Top 30 ITALIAN PHRASES for Traveling + FREE PDF Italian for Beginners - Greetings, Order Food & More

Buongiorno. Ciao. Come stai? So bene, grazie. A tu? Quanto costa? Scusami. Grazie mille. Hey, Miccio, che è successo? Travelling to Italy? Perfetto. If you could only learn the most important and versatile Italian travel phrases, what would they be? Well, stick around because that's what I'll be sharing with you today. Forget the travel phrase books with loads of vocabulary that you won't need or use. When you only have a limited time before your trip and want to learn some Italian basics, it can be hard to know where to begin. Using my unique 80-20 method, I've cherry-picked the most essential Italian travel phrases that you need to know before your trip, plus how to use them. The best part? You can use these Italian phrases over and over again and in almost any travel situation you find yourself in. To help you practice, make sure you download your free travel phrase cheat sheet with over 125 Italian travel phrases. It even includes a pronunciation guide. Just click on the link in the description below this video. Oh, and P.S. Make sure you watch until the end of this video for a special tip that will have you forming sentences on your own in no time. So you ready? Iniziamo! The first Italian phrase is... Ciao! Salve! Now, both of these mean hello. Now, this might seem obvious, but it's important to be able to greet people. You'll be doing this everywhere you go and multiple times throughout the day. Now, while I could have taught you how to say good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, these can only be used at certain times of day. Whereas, ciao and salve can be used at any time. One important caveat I should mention is that ciao is an informal greeting, so you should only use it with people who, one, you know well, like friends and family, or two, the other person uses it first. Otherwise, you should always use salve. This is more polite and takes out the guesswork of when you should use ciao or salve. Ciao! Salve! Other important greetings that you may want to learn are... Buongiorno! Literally, good day. Use this any time before lunchtime. Buona sera! This is used any time after lunchtime. Buona notte! Now, this is used before going to bed, not to say goodbye. For that, we have the next phrase, which is... Arrivederci! Now, this literally means until we see each other again, meaning goodbye. While, technically, you could use ciao when saying goodbye, saying arrivederci is more polite and a little bit more formal. Some Italians even pair them together and say ciao, arrivederci. Again, follow the lead of the person you're talking to and you can say either both or just one, arrivederci. Now, when you meet someone in Italy, a common question to ask is... Come sta? Come stai? Come sta? Now, this means how are you? But literally, what you're saying is how do you say? As in, what is your state of being? Now, this might sound a bit philosophical at first, but this will help you to remember this important question. It's important to know that there is the formal and informal way to address another person in Italian. Now, as a beginner of the language, you don't need to worry too much about mixing up these two forms as Italians know that you're learning and therefore are much more forgiving if you make a language faux pas. So, don't stress. So, when do you use the formal and informal forms? Easy. As a rule of thumb, you use the informal form when speaking with close friends, young people, children and even family members. Basically, anyone you know well. However, when speaking to a person you don't know well, such as a shopkeeper, a waiter, a teacher, a professor, a superior or someone of important social standing, such as a doctor, lawyer, police officer, then you should address him or her formally. With that said, here are some common replies to come sta, formal, and come stai, informal. You can say... Sto bene. I am or I stay well. Così. So, so, listen to the accent at the end. Così. Non c'è male. If things are okay, you can say, not bad. Non c'è male. After you reply, you can even ask the other person how they are just by adding two words. You can say... E tu? E lei? E tu? E lei? If you piece it all together, you can say... Sto bene. E lei? Sto bene. E lei? Sto bene. E lei? Sto bene. E lei? Sto bene. E tu? Sto bene. E tu? Sto bene. Next we have the phrase grazie, grazie. You'll be saying this a lot in Italy. This means thank you. If you change that E to an A at the end, this is also a female name, which also means grace in a religious context. Being polite and saying thank you is super important. You can say grazie when a waiter gives you your meal or grazie arrivederci as you leave a store or restaurant. Whenever you say grazie in return, you will most likely hear the word prego, prego, prego. Now this is a versatile phrase, which means you're welcome. But in other contexts, it can also mean, can I help you? For example, if you're at a restaurant, the waiter will say prego when they're ready to take your order, or you'll hear it at a supermarket when the cashier calls the next person in line. If you're feeling extra grateful, you might want to add the word mille afterwards, which means thousand or a thousand. But figuratively speaking, it means a lot or many. Before we move on, let's take a moment to focus on how to pronounce grazie. It's not grazi, two syllables, it's three syllables. It's grazie, grazie. You can also add grazie after someone asks you, come sta or come stai? For example. Sto bene, grazie, e tu? Non c'è male, grazie, e lei? Notice how you can start to piece all these sentences together. I told you it was powerful. The next phrase is a combo because you can't have one without the other. It is, si, si, si, si, no, no. Which mean yes and no, respectively. Si and no can not only be used in binary yes, no situations, but you can also use it as a substitute for additional phrases or vocabulary that you don't know how to say. For example, if you're ordering a gelato, you can point to the flavour that you want through the glass. The server may confirm by pointing it out to you. If they do, you can say si, grazie, or no, grazie, and try again. And if you're feeling a bit more adventurous, you can even throw in the word questo, meaning this one, questo. Questo. Si is pronounced short, thanks to the accent over the letter I. Si, it's not si. Then no, or no, is pronounced with the rounded lips that stay open, no. It's not like the English no, where your lips begin to narrow and close towards the end of the word. It's no, no. Si and no. Si, no, bravissimi. Now technically, I'm cheating with this one and giving you three for the price of one, but that's Italian for you. You see, there are several ways to say excuse me in Italian. The first one is the formal version, which is. Mi scusi. And the informal is. Scusami. Now these are both used to apologise for something small, like bumping into someone, or to get someone's attention, like a wait in a restaurant. The next one we have is. Permesso. Now this is used to get past someone. Both mi scusi and scusami literally mean excuse me, while permesso literally means permission. This is a memory hook. Think of this as asking for permission to get past someone on the street, or on a train, or in a bus, or in a shop. Just say permesso. If you can remember, I recommend using mi scusi in the formal form when you want to get attention of your waiter, a shop assistant, or someone in the street, if you need to ask for directions. Another way that you can apologise is by saying. Mi dispiace. I'm sorry. Literally, it displeases me. This is used when you want to apologise for something more serious. Feeling a bit lost in translation? Well, here are two phrases that you should know. They are. Non capisco. I don't understand. Think of that C in capisco is I don't comprehend. The next phrase is. Puoi ripetere? Can you repeat? You can even soften this request by adding. Per favore. Literally, for a favour. But what you really mean is please. Now you can start to stack these building blocks together and say. Puoi ripetere? Per favore. Puoi ripetere? Per favore. Puoi ripetere? Per favore. Puoi ripetere? Per favore. Can you say that again, please? You can even add mi dispiace and say. Mi dispiace. Non capisco. Puoi ripetere? Per favore. Mi dispiace. Non capisco. Puoi ripetere? Per favore. Mi dispiace. Non capisco. Puoi ripetere? Per favore. Mi dispiace. Non capisco. Puoi ripetere? Per favore. And if all else fails, you can just ask. Parla inglese? Do you speak English? Or for the informal variation, Parli inglese? The next phrase is super helpful if you want to know the price of something. It is, Quanto costa? How much is it? This phrase is great to use when you need to buy tickets or you're out shopping, especially in a market where you can get a bargain or ask for a discount. You don't even need to learn how to count because either they will tell you or point to a sign. Alternatively, you can gesture with your hand with a writing motion so they can write it down or you can whip out your phone and get them to type it in. If the price is too high, you can say, No, grazie, and start to walk away or type the amount in your phone of what you're willing to pay and see what they say. Other useful phrases to know when shopping and paying for something include, Posso aiutarla? Mi dica? Prego? If you're just browsing, you can say, Posso guardare? If you want to ask for a discount, you can say, Mi fa uno sconto? If you're ready to buy something, you can say, Lo compro. I'll take it or I'll buy it. If you want to check if you can pay either by card or cash, you can say, Posso pagare con carta di credito? May I pay with credit card? Or, Posso pagare in contanti? May I pay with cash? If you're looking for directions, use this phrase. It's, Come si arriva a? Which means, how do you get to? Literally, how does one arrive at? Now, if you're in need of directions, this phrase is great to ask someone on the street. Now, since we don't know the person, use the formal form. Mi scusi, come si arriva a? Then using your tourist map from your accommodation, point to where you want to go or try saying the name of the place, preferably using the Italian pronunciation. For example, the Colosseum in Italian is, il Colosseo, il Colosseo. The Trevi Fountain is, Fontana di Trevi, Fontana di Trevi. Now, while you may not understand all the directions you receive, the person can at least point you in the initial right direction. Then if along the way you need more help, you can stop another person and start again. If you want to avoid asking for directions altogether, I recommend using Google Maps to download ahead of time. Select the place you're visiting and download the map so it's available offline and to use without Wi-Fi. Naturally, if you're from the European Union, roaming is free and you'll have Google Maps available at any time. But if you're not, this is a handy travel tip. For more Italy travel tips that will save you time, money and disappointment, just click on the link in the description below. The next phrase is, Dov'è il bagno? This literally means, where is the bathroom? When mother nature calls, you don't want to rely on miming to communicate what you're looking for or what you need. How would you even do that? Hold your private parts? Save yourself the embarrassment and learn this phrase. Dov'è il bagno? Now, a key word to remember here is the original form of the word, which is Dov'è, Dov'è. This means, where. Dov'è means, where is it? Now, to help you to remember this, think of Dov'è and the spelling as dove. So, where is the dove? Dov'è, Dov'è, Dov'è il bagno? You can use Dov'è to ask things like, Di dove sei? Where are you from? Informal. Di dov'è? Where are you from? Formal. To which you can reply with either of these forms. Sono di. You can say, sono di plus the city. For example. Sono di New York. Sono di Melbourne. Sono di Sydney. Try and Italianize the pronunciation so you're understood. The alternative way to reply is, sono plus an adjective. For example. Sono americano. Sono australiano. Sono americano. Sono americana. Sono australiano. Sono australiana. Or if you're Canadian, you can just say, Sono canadese. The gender doesn't change. To find out more about gender in Italian, watch this video here. This next phrase is super versatile. It is, vorrei. Vorrei. Vorrei, which means I would like. This is perhaps the most versatile phrase that you will learn because you can say vorrei and point to what you want. For example, a flavor of gelato followed by saying, grazie, which is a nice substitute for please if you forget how to say it. Do you remember how to say it? Per favore. Or you can say vorrei and then point to a menu item or vorrei and hold up two fingers when you want to purchase tickets to a museum. It's broken Italian, but it shows that you're making an effort and that will always be appreciated. You can also say things like, Vorrei due biglietti, per favore. I'd like two tickets, please. Vorrei fare una prenotazione, per favore. I'd like to make a booking or reservation, please. Vorrei ordinare una pizza margherita. I'd like to order a margherita pizza. Speaking of food, here are some essential phrases to know when eating out. The phrase, prendo, prendo. Prendo literally means I'll take. But when talking about food, this word is used a lot and it means I would like, just like vorrei. But this is used specifically in the context of food. While you can say vorrei, prendo is more used in this context. So together with prendo, you can say, Prendo due birre, per favore. I'll take or I'll have two beers, please. Prendo una bottiglia di vino della casa, per favore. I'll have a bottle of house wine, please. Prendo un vino rosso. Prendo un vino bianco. I'll take the red or white wine. Prendo una bottiglia di acqua naturale. I'll take a bottle of still water. Prendo una bottiglia di acqua gassata. I'll have a bottle or I'll take a bottle of sparkling water. Other key phrases that you may want to remember are, Il menu, per favore. The menu, please. Got an allergy? If you're a male, you can say, Sono allergico a... Remember the O at the end for masculine. Or if you're female, then it changes to an A. Sono allergica a... If you're vegetarian, the same rules apply with the masculine and feminine. Sono vegetariano. Vegetariana. Sono vegetariano. Vegetariana. As you receive your food, your waiter might say, Buon appetito. Literally, good appetite. If you want to compliment the meal, you can say, Era buonissimo. It was really good. When it's time to pay the bill, don't expect them to bring it to you without asking first. For that, you need to say, Il conto, per favore. Think about that, conto is like the account or the numbers being added up. Il conto, per favore. And they'll bring it right to your table. Here are some other miscellaneous Italian phrases for travel you may not have thought of. If you're raising a toast, you might want to say, cheers. For that, we say, salute. Salute. If you find yourself hanging out with Italians in a bar or a club, knowing how to say cheers is a great way to bond with the locals and build a friendship. Salute literally means health, and it's also used when someone sneezes. Now with all this sightseeing that you're going to be doing, you might need to ask someone to take your photo, for which you can ask, Può farmi una foto, per favore? This is the formal version. Or, puoi farmi una foto, per favore? Puoi farmi una foto, per favore? If you need someone to wait for you while you do something, you can say, Un attimo, per favore. Give me a moment, please. Literally, a moment, please. Now, God forbid you find yourself in trouble and need help, but if you do, here are some phrases you should know. The first one is, Aiuto. Aiuto, which means help. If you need something, you can use the phrase, Ho bisogno di. Literally, I have need of. Ho bisogno di. So you can say, Ho bisogno di un dottore. I have a need of a doctor. I need a doctor. If you need to call the police, an ambulance, or the fire brigade, you can say, Chiami. These are the formal variations with chiami. For the informal, just change it to chiama. Chiama. La polizia. Un'ambulanza. I vigili del fuoco. If you enjoyed this lesson, then you'll love Intrepid Italian, my series of online self-paced video courses that break down everything you need to know about Italian using my unique AT20 method. Just visit intrepiditalian.com for more details. Now for that special bonus tip. Now to help you form your own sentences and cheat your way to fluency in Italian before your trip to Italy, make sure you watch this video here. It's a game changer. And if you want more, learn how to order food and drink in Italian by watching this video here. And don't forget to download your free travel phrase cheat sheet. Just click on the link in the description below this video. Ciao and buon viaggio.