello / Bye (informal)

Arrivederci
ah-ree-vuh-dehr-chee
Goodbye

ArrivederLa
ah-ree-vuh-dehr-lah
Goodbye (formal)

A più tardi
ah pyoo tar-dee
See you later

A presto
ah press-toh
See you soon

A domani
ah doh-mahn-ee
See you tomorrow

Andiamo!
on-dee-ah-mo
Let's go!

Per favore / Per piacere
pehr fah-voh-reh / pehr pee-ah-cheh-reh
Please

Grazie (mille)
graht-zee-eh (mee-leh)
Thank you (very much)

Prego
preh-goh
You're Welcome

Mi dispiace
mee dee-spyah-cheh
Sorry

Scusi / Scusa
skoo-zee / skoo-zah
Excuse me (formal / informal)

 

Come sta? / Come stai?
koh-meh stah / koh-meh sty
How are you? (formal / informal)

Sto bene.
stoh beh-neh
I am fine / well.

Non c'è male.
nohn cheh mah-leh
Not bad.

Così così.
koh-zee koh-zee
So so.

Abbastanza bene.
ah-bah-stahn-tsah beh-neh
Pretty good.

/ No
see / noh
Yes / No

Come si chiama?
koh-meh see kee-ah-mah
What's your name? (formal)

Come ti chiami?
koh-meh tee kee-ah-mee
What's your name? (informal)

Mi chiamo...
mee kee-ah-mo
My name is...

Piacere / Molto lieto.
pee-ah-cheh-reh / mohl-toh lee-eh-toh
Pleased / Nice to meet you.

Signore, Signora, Signorina
seen-yoh-reh, seen-yoh-rah, seen-yoh-reen-ah
Mister, Misses, Miss

Di dov'è?
dee doh-veh
Where are you from? (formal)

Di dove sei?
dee doh-veh seh-ee
Where are you from? (informal)

Sono di...
soh-noh dee
I am from...

Ho ______ anni.
oh ______ ahn-nee
I am _____ years old.

Quanti anni ha?
kwahn-tee ahn-nee ah
How old are you? (formal)

Quanti anni hai?
kwahn-tee ahn-nee ah-ee
How old are you? (informal)

Parla italiano?
par-lah ee-tahl-ee-ah-no
Do you speak Italian?
(formal)

Parli inglese?
par-lee een-gleh-zeh
Do you speak English? (informal)

[Non] parlo...
[non] par-lo
I [don't] speak...

 

Capisce? / Capisci?
kah-pee-sheh / kah-pee-shee
Do you understand? (formal / informal)

[Non] capisco.
[non] kah-pees-koh
I [don't] understand.

Non so. / Lo so.
non soh / low soh
I don't know. / I know.

Come?
koh-meh?
What? / Pardon me?

Può aiutarmi? / Puoi aiutarmi?
pwoh ah-yoo-tar-mee / pwoh-ee ah-yoo-tar-mee
Can you help me? (formal / informal)

Certamente / D'accordo.
cher-tah-mehn-teh / dah-kohr-doh
Sure / OK.

Desidera? / Desideri?
deh-zee-deh-rah / deh-zee-deh-ree
May I help you? (formal / informal)

Come si dice ____ in italiano?
koh-meh see dee-cheh ____ een ee-tah-lee-ah-noh
How do you say ____ in Italian?

Dov'è / Dove sono...?
doh-veh / doh-veh soh-noh
Where is / Where are... ?

Ecco...
eh-koh
Here is / Here are...

C'è / Ci sono...
cheh / chee soh-noh
There is / There are...

 

Cosa c'è?
koh-zah cheh
What's the matter? / What's wrong?

Non importa. / Di niente.
nohn eem-por-tah / dee nee-ehn-teh
It doesn't matter.

Non ti preoccupare.
nohn tee preh-ohk-koo-pah-reh
Don't worry. (informal)

Non m'importa.
nohn meem-por-tah
I don't care.

Ho dimenticato.
oh dee-men-tee-kah-toh
I forgot.

Devo andare adesso.
deh-voh ahn-dah-reh ah-des-soh
I have to go now.

Ho fame. / Ho sete.
oh fah-meh / oh seh-teh
I'm hungry. / I'm thirsty.

Ho freddo. / Ho caldo.
oh freh-doh / oh kal-doh
I'm cold. / I'm hot.

Salute!
sah-loo-teh
Bless you!

Congratulazioni!
kohn-grah-tsoo-lah-tsee-oh-nee
Congratulations!

Benvenuti!
behn-veh-noo-tee
Welcome!

Buona fortuna!
bwoh-nah for-too-nah
Good luck!



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