Last Updated on March 14, 2021 by Tia
So you booked your dream trip to Italy! YAY! In this article with The Most Common Italian Words, you will find easy Italian words and phrases that any traveler in Italy should know
. These words, will make your travels smoother, and ensure you are able to communicate easily. Ordering food? Looking for directions or help? I’ve got you covered!
After all, Italians aren’t known for their expert English communication. But they are an incredible nation that will go above and beyond to help you if you meet them halfway and try!
Lastly, learning Italian is not hard at all, and the language is one of the most beautiful in the world! I managed to learn Italian in my one-year stay in Florence, and I never had to open a dictionary! So go on, give it a try!
Table of Contents
Planning A Trip To Italy: Which cities and islands to visit!
Most Common Italian Words – The Basics
Yes – Si
No – No
Hello/ Goodbye – Ciao is actually a word that can be used both for hello and for goodbye! Additionally, you can say ”Arrivederci” – pronounced Ariveder-CHI
Goodmorning – Buon Giorno (Giorno is day)
Good evening – Buona sera (sera is evening)
Good night – Buena notte (notte is night)
Please – Per favore! Pronounced PerfavorE
Thank you -Gracie . Pronounced GraTSIE
You’re Welcome – Prego
Excuse me – Mi scusi
I am sorry – Mi dispiace. Pronounced Mi DispiaSHE
Have a good day! – Buona Serata
Help! – Aiuto (and you pronounce every letter!)
Restaurant – Ristorante
Beer – Birra
Coffee – Un caffe per favore
Find out the Information you need to know when traveling to Italy
Most Common Italian Words – Phrases and Questions
Nice to meet you – Piacere – Pronounced ”PiaCHEre”
My name is – Il mio Nome e. Additionally you can also say ”Mi chiamo” – Pronounced Mi Kiamo
Do you speak English? – Parla Inglese?
Can you please help me? Mi potete aiutare per favore?
Where is… ? Dove si trova (literally translates to Where can i find…) A simpler version is to simply say ”Dove e” ?
How much does it cost? Quando Costa?
Can I have a two tickets for... Due biglietti per favore!
What time is it? – Che ora e ? (the CHE is pronounced KE)
How old are you? Quanti anni hai ? (The hai is pronounced like AI – without the H!)
Where is the toilet? Dov’è la toilette?
Italy Packing List – What to Pack For Italy
Most Common Italian Words and Phrases for Restaurants
Can I have the menu please? Mi porta il menù per favore?
May i see the wine menu? Posso vedere la carta dei vini?
I am vegetarian – Sono vegetariano/vegeteriana
I am vegan Io sono vegano/vegana (Vegano for men, Vegana for women)
Do you have any specials today? Qual è la specialità del giorno?
Can I have the bill please? Il conto, per favore.
I am allergic to …. Sono allergico ai …
Meat – La carne
Fish – Il Pesche (Pronounced PeSHe )
Soup – La Zuppa
Salad – L’insalata
Vegetables – La Verdura
Desert – Dolce (Pronounced DolCHE)
Check out The Most Incredible Foods to Eat In Italy
Most common Italian words and phrases – For Pharmacies
I am in Pain Sono dolorante
I need medication – Ho bisogno di medicine (The H is not pronounced!)
Headache – Mal di testa
Fever – Febbre
Vomiting – Vomito
I need the morning after pill -Pillola del giorno dopo
I need a pregnancy test Ho bisogno di un test di gravidanza
What to do in 3days in Rome
How to ask for help in Emergency situations
It goes without saying that I wish no traveler ever needs emergency assistance. But life is unpredictable, and just because it hasn’t happened to you before, doesn’t mean you are not just as vulnerable as everybody else!
In case of emergency please call 113 – The national emergency number and the Italian State Police will answer. You can also call 112 for the Carabinieri, the other Italian Police force, or 118 for medical emergencies.
I am lost – Mi sono perso
Call the police – Chiama la polizia
I have been robbed – Sono stato derubato
I have been assaulted – Sono stato assalito
Numbers
- 0- Zero
- 1 – Uno
- 2- Due
- 3- tre
- 4- Quatro
- 5- Cinque
- 6- Sei
- 7- Sette
- 8- Otto
- 9 – Nove
- 10 – Dieci
I hope you have enjoyed my Most Common Italian Words, and that you have fun with learning! Trust me, a little dedication from you will go a long way to you having the most fantastic Italian holiday of your lives!
Related Italy Posts
- Things to know when traveling to Italy – Budget, Safety, Information
- Choose which city or island in Italy to visit – All the Italian inspiration for planning a trip to Italy
- 3 days in Rome full itinerary – A perfect, all-inclusive guide!
- The perfect packing list for Italy – or any European Summer Vacation
- The most common Italian Words and Phrases – the basic stuff, so you can travel like a local too!
- 14 Most Delicious Italian Foods to eat in Italy
Gracie! Tia x
35 comments
What a useful blog post! Such a good idea for all of these words and phrases to be in one place. I should do this with Spanish!
That’s a great idea, Alexandra! 🙂
‘Mi scusi’ sounds soooo cute! It’s my favourite Italian phrase – haha.
hahaha, I totally agree! It reads even funnier than it sounds!
This is an incredible post. Thanks for compiling all the basic things one need when travelling to Itali. I will save it for future reference.
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you think so 🙂
Italian is sooo beautiful! I always try to learn the basic words and phrases of the countries that I’m travelling to – it just makes the travel experience much better I think!
I totally agree! It makes the locals warm up to you so much doesn’t it!
Thanks for sharing this very useful post ..I am saving it for my visit to Italy
Fantastic, I am hoping it will come in handy real soon!
Very helpful. I especially love the way you order a coffee: A coffee, PLEASE! Thank you for teaching people how to also be polite while traveling. It goes a great deal for people working in services.
Absolutely! Nothing more important than manners – in any language! Everyone deserves happy vibes!
So inspirational! Now I want to learn Italian!
Once you’ve learned these basics, You can also use the Duolingo app to further your skills its great! My native language in Greek, I speak fluent English and now polishing my Italian on that app too! Its free! 🙂
love all these phrases! this is a great time to learn a language
I couldn’t agree more! I could speak basic Italian before, and I have been taking Italian lessons via an app since the beginning of the quarantine! Ive seen a massive improvement, especially in my grammar!
Italy is such a beautiful country! I learned Italian back in school but I have mostly forgotten everything but luckily I can get by and place an order in a restaurant.
Spend a month there and Im sure it will all come rushing back! 🙂
I love this Tia! So helpful!!! I’m actually learning Italian through Duolingo. It’s such a beautiful language! 🙂
I am polishing mine on the same app too! 🙂 I could speak some before but I couldn’t write it at all, its great!
Hey this is super useful! I´m often in Italy and can actually speak the language but sometimes it´s hard to switch directly and as much as I like Italians, most of them realy struggle with foreign languages, so it´s good to know a few words in Italian 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
They do struggle quite a bit, don’t they! Costa Rica was a struggle too! they speak Spanish, so I could understand them (as i can speak Italian) but they couldn’t understand me at all!
Italy is one my favorite 2 destinations! Definitely goinf back again when this is all over 😍
same here! Im obsessed!
Super useful! You make me want to do the same for the French language! I will for sure use it next time I visit Italy!
You should! I’ve had great feedback from this one so far!
Very good idea to start learning another language now that we are in close down. Every time I have been in Italy I kind of work around not knowing Italian by speaking either Spanish or Catalan, but I will print down these sentences and words for my next trip.
Such a useful post, thank you! It’s the perfect time to be learning a new language too! I can’t wait to visit Italy again 🙂
you and me both Dani! I am currently taking my Italian on the next level via an app. It’s great!
This is such a great list – I think it’s so important that tourists make an effort to speak the local language when traveling. Thanks for sharing. Your photos are stunning!
Thank you so much Carryn! Yes it all shows respect doesn’t it, and makes travel so much more authentic in my eyes!
Thanks for putting this together! It´s always useful to have the most comment phrases ready at hand!
That’s what I thought! Thank you for reading 🙂
I really loved this post more than expected, Tia! Being one of my favourite countries and languages, I think I spent good 10 minutes saying everything out loud. Makes me miss Italy so much more.
That’s brilliant haha! I totally agree, what a country and what a language! I’m obsessed! So glad you like the article 🙂