I’ve Lived in Italy 15+ Years—These Are the Italian Words and Phrases Every Traveler Should Know Before a Visit

In most big cities and heavily touristed areas in Italy, hotel and restaurant staff, shopkeepers, and museum attendants will almost certainly speak at least some English. But venture to smaller towns and out-of-the-way places, and you’re less likely to be understood when you ask a question in English. And wherever you go in Italy, trying to speak at least some Italian with the people you encounter is a common courtesy and is usually very much appreciated. 

“Italians will help you when you try to speak Italian,” a professor in Rome once told me, “because they’re so grateful when anyone tries to learn their crazy language.”

As my professor said, Italians will be patient with you when you try to speak—and potentially mangle—their language. Here are some guidelines, words, and phrases to get you ready for your next trip to Italy.

Pronunciation Basics 

A key difference between Italian and French—and Italian and English for that matter—is that in Italian, there are almost no silent letters—instead we pronounce every letter in the word. That means, for example, the most ubiquitous Italian word, grazie, is not pronounced grat-zee, but graht-tzee-yey—with three syllables, with the i and the e distinct from one another.  

Another key is knowing how letters are pronounced in Italian. Here are some general examples:

A is pronounced as a short A, so ah. Example: area is pronounced ah-reh-ah.

E is pronounced as a long A, so ay, and it’s never silent. Example: carne (meat) is car-nay.

I is pronounced as a long E, so ee. Example: ieri (yesterday) is ee-yehr-ree.

U is a hard vowel, usually pronounced oo. Example: uva (grape) is oo-vah.

Here’s another important one: CH creates a K sound, as when used in two of my favorite words, chianti (key-ahn-tee) and bruschetta (broo-skeh-tuh).

The only thing close to a silent letter combination is GN, which is a sort of nyee sound for which there’s no real equivalent in English. So Bologna is buh-lon-yah, gnocchi is nyo-key, and bagno, which means bath or bathroom, is bah-nyoh.

Greetings and Goodbyes

Buongiorno (bwohn-jor-noh) has a lot of meanings for one little word. It literally translates to “good day,” but is an umbrella term for saying hello, especially before the afternoon, when you’d say buonasera (bwohn-ah sayr-ah) which means good evening. After all the years I’ve lived here, I’m still not sure when the cut-off point is between the two terms, but I usually say buonasera from about 3 or 4 p.m. 

When in doubt, you can also say salve (sal-vay), which is a formal hello good for any time of day. As I shared in my article, unspoken rules to follow when you visit Italy, ciao (chow) should only be used as a salutation when you’re already on familiar terms with the person.

At the end of an evening, say, when you’re leaving a restaurant, buonanotte (bwohn-ah noh-tay) is how you say goodbye or good night. Arrivederci (ah-ree-vah-dehr-chee) literally means “until we meet again” and is a more formal goodbye—a good one to use when you check out of your hotel, for example. 

Basic Italian Words and Phrases for Travelers

Si (see) means yes, and no (no) means no. Add a please: per favore (pehr fah-vohr-ey), thank you: grazie (graht-tzee-yey), and you’re welcome: prego (prey-go), and you’ll have some important bases covered. Note that prego has several connotations—it’s used when answering the phone; your restaurant server may use the term after serving your food, and someone holding open a door for you may say it as a polite gesture.

To ask someone if they speak English, say “parla inglese?” (par-lah een-gleh-zeh?).

To say “I don’t speak Italian” (which they’ve probably already figured out), say “non parlo italiano” (nohn par-low ee-tah-lyah-noh).

There are several forms of “excuse me.” Mi scusi (mee skoo-zee) is used when you need to interrupt or get someone’s attention. Permesso (pehr-mehs-soh) applies when you’re moving through a crowd or need to ask someone to step out of your way. Say scusa (skooz-ah) if you bump them or step on their foot while doing so.

To ask where something is, start with: dov’è (doh-vey)…? 

• la stazione (lah stat-tzee-oh-neh): the station
• il bagno (eel bah-nyoh): the bathroom
• una farmacia (oo-nuh far-mah-chee-ah)?: a pharmacy 

To ask how much something costs, say: quanto costa (kwan-toh coh-sta)?

To ask for the check at a restaurant, say: il conto, per favore (eel kon-toh pehr fah-vohr-ey).

Common Words to Know

• Quando (kwan-doh): When
• Oggi (oh-gee): Today
• Ieri (ee-yehr-ree): Yesterday
• Domani (doh-mah-nee): Tomorrow
• Colazione (coh-laht-tzee-ohn-ay): Breakfast
• Pranzo (prahn-zoh): Lunch
• Cena (chay-nah): Dinner
• Dolce (dohl-chay): Dessert

Numbers 1-10

• 1  uno (oo-noh)
• 2 due (doo-ay)
• 3  tre (tray)  
• 4 quattro (kwah-troh)
• 5 cinque (cheen-kway)
• 6  sei (say)
• 7 sette (set-tay)
• 8 otto (ott-oh)
• 9 nove (noh-vay)
• 10 dieci (dee-ay-chee)