Conversational Italian

Italian's are expressive and we talk with actions to emphasise our feelings!

When learning to speak you need to be confident and you need to learn how to pronounce the words so that it will be easy to understand.

Conversational Italian tips will help you when you are lost or you need to order something in a restaurant.

If you are about to travel to Italy then here are a few sentences for you to learn so that you can enjoy the tastes and sites of Italia and get by with ease!

There are different dialects in certain places but every Italian will understand you once you have learnt conversational Italian....they might even help you with more language lessons too!

In Italy there are many people that speak English so if you are stuck with the words just ask anyone to help you or point you in the direction of where you would like to be.

Get a map before you get there and if all fails, you can point yourself to where you want to go.

There are lots of information desks all over and most of the guest relations officers speak English so they will be helpful to you.

When checking in to your hotel make sure that you understand the credit card rates before you give out your card as some of the hotels put the full amount of your stay on when you check in.

Lets start with greetings;

Hello

Ciao

Where do I check in

Dove check - in

Where is foreign exchange

Dove e il cambio

My luggage is lost

Bagaglio e perso

Where is the exit

Dove l' uscita

Thank you

Grazie

Ciao, mi chiamo Michelle

Vorrei controllare

Ecco il mio passaporto

Dove si trova il cancello?

Grazie

On the Plane

Acqua per favore

succo per favore

te'

caffe'

con latte

senza latte

Io ho freddo

Come ti chiamo

Piacere

Once you have arrived and managed to get out of the airpoirt you need to find transport to your hotel.

Where is the bus? Dov'è l'autobus

Where is the taxi? Dov'e taxi

How much? Quanto

Please take me to the hotel ti prego, portami all' hotel

The pronunciation is the way that you see it, just pretend that you are Italian an speak with passion!

Buon Giorno

L'hotel ...... per favore

Si prega di rallentare

La strada veloce per favore

Avete un metro

Si prega di smettere qui

Pottrebe prendermi in un' ora

Grazie

Hello CIAO

I am checking in my name is ...... Sto controllando in, il mio nome e........

Is there a porter c'e un portiere

Where do I go dove devo andare

What time is dinner che ora e la cena (chenah)

Do you have foreign exchange avete cambi

I would like to check out vorrei controllare

Taxi please taxi per favore

Once you are seated the waiter will come and ask you if you would like something to drink.

Da bera?

Vorrei un .....coca - cola

Water - Aqua

Mineral water - Acqua minerale

Coffee with milk - Cafe latte

Black coffee - Cafe nero

Beer - Birra

Wine - vino red- rosso white- bianco

Juice - succo

To order food it is easy to look at the menu and see what there is. The waiter will ask, "Mi Dica" which means tell me what you would like.

Most of the Italian restaurants serve chicken, fish and meat.

Chicken - pollo

Meat - Carne

Fish - Pesce (peh sheh)

Salad - insalata

Pasta - pasta

The easiest and safest to order would be pasta. Arrabiata means it is "spicy hot"

Can I have the bill? Posso avera la fattura or you can just say - Acconto perfavore

I am allergic to nuts - sono allergico alle noce (noh cheh)

Enjoying the food in Italy means that you can order anything and enjoy it because the taste is so good.

Look out for these things to avoid eating something that you will not enjoy.

Coniglio - rabbit

Fegati - livers

Trippa - tripe

Where is the toilet? Dove il Bagnio (Bun - e -or)

I am lost mi sono perso

Please can you help me per favore aiutatemi (awutaa-teh-me)

Do you speak English parli Inglese

Where can I find dove posso trovare......

How much? quanto

Discount sconto

Bus stop please - Fermatta dell' autobus per favore

What is the time - Che ore sono? (kay aur he)

How do I get to this hotel? - Come arrivare a questo hotel (kohmuo)

Do you have a map? Hai una mappa

Where are you going? Dove vai?

What time does the ferry leave? Che ora lasciare il traghetto? (lah -sha - rey)

Chi - is pronounced without the "h" and sounds like "key"

Ce - is pronounced with the "h" and sounds like "cheh"

If you have a word with glio in it the "g" is silent eg; baglio - pronounced bah-leeoh

Dove' - doh - veh

Buon Giorno - bon geor-noh

Come Stai? kho meh sty

Bene - beh neh

Buongiorno - bwon - johr - no

Chiamo - key - ah - mor

Arrivederci - ah - ree- vah - der - chi ( goodbye in Rome)

Anything female has the word "A" at the end and male is "o"

The most important thing to know in Italian when in Italy is Aiutami - oy - tah - me

Italians are very helpful and extremely patient!!

Uno- (ooh - no) 1

Due- (do - weh) 2

tre- (treh) 3

quattro- (quat - raw) 4

cinque- (chin - kwa) 5

sei- (say) 6

sette- (set - the) 7

otto- (aw- toh) 8

nove- (noh - veh) 9

diece- (deer - chi) 10

How much? Quanto?

Where is my change? Dove' il mio cambiamento?

Can I have a receipt? Posso avere una ricevuta?

I gave you 100 Ti ho dato 100

My change is wrong? il mio cambiamento e' sbagliato

You can use Ciao to say hello and goodbye but if you want to show that you know a little more than you can try some of these for greetings.

Buongiorno good morning

Buonasera - good afternoon

Buona notte - good night

Arrivederci - goodbye ( in Rome)

Che bella giornata! - What a beautiful day!

Fa freddo - It is cold

Fa caldo - it is hot

Voglio il Gelato - I want ice- cream

Mille Grazie - Thank you very much

Ti amo - I love you

Come' Bello - How beautiful

Piacere di conoscerti - Nice to meet you

Dov'e l' autobus? Where is the bus

Quanto dista la stazione? How far is the station?

Dove posso travare una mappa? Where can I find a map

Dove e il banco informazione? Where is the information desk?

Bisogno di medico? I need a doctor?