Some Useful Italian Phrases

Are you leaving for your holidays to Italy tomorrow and you cannot find your Italian phrase book? Here are some useful Italian phrases you can use. The author is an Italian native, so you can be fairly sure that they're correct.

Before starting with the list, some rules. Italian orthographic and pronunciation rules (ie how you write a word you hear, or how you pronounce a word you read) are not so difficult, compared to other languages like English or French.Apart from some exceptions, the sound of a word in Italian is the sum of the sounds of the single letters.

Italian alphabet is composed of 21 letters, 5 less than in English: J - K - X - Y - W are not included.
Let's take a look at the pronunciation of the alphabet when you take the letters singularly.
The following letters are pronounced like in English B - D - G - P - T - V

The following ones are a bit different: F- L - M - N - R - S. How different? Let's just remember the habit that we Italians have to put a vowel in the end. Letter "L" will be El-le. Two "L" in a row means you have to linger a fraction of second on the sound. "M" will be Es-se. That's the trick: double the sound and put an /e/): make it palindrome.

These are those that are more different:
A like in that's Ammore
C like in Chalk
E like in Extra
H it's dumb so you don't need to know
I like the letter E in English, like Idiot
O like in Opera
Q qu like in Quarrel
U like in Urgent
Z like in, well, like in, it's not that common right? You don't need to know this either...

Enough alphabet, let's look at two very important orthographic rules.
When you read a word with ch- it will be either followed by -i or -e. When C meets H, the sound gets hard, like a K. So Chiesa (church) will be like Kiesa. You know how to pronounce maccheroni, right?

C + I or E without H makes the sound "sweet", like in chalk. Without H you can have all other consonants. Ca, Co, Cu are "strong", Ka, Ko, Ku

The same happens with G. the sound can be strong like in iGnorant, or soft like in General

Ok, now it's really the time. These are just some phrases, if you think of more youd like to know, drop a comment and I'll be more than happy to answer.

(F) means Formal, (I) means informal

Ciao - Hi/Hello
Buon giorno - Hello/Good morning
Buonasera - Good evening
Buonanotte - Good night
Grazie - Thank you
Prego -You're welcome
Figurati! (I) / Si figuri (F) - Not at all (as a reply to Thank you)
Come ti chiami? (I)/Come si chiama? (F) - What's your name?
Mi chiamo... - My name is...
Molto piacere - It's a real pleasure to meet you
Di dove sei? (I) / Di dov'è Lei? (F) - Where are you from?
Sono di.... - I'm from...
Da dove vieni? (I) / Da dove viene Lei? (F) - Where do you come from?
Vengo da - I come from
Sono americano (masculine) / americana (feminine) / inglese (for both) - I'm American/English
Che lavoro fai? (I) / Che lavoro fa Lei? (F) - What do you do? (meaning what job)
Sono... - I'm...
Quanti hanni hai? (I) / Quanti anni ha (F) - How old are you?
Ho... - I am...
Buon appetito! -Enjoy your meal!
Salute - Bless you (when someone sneezes)
Mi dispiace (molto) - I'm (very) sorry
Scusa (I) / Mi scusi (F) - Excuse me
Che ne dici di un caffé (I) - How about a coffee?
Nessun problema - No problem
Non ti preoccupare (I) / Non si preoccupi (F) -Don't worry
Ti piace il vino rosso? (I) / Le piace il vino rosso (F) - Do you like red wine?
Mi piace molto / non mi piace per niente - I like it lot/I don't like it at all
Muoviti! (I) - Hurry up
Come stai? - How are you?
(molto) bene - (very) good
Non c'è male - Not too bad
Mi sa dire come si arriva (I)/ Mi sai dire come si arriva (F)... - Could you tell me how to get to...

• alla stazione dei treni? - the train station
• alla stazione di polizia? - the police station

Mi sa dire dov'è? (I) / Mi sai dire dov'è (F) -Could you tell me where .... is
il bancomat? - the ATM machine
l'ufficio informazioni - the tourist office
Vorrei.... - I would like...

• ordinare da mangiare/da bere - to order food/something to drink
• un biglietto dell'autobus - a bus ticket
• un caffé - a coffee
• dell'acqua minerale/gassata - some mineral/sparkling water
• noleggiare una macchina per il finesettimana - to rent a car for the weekend

Che ore sono? /Che ora è - What time is it?
A che ora parte il treno per Roma - At what time does the train to Rome leave?
Quanto costa... - How much is...

• una corsa fino all'aeroporto - a ride to the airport (to the taxi driver)
• una stanza doppia per due notti? - A double room for two nights?
  

Posso pagare con carta di credito? -C an I pay with credit card
E' occupato questo posto? - Is this seat taken?
Pronto, sono john, posso parlare con Marco - (on the phone) Hello, this is John speaking, can I talk to Marco?