Useful Words in Italian:
| and |
e |
eh |
always |
sempre |
sehm-preh |
| or |
o |
oh |
often |
spesso |
speh-soh |
| but |
ma |
mah |
sometimes |
qualche volta |
kwal-keh vohl-tah |
| not |
non |
nohn |
usually |
usualmente |
oo-zoo-al-mehn-teh |
| while |
mentre |
mehn-treh |
especially |
specialmente |
speh-chee-al-mehn-teh |
| if |
se |
seh |
except |
eccetto |
eh-cheh-toh |
| because |
perché |
pehr-kay |
book |
il libro |
lee-broh |
| very, a lot |
molto |
mohl-toh |
pencil |
la matita |
mah-tee-tah |
| also, too |
anche |
ahn-keh |
pen |
la penna |
pehn-nah |
| although |
benché |
behn-keh |
paper |
la carta |
kar-tah |
| now |
adesso, ora |
ah-deh-so, oh-rah |
dog |
il cane |
kah-neh |
| perhaps, maybe |
forse |
for-seh |
cat |
il gatto |
gah-toh |
| then |
allora, poi |
ahl-loh-rah, poy |
friend (fem) |
l’amica |
ah-mee-kah |
| there is |
c’è |
cheh |
friend (masc) |
l’amico |
ah-mee-koh |
| there are |
ci sono |
chee soh-noh |
woman |
la donna |
dohn-nah |
| there was |
c’era |
che-rah |
man |
l’uomo |
woh-moh |
| there were |
c’erano |
che-rah-no |
girl |
la ragazza |
rah-gat-sah |
| here is |
ecco |
ehk-koh |
boy |
il ragazzo |
rah-gat-soh |
Common places and locations
It is also helpful to know the correct vocabulary for some of the common places or locations that you might need or want while traveling in Italy.
banca (bank)
città (city)
il consolato Americano (American consulate)
il ristorante (restaurant)
in campagna (in the country)
in città (in the city)
in montagna (in the mountains)
l‘albergo (hotel)
l‘ospedale (hospital)
la casa (house)
la polizia (police)
la stazione dei treni (train station)
metropolitana (subway)
museo (museum)
negozio (store)
paese (country)
spiaggia (beach)
stato (state)
ufficio (office)
Question Words in Italian:
| Who |
Chi |
kee |
| Whose |
Di chi |
dee kee |
| What |
Che cosa |
keh koh-sah |
| Why |
Perché |
pehr-keh |
| When |
Quando |
kwahn-doh |
| Where |
Dove |
doh-veh |
| How |
Come |
koh-meh |
| How much |
Quanto |
kwahn-toh |
| Which |
Quale |
kwah-leh |
Days of the week:
| Monday |
lunedì |
loo-neh-dee |
| Tuesday |
martedì |
mahr-teh-dee |
| Wednesday |
mercoledì |
mehr-koh-leh-dee |
| Thursday |
giovedì |
zhoh-veh-dee |
| Friday |
venerdì |
veh-nehr-dee |
| Saturday |
sabato |
sah-bah-toh |
| Sunday |
domenica |
doh-men-ee-kah |
| yesterday |
ieri |
yer-ee |
| day before yesterday |
avantieri / l’altroieri (m) |
ah-vahn-tyee-ree |
| last night |
ieri sera |
yer-ee seh-rah |
| today |
oggi |
ohd-jee |
| tomorrow |
domani |
doh-mahn-ee |
| day after tomorrow |
dopodomani |
doh-poh-doh-mahn-ee |
| day |
il giorno |
eel zhor-noh |
To say
on Mondays, on Tuesdays, etc., use
il before
lunedì through
sabato, and
la before
domenica.
Months of the year:
| January |
gennaio |
jehn-nah-yoh |
| February |
febbraio |
fehb-brah-yoh |
| March |
marzo |
mar-tsoh |
| April |
aprile |
ah-pree-leh |
| May |
maggio |
mahd-joh |
| June |
giugno |
joo-nyoh |
| July |
luglio |
loo-lyoh |
| August |
agosto |
ah-goh-stoh |
| September |
settembre |
seht-tehm-breh |
| October |
ottobre |
oht-toh-breh |
| November |
novembre |
noh-vehm-breh |
| December |
dicembre |
dee-chem-breh |
| week |
la settimana |
lah sett-ee-mah-nah |
| month |
il mese |
eel meh-zeh |
| year |
l’anno |
lahn-noh |
Days and months are
not capitalized
. To express the date, use
È il (number) (month). May 5th would be
È il 5 (or
cinque) maggio. But for the first of the month, use
primo instead of 1 or uno. To express
ago, as in
two days ago, a month ago, etc., just add
fa afterwards. To express
last, as in
last Wednesday, last week, etc., just add
scorso (for masculine words) or
scorsa (for feminine words) afterwards.
una settimana fa – a week ago
la settimana scorsa – last week
un mese fa – a month ago
l’anno scorso – last year
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