
How many times have you found yourself at a loss for words when speaking Italian, or a little shy when starting a conversation in Italian with people you have just met? Or, after the person you were talking to is gone, you think to yourself… “I could have said this… I could have answered that…”
This is normal, but it is especially true for conversations in another language, where not all words, sentences, or structures might come to mind immediately.
This is why it makes sense to prepare a little “helper”, a “conversation kit,” to help get the communication going and to help improve your conversation in Italian.
In this guide, you will find conversation starters, appropriate reactions to specific questions, filler words and phrases, and everything else to improve your Italian conversation skills!

Get your cheat sheet ready and start a conversation!

- Make Your Own Conversation Cheat Sheet
- Italian Reactions Words and Expressions
- Learn Italian Filler Words
- Questions and Answers
- Italian Conversation Starters
- How to Improve your Conversation Skills
- Conclusion
1. Make Your Own Conversation Cheat Sheet
1- What’s a cheat sheet?
To improve your conversation in Italian, a conversation cheat sheet is the best way to quickly improve your skills by making a set of Italian words and phrases, lines, or expressions that you can learn and easily access when you need to start a conversation. It is a way to feel more secure and to be sure to always have topics and arguments that are interesting to you.
In this guide, we will give you some hints and suggestions (and many more you can find online), but ultimately, you are the one that will have to put together this list based on your profile, personality, and interests. And, of course, the type of Italian people you will have to interact with.
2- Why would I need one?
A conversation cheat sheet is very useful if you are a bit shy, a little insecure, and if you want to be sure you don’t get stuck without things to say and topics to tackle.
In fact, you can always start a conversation in Italian by introducing yourself and talking about the things you do and like. But this will only take you so far. You better be prepared to ask and answer questions about different topics in order to build relationships and friendships.
3- How do I make one?
A good way to start making your own conversation sheet is to make a brief description of who you are and what you like. Maybe mentioning what you did in your recent past and what you like and hope for the future.
Here is an example of a possible personal introduction to include in your conversation starter. Make sure you mention any particular or unusual event or hobby in your life. Those make great conversation starters!
Ciao, mi chiamo Jessica, sono americana e ho 28 anni. Da due anni, studio letteratura italiana all’Università di Bologna. Prima di venire in Italia, ho viaggiato molto e ho vissuto in diversi paesi. Sono fidanzata con un ragazzo brasiliano e mi piace molto leggere, cucinare e coltivare un orto in casa. |
“Hi, my name is Jessica, I am American and I’m 28. I have been studying Italian literature at the University of Bologna for two years. Before coming to Italy, I traveled a lot and lived in different countries. I am engaged to a Brazilian guy and I really enjoy reading, cooking and growing a vegetable garden at home.” |

Start by writing a small introduction
- ➜ If you’re a beginner, the best place to start is definitely our blog article on How to Introduce Yourself in Italian. It’s freely available on ItalianPod101.
Then, you can elaborate on individual parts and imagine how you would answer specific questions by gathering phrases and words specifically tailored to your needs.
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4- Getting off to a good start
Don’t worry if you think it’s too hard for a beginner! There are plenty of resources you can use, depending on your level:
- Online translators are great tools to get fast translations into the target language. Make sure you translate simple sentences, and the translations will be mostly correct. Google translate is the most popular option, but you can also find other good tools.
- Other online tools such as Reverso context can help you with idioms and expressions, and they give a very good idea of how certain words or expressions are used in context.
- ItalianPod101 has tons of free content, blog articles, and vocabulary lists you can use. The lists are especially useful if you’re looking for a specific topic, as they’ll provide sentences and vocabulary that suit your specific needs.
- A personal teacher is the perfect strategy for learning fast and hard. Your teacher can guide you through the process of writing your conversation cheat sheet and fix any tiny mistakes. Be sure to check our private coaching service from our Premium PLUS offer.
2. Italian Reactions Words and Expressions
Have you ever talked to someone who remained completely silent until it got really awkward and you couldn’t tell if they were still paying attention? This is what reaction words and expressions are meant to prevent.
In this chapter, let’s see how to react to a statement by expressing excitement, curiosity, annoyance, or disbelief. It will help make your conversations smoother and more lively, as well avoiding awkward silences that would make the other person uncomfortable.
That’s Great! – Bene! / Bravo!
Q: Nel tempo libero gioco a basket. (“In my free time I play basketball.”) A: Bravo/a! Lo sport è importante. (“That’s great, sport is important!”) A: Bene! Possiamo giocare insieme qualche volta? (“Cool! Can we play together some time?”) |
Really? – Davvero?
Q: Non sono mai stato/a in Spagna. (“I’ve never been to Spain.”) A: Davvero? È bellissima, dovresti andarci. (“Really? It’s beautiful, you should go.”) |
I’m sorry… – Mi dispiace…
Q: Purtroppo non ho passato l’esame. (“Unfortunately I didn’t pass the test.”) A: Mi dispiace, quando potrai riprovare? (“I’m sorry. When will you able to try the test again?”) |
Unbelievable! – Incredibile!
Q: Non mi piace la pizza. (“I don’t like pizza.”) A: Incredibile! (“Unbelievable!”) [Formal or Casual] A: Seriamente? (“Seriously?”) [Formal or Casual] A: Non ci credo! (“No way!”) [Formal or Casual] A: Scherzi? (“Are you kidding?”) [Casual] A: Scherza? (“Are you kidding?”) [Formal] |
That’s too bad! – Peccato!
Q: Non posso venire al cinema. Devo studiare. (“I can’t come to the movie. I have to study.”) A: Peccato! Questo film è molto bello. (“Oh, that’s too bad! The movie is very good.”) [Formal or Casual] A: Che peccato! (“Oh, what a pity!) [Formal or Casual] |
Keep me updated! – Fammi sapere!
Q: Forse riesco a raggiungervi più tardi. (“I think I’ll be able to catch up with you later.”) A: OK, fammi sapere! (“Alright, let me know!”) [Casual] A: OK, tienimi al corrente! (“Alright, keep me posted!”) [Casual] A: Va bene, mi tenga aggiornato! (“Alright, keep me posted!”) [Formal] |
- ➜ This is just a quick list of common reaction words and phrases, but you can find a few more in our blog article on Intermediate Italian Phrases on ItalianPod101.
3. Learn Italian Filler Words
Now that you have the foundations of your conversation sheet let’s change the tempo and talk about something slightly weirder. Academic studies can prepare you for many things, but when you start a real conversation, you’ll hear a lot of strange sounds and words that don’t ring any bells.
Italian Filler words are these short useless sounds and words that locals use to fill the gaps. They exist in every language I know, and you don’t necessarily have to use them unless you want to sound genuinely local. However, learning about them so you can filter them out is very important.

Eh… la mela o la torta? (“Uh, apple or cake?”)
Here are some of the most common Italian filler words:
Italian: Eh… | English equivalent: “Uh…” |
Vorrei un cornetto e, eh… un cappuccino. (“I would like a cornetto and, uh… a cappuccino.”) Eh… non so proprio cosa scegliere. (“Uh… I don’t know what to choose.”) |
Italian: Beh – Be’ – Bene | English equivalent: “Well” |
Q: Vuoi ancora del vino? (“Will you have more wine?”) A: Be’, perché no? (“Well, why not?”) A: Vino? Be’ … non credo proprio. Devo guidare. (“Wine? Well… I don’t think so. I have to drive.”) |
Italian: Cioè | English equivalent: “Actually” |
Vengo domani, cioè, forse vengo. (“I’ll come tomorrow, actually, I’ll probably come.”) Ti telefonerò, cioè, ti manderò un messaggio. (“I’ll call you, actually, I’ll text you.”) |
Italian: Allora | English equivalent: “Well” or “So” |
Allora, cosa ne pensi? (“Well, what do you think?”) Allora, ci andiamo? (“So, shall we go?”) |
Do you want to know exactly how Italians use this filler word? Watch this hilarious scene from a popular series: https://youtu.be/8U1F-XwTeNg.
Italian: Vedi – Guarda (informal) Veda – Guardi (formal) | English equivalent: “You know” or “You see” |
Vedi, non è una scelta facile. (“It’s not an easy choice, you know.”) Guardi, vorrei solo parlarle cinque minuti. (“I just want to talk to you, you see.”) [Formal] |
Italian: Mah – Boh | English equivalent: “Who knows…” or “Well” |
Mah, non so proprio cosa fare. (“Well, I really don’t know what do do.”) Chi verrà alla festa? Boh! (“Who is coming to the party? Who knows!”) |
4. Questions and Answers
Conversation is often made of a sequence of questions and answers. Like a ping pong match: you ask something, get an answer and another question, you answer and ask something else, and so on. Asking questions is the fundamental brick to getting to know someone, establishing a common ground, finding out something new or interesting, and simply getting the flow of the conversation going.
And formulating a question in Italian is particularly easy compared to other languages, as there is no particular pattern: no word order inversion, no adding of extra words. You simply change your intonation and make it sound like a question. Easy, right?
And then, of course, you can always add some typical Italian gestures if you really want to sound and look like an Italian!
And now, let’s get back to your conversation cheat sheet and to fill it with questions (and answers) relevant to your personal story and interests.

Questions… questions… questions…
“Where are you from?”
Q: Di dove sei? [Casual] Q: Di dov’è lei? [Formal] A: Sono italiana, ma sono nata in Cile. (“I’m Italian, but I was born in Chile.”) A: Vengo dal Brasile. (“I come from Brazil.”) |
“Do you speak English?”
Q: Parli inglese? [Casual] Q: Lei parla inglese? [Formal] A: Non parlo inglese. (“I don’t speak English.”) A: Sono fluente/madre lingua in inglese. (“I am fluent/native in English.”) |
“What do you study?”
Q: Cosa studi? [Casual] Q: Che cosa studia? [Formal] A: Studio linguistica e letteratura. (“I study linguistics and literature.”) A: Sto facendo un dottorato in relazioni internazionali. (“I’m doing a PhD in international relations.”) |
“What kind of music do you like?”
Q: Che tipo di musica ti piace? [Casual] Q: Che tipo di musica le piace? [Formal] A: Mi piace il jazz e la musica classica. (“I love jazz and classical music.”) A: Ascolto soprattutto musica napoletana. (“I mostly listen to Neapolitan music.”) |
“What’s your job?”
Q: Che lavoro fai? [Casual] Q: Di cosa si occupa? [Formal] (literally: “What do you occupy yourself in?”) A: Sono idraulico. (“I’m a plumber.”) A: Lavoro nel marketing digitale. (“I work in digital marketing.”) |
“Why do you study Italian?”
Q: Perché studi l’italiano? [Casual] Q: Per quale motivo studia l’italiano? [Formal] A: Perché adoro il suono dell’italiano. (“Because I love the sound of Italian.”) A: Per motivi di lavoro. (“For work-related reasons.”) |
5. Italian Conversation Starters
Starting a conversation could be a difficult part of communicating. And doing it in another language makes it just a bit more challenging. And also, you may have noticed that while talking to some people is very easy, with someone else, you almost have to get the words out of their mouth.
But don’t worry! Just have some sentences ready in your sheet, and follow our examples, and you will be prepared for every situation.
Here are a few examples that you can use with different people and in various situations:
- Ti piace la cucina messicana?
“Do you like Mexican cuisine?” - Cosa fai nel fine settimana?
“What do you do on the weekend?” - Come hai conosciuto il tuo ragazzo / la tua ragazza?
“How did you meet your boyfriend / girlfriend?” - Puoi consigliarmi un bel film o serie da vedere?
(“Can you recommend a good movie or series to see?”) - Come ti trovi in questa città?
(“How do you like this city?”)
- ➜ There are countless conversation starters for every situation: strangers, people you already know, colleagues, schoolmates, romantic dates. For many more examples, you could stop by our full guide on Conversation Starters, on ItalianPod101.

Cosa fai nel fine settimana? (“What do you do on the weekend?”)
6- How to Improve your Conversation Skills
1- Use every opportunity to practice
Yes, practice makes perfect. Or at least, it helps to gain confidence, rehearse different scenarios, and to learn what strategies keep the conversation flow going. So, don’t be shy and use every opportunity you have to talk to people. Strangers at the bus station, friends of your friends, and even online chats are good places to start a conversation.
And don’t worry if you make a few mistakes or if you can’t find the right word. Just keep practicing and improving your conversation cheat sheet and keep building on that.
2- Exposure to real content
Did you know that when you are exposed to a lot of spoken Italian, you will learn vocabulary, idioms, and even grammatical structures much faster and in a more pleasant way than just working on grammar books and courses?
And since speaking Italian to real people is not always an option (you might want to stay home, or you are not in Italy, or your friends are not available), a very good alternative is to immerse yourself in real content. You will have lots of options: from Italian music, to podcasts, to movies. There are tons of resources to learn Italian online, and, of course, one of the very best is italianPod101.com! 🙂
Reading is also a very good strategy to get familiar with a foreign language and to find interesting topics of conversation. Whether it’s the news, a novel, or the latest sport events, it’ll give you good material to discuss and, without even noticing, you will be learning new Italian words and phrases.
3- Find available partners to chat
If you are serious about improving your conversation in Italian, it is a good idea to find a partner to chat with in a consistent way. It could be another learner of Italian who is more or less at your same level, it could be someone interested in a conversation exchange.
What is that? You find a native Italian who would like to practice conversation to improve his/her English, for example. And when you meet in person, you can have a conversation half of the time in English and the other half in Italian. You can easily find lots of people interested in exchanging conversation. And you can probably find it also online!
Another way to go is by hiring a private teacher to make fast progress in your conversation skills, especially if you want to also improve grammar and pronunciation. You can likely find a private teacher or classroom-based sessions in your area, or subscribe to an online service such as our Premium PLUS coaching on ItalianPod101.
7. Conclusion
In this guide, you have learned how to improve your skills in speaking Italian. It all starts with making your own cheat sheet, then learning about various types of words and expressions specific to conversations: filler words, reaction phrases, questions, and answers. Do you want to share your thoughts about conversation skills? Do you want to know more Italian language learning resources? Let us know in the comments below!
On top of our bonus tips to improve your conversation skills, ItalianPod101 has tons of vocabulary lists with audio recordings and Free resources to boost your studies and keep your Italian learning fresh and entertaining!
Remember that you can also use our premium service, MyTeacher, to get personal 1-on-1 coaching and have your own private teacher to practice with BLEP words and more.
Along with assignments, personalized exercises, and recording audio samples just for you, your teacher will review your work and help improve your pronunciation. And keep having fun with ItalianPod101!
About the Author: Jessica Barbagallo grew up on the sunny island of Sicily, in the south of Italy. She has lived in Florence, Milan, New York, Vancouver, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo. After a career in digital marketing, she went back to what is most fun to her: teaching languages!

Countries and Nationalities in Italian

Possibly one of the first things you will be asked as a foreigner traveling or living in Italy, it will be: “Sei straniero? Da dove vieni?” (“Are you a foreigner? Where do you come from?”). That is why it is important to be able to answer with the appropriate vocabulary. And while it is certainly easy to learn and remember the vocabulary related to your nationality, you should be prepared to sustain a conversation about other countries and nationalities, of which there are quite a lot! But don’t worry, once you learn the names of the countries and the name of the nationalities in Italian, you will automatically also know the name of the language and the general adjective for anything related to that country.
Parlo francese ma non amo la cucina francese. (“I speak French but I don’t like french cooking.”)

- Italian Citizenship
- Countries & Continents
- Conversations About Nationalities
- Country, City, Nationality & Language
- Conclusion
1. Italian Citizenship
Even if we often use it to mean the same thing, nationality and citizenship are not necessarily the same. Nationality mainly indicates the cultural, religious, and traditions that link us to a country or to a state. On the other hand, citizenship represents your socio-political belonging to the country that issues your passport. So, if you have Italian citizenship, you can legally obtain an Italian passport, vote in the Italian elections, apply to public service, etc. In other words, you have full civil and political rights
If you have at least one Italian parent, you are immediately recognized as an Italian citizen whether you were born in Italy or a foreign country. This rule is called the “ius sanguinis“, which in Latin means, rather dramatically, “law of the blood.” This law also applies to adopted children.
But there are other ways to become Italian citizens. In fact, in the last few years in Italy there has been an increasing number of people applying for Italian citizenship.
So, what are the requirements to apply for citizenship in Italy?
- Citizenship by marriage (after two years of marriage)
- Citizenship by residence (after five years of uninterrupted residence)
- Citizenship by descent (by demonstrating that you descent from an Italian ancestor)
Over a million people have acquired Italian citizenship in the last decade, of which nearly 800,000 in the last five years. The most represented citizenships of origin are Albanian (26,000 acquisitions, 20.5% of the total), Moroccan (12.5%), Brazilian (8.4%), and Romanian (8%).
2. Countries & Continents
1- Gender and Agreement
In Italian, most countries are singular feminine (l’Italia, la Francia, la Tunisia, l’Irlanda, la Cina, etc. (“Italy, France, Tunisia, Ireland, China,”), but there are exceptions. Some countries are singular masculine, like il Canada (Canada) or il Giappone (Japan), while others are plural, like gli Stati Uniti (The USA) or i Paesi Bassi (The Netherlands).
As you can see from the examples, when talking about a country you always use the article in front of the country name. In fact, if you learn the countries vocabulary together with the article, it will help you remember the gender and use the right agreement.
La Francia è bellissima. (“France is beautiful.”)
La verde Irlanda è molto piovosa in autunno. (“The green Ireland is very rainy in autumn.”)
Gli Stati Uniti sono entrati in guerra nel 1941. (“The United States entered the war in 1941”)

La Sicilia è bellissima! (“Sicily is very beautiful!”)
2- Names and Adjectives
Once you know the country’s name, you could try and guess how to say the word for the people living there and the language spoken there. In fact, the name of the inhabitants and the language spoken in any specific country are the same.
And don’t forget, if you are talking about the people of a specific country, you should use the initial capital letter (gli Italiani, i Canadesi). At the same time, if it’s simply an adjective, there is no need to capitalize, even if you are talking about people (un ragazzo italiano, un ristorante cinese, etc. “an Italian guy, a Chinese restaurant”).
Here are a few examples:
Country’s name | Noun | Adjective |
L’Italia (“Italy”) | Un italiano, Un’italiana (An Italian) | italiano (Italian) |
L’Inghilterra (“England”) | Un inglese, Un’inglese (An Englishman/woman or a British person) | inglese (English) |
La Cina (“China”) | Un cinese, Una cinese (A Chinese) | cinese (Chinese) |
Did you notice how, to make an adjective out of the name of the country, you sometimes add the suffix -ano/ana (italiano, americana, etc.), other times you add -ese (inglese, cinese, giapponese). These are by far the most common, but you can find other (and sometimes bizarre) ways to for the adjective, such as spagnolo, austriaco, guatemalteco, yemenita.
And in some cases, the adjective has absolutely nothing to do with the root of the country’s name, as in the case of la Germania >> il tedesco… (“Germany >> German”).
There is no rule there, so, unfortunately, you will have to memorize them…
3- Who Comes to Italy, How, and Why?
The majority of the tourists visiting Italy come from neighboring countries. Lately, because of Covid, the number and the proportion of nationalities have changed. In this study prepared by Banca d’Italia, we see the ranking of nationalities visiting Italy in 2019:
17.2% | Germany | La Germania (F) | Tedesco/a |
12.5% | United States | Gli Stati Uniti (M, PL) | Americano/a |
9.9% | France | La Francia (F) | Francese |
8.6% | United Kingdom | Il Regno Unito (M) | Britannico/a |
5.7% | Switzerland | La Svizzera (F) | Svizzero/a |
4.8% | Austria | L’ Austria (F) | Austriaco/a |
4.2% | Canada | Il Canada (M) | Canadese |
3.8% | Spain | La Spagna (F) | Spagnolo/a |
3% | Nederland | I Paesi Bassi (M, PL) Incorrectly called: L’Olanda (M) | Olandese |
2.5% | Australia | L’Australia (F) | Australiano/a |
The study made by the Bank of Italy also mentions what are the main reasons for foreigners to travel to Italy, how they travel and how and other information that may not be so interesting to you… but they are a good way to increase the Italian vocabulary needed to hold a conversation about your trip and visit to Italy. Or maybe to be more comfortable when you go through customs at the airport or at any Italian borders.

Motivo del viaggio? (“Reason to travel?”)
Motivo del viaggio? (“Reasons to travel?”)
- – Vacanza. (“Vacation.”)
– Visita a parenti o amici. (“Visit to friends or relatives.”)
– Motivi personali. (“Personal reasons.”)
Dove alloggi? (“Where do you stay?”)
- – Albergo. (“Hotel.”)
– Ospite da parenti o amici. (“With relatives and friends.”)
– Casa in affitto. (“Rental house.”)
– Bed & breakfast.
Che tipo di destinazione preferisci? (“What type of destination do you prefer?”)
- – Culturale, città d’arte. (“City, art, culture.”)
– Al mare. (“At the beach.”)
– Al lago. (“At the lake.”)
– In montagna. (“In the mountains.”)
Come sei arrivato in Italia? (“How did you arrive to Italy?”)
- –In aereo. (“Flying.”)
– In macchina. (“By car.”)
– In treno. (“By train.”)
– In nave. (By ship.”)
- ➜ Do you need to learn more Vocabulary for Nationalities? Check out ItalianPod101 for the perfect free vocabulary list for you!
4- Continents in Italian
Europe | L’Europa (F) | Europeo/a |
Asia | L’Asia (F) | Asiatico/a |
Africa | L’Africa (F) | Africano/a |
America | L’America (F) | Americano/a |
Oceania | L’Oceania(F) | Oceaniano/a* |
Antarctica | L’Antartide | Do people live there? |
*This noun or adjective is rarely used, and Italians tend to call people from Oceania -improperly- Australiani (“Australians”) even when they are Neozelandesi (“New Zealanders”).

Vengo dall’Antartide. (“I come from Antarctica.”)
Especially when talking about great geographical areas, you might need a bit more geographical references such as points and their use:
North | Il nord |
South | Il sud |
East | L’est |
West | L’ovest |
For example:
Il nord Africa. (“North Africa.”)
Il sud America. (“South America.”)
L’Europa dell’est. (“Eastern Europe.”)
Il Polo nord e il Polo sud. (“North and South Pole.”)
but also
North | Il settentrione / settentrionale |
South | Il meridione / meridionale |
East | L’oriente / orientale |
West | L’occidente / occidentale |
For example:
Milano si trova nell’Italia settentrionale. (“Milan is in northern Italy”)
Il meridione comprende le regioni italiane a sud di Roma. (“Southern Italy includes all regions below Rome.”)
Il muro di Berlino separava la Germania orientale e occidentale. (“The Berlin Wall used to separate East and West Germany.”)
3. Conversations About Nationalities
When you meet someone new in a foreign country, one of the first topics of conversation that comes up is countries and nationalities. People will ask you where you’re from and possibly how and why you are traveling.
As always with Italian, depending if you are talking to friends or people your age, you will use the casual form of address, or the formal mode, if you are talking with older people or if you are in a very formal setting.

Conversations about nationalities are great icebreakers.
1- Questions & Answers
How to Ask Someone Their Nationality
In this part, introduce a few common ways to ask about nationality. You can briefly explain the differences.
English | [Casual >> tu] | [Formal >> Lei] |
Where are you from? | Da dove vieni? or Di dove sei? | Da dove viene? or Di dov’è? |
What country are you from? | Da quale paese vieni? | Da quale paese viene? |
What is your nationality? | Qual è la tua nazionalità? | Qual è la sua nazionalità? |
Are you from France? | Vieni dalla Francia? | Viene dalla Francia? |
Are you French? | Sei francese? | È francese? |
Here are some examples on how to answer questions about nationalities:
- Sei inglese? No, sono Giapponese. (“Are you British? No, I’m Japanese.”)
- Sono americana, ma i miei genitori vengono dalla Cina. (“I am American, but my parents come from China.”)
- Da dove vieni? Vengo dall’Austria, sono austriaca. (“Where do you come from? I come from Austria, I am Austrian.”)
- Sei tedesco? Sì, sono tedesco, di Berlino. (“You are German? Yes, I’m German, from Berlin.”)
And a few more advanced ones:
- Sono nata in Cile ma sono cresciuta in Italia. (“I was born in Chile, but I grew up in Italy.”)
- Sono brasiliano e italiano. Ho la doppia cittadinanza. (“I’m Brazilian and Italian. I have dual citizenship.”)
- Sono cinese ma vivo in Svizzera. (“I’m Chinese, but I live in Switzerland.”)
- Sono cinese ma abito in Svizzera. (“I’m Chinese, but I live in Switzerland.”)
- Sono italiana ma vivo in Francia da tre anni. (“I’m Italian, but I’ve been living in France for three years.”)
- Mi trasferisco in Inghilterra l’anno prossimo. (“I am moving to England next year.”)
- ➜ For more ice-breakers and conversation starters, we have a free vocabulary list on ItalianPod101 with the Top 15 questions you should know.
2- Prepositions
One thing you definitely need to pay attention to when you talk about places, countries, and cities is the choice of the preposition you need to use.
The general rule is that
- when you are, or when you go to a country, a continent, or an island, you use in;
- When you are, or when you go to a city, you use a;
Vado in vacanza a Roma, in Italia. (“I’m going on vacation to Rome, Italy.”)
Abito in Francia, a Parigi. (“I live in France, in Paris.”)
Sono cresciuta in Sicilia, a Palermo. (“I grew up in Sicily, in Palermo.”)
But notice that when you come back, then the preposition changes into:
- Da when you are coming back from a city;
- Da + article when you are coming back from a country, a continent, an island;
Mario è tornato dall’Italia, da Roma. (“Mario has returned from Italy, from Rome.”)
Quando partirai dalla Sardegna? (“When will you leave Sardinia?”)
Molti sono emigrati dall’Europa in America. (“Many have emigrated from Europe to America.”)
- ➜ If you want to get deeper into Italian prepositions, check out this lesson on ItalianPod101.
4. Country, City, Nationality & Language
Now, let’s go back to a list of countries and expand with what we’ve learned: Name of the country, name of the nationality and language, and name of the major city. You will notice that some of the city’s names are translated… does it happen in your native language too?

How many of these languages do you speak?
Let’s start with the same table we saw earlier, adding more countries and nationalities.
Country | Italian | Nationality/Language | Major City |
Germany | La Germania (F) | Tedesco/a | Francoforte (Frankfurt) |
United States | Gli Stati Uniti (M, PL) | Americano/a | New York |
France | La Francia (F) | Francese | Parigi (Paris) |
United Kingdom | Il Regno Unito (M) | Britannico/a | Londra (London) |
Switzerland | La Svizzera (F) | Svizzero/a | Zurigo (Zurich) |
Austria | L’ Austria (F) | Austriaco/a | Vienna |
Canada | Il Canada (M) | Canadese | Toronto |
Spain | La Spagna (F) | Spagnolo/a | Barcellona (Barcelona) |
Nederland | I Paesi Bassi (M, PL) | Olandese | Amsterdam |
Australia | L’Australia (F) | Australiano/a | Sidney |
Brazil | Il Brasile(M) | Brasiliano/a | Rio de Janeiro |
Russia | La Russia (F) | Russo/a | Mosca (Moscow) |
India | L’India (F) | Indiano/a | Nuova Delhi (New Delhi) |
Japan | Il Giappone (M) | Giapponese | Tokyo |
Peru | il Peru (M) | Peruviano/a | Lima |
Portugal | Il Portogallo (M) | Portoghese | Lisbona (Lisbon) |
Tunisia | La Tunisia (F) | Tunisino/a | Tunisi (Tunis) |
China | La Cina (F) | Cinese | Pechino (Beijing) |
Kenia | Il Kenia (F) | Keniano | Nairobi |
Turkey | La Turchia (F) | Turco/a | Istanbul |
Now you have all you need to use the vocabulary about nationalities, countries, languages, and cities, and you are ready to combine them all to introduce yourself and start a conversation.
Here are some examples:
- Sono tedesca. Sono nata a Francoforte, ma adesso vivo a Ginevra, in Svizzera.
(“I’m German. I was born in Frankfurt, but now I live in Geneva, Switzerland.”) - Sono americano, ma sono cresciuto nel Nord Africa.
(“I’m American, but I grew up in Northern Africa.”) - Siamo brasiliani, ma abitiamo a Londra da qualche anno con la nostra famiglia.
(“We are Brazilians but we’ve been living in London for a few years with our family.”) - Sono francese e vivo a Montreal, in Canada. Sapevi che in Quebec si parla francese?
(“I’m French and I live in Montreal, Canada. Did you know that in Quebec they speak French?”) - Mi sono trasferita in Brasile tre mesi fa. Non parlo ancora bene il portoghese.
(“I moved to Brazil three months ago. I still don’t speak Portuguese well.”)
- Sono italiano e brasiliano. Sono cresciuto e Rio de Janeiro e ha la doppia cittadinanza.
(“I am Italian and Brazilian. I grew up in Rio de Janeiro and have dual citizenship.”) - È spagnola, ma parla benissimo il francese e fa un corso di cucina francese.
(“She is Spanish, but speaks French very well and takes a French cooking class..”)
- ➜ Telling where you’re from and what language you speak is a great starting point. To go a bit further, you can check out our vocabulary list with ten lines to introduce yourself in Italian on ItalianPod101.
5. Conclusion
In this guide, you have learned everything about nationalities, from the names of countries and cities to adjectives and languages, capitalization rules, gender agreement, and prepositions. You also learned about the countries that are often visiting Italy, and how they spend their stay.
You should now be ready to break the ice in any situation, introduce yourself at your arrival, and even form some complex sentences with all these new words.
Did I forget any important topic on nationalities or country names you’re interested in? Feel free to share it with your fellow students in the comments below!
A good exercise to practice nationality vocabulary is to create fictional introductions where you combine the name of countries and cities, languages, and adjectives, using the right genders and prepositions. You can start simple and gradually add more complexity when you feel comfortable enough.
ItalianPod101 also has tons of vocabulary lists with audio recordings and free resources to boost your studies and keep your Italian learning fresh and entertaining!
Remember that you can also use our Premium PLUS service, MyTeacher, to get personal 1-on-1 coaching with your own private teacher so that you can practice these new words and much more.
Along with assignments, personalized exercises, and recording audio samples just for you, your teacher will review your work and help improve your pronunciation. Have fun with ItalianPod101!

Useful Italian Phrases for the Intermediate Level

Now is the time to step up in your Italian studies. As you get ready to surpass the beginner level, you’ll need to practice using more tenses (past, future, conditional) and memorize several ready-to-use intermediate Italian phrases. To help you level up with confidence, we have prepared a list of the 50+ most common (and useful) intermediate Italian phrases for a variety of contexts. This guide will bring to your disposal all the must-know phrases for telling stories about the recent past, asking for advice, recommending a restaurant to someone, and more.
If you ever want to go deeper with your learning or have any questions, take a look at all the available Italian lessons, free resources, and interactive material on ItalianPod101.com!

- Talking About Past Events
- Making and Changing Plans
- Explaining and Listing Reasons
- Making Recommendations and Complaints
- Reaction Phrases for Everyday Conversations
- Etiquette Phrases for Social and Business Settings
- Conclusion
1. Talking About Past Events
So, you have already mastered simple sentences in the present. You can introduce yourself, describe yourself, ask for simple things, and give simple instructions.
It’s time now to venture into more complex sentence structures, such as those for talking about stories or memorable experiences from the past. It could be talking about a recent night out or giving information about your family or your childhood. And if you want to learn even more conversational phrases, here you go!
When you talk about the past in Italian, you cannot avoid needing to decide between passato prossimo and imperfetto. If you need a little help with this, make sure you check out this lesson to see a good example and explanation of their use.
Ready? Here are some intermediate Italian phrases for discussing the past.

Che bella serata! (“What a nice night!”)
È stata una bella serata! |
It was a beautiful evening! |
Another way of saying the same thing: Che bella serata! (“What a beautiful evening!”) |
Ci siamo divertiti moltissimo ieri sera. |
We had a lot of fun last night. |
Ho iniziato a lavorare nel 2017. |
I started working in 2017. |
Sono stato a Roma 3 anni fa. |
I was in Rome three years ago. |
Da piccolo/a avevo tanti amici. |
As a child, I had many friends. |
Literally: “As little, I had many friends.” You find the same construction with da ragazzo/a (“as a young boy/young girl”) and da giovane (“as a young man/woman”). |
Mia nonna era pugliese. |
My grandmother was from Puglia. |
L’anno scorso sono stata in vacanza al mare. |
Last year, I went on vacation at the beach. |
Siamo stati sposati per 7 anni. |
We’ve been married for seven years. |
2. Making and Changing Plans
Making and changing plans in the immediate future is something that you’ll often need to do when interacting with friends and colleagues, organizing an event or meeting, or putting together a fun party.
Are things getting complicated? Don’t worry. Just learn these simple intermediate Italian phrases, and they’ll help get you out of any trouble. Notice that even though we’re talking about the immediate future, in Italian, we don’t always need to use the future tense. Using the present tense with the appropriate temporal adverb is usually enough to convey that we’re talking about the future.

Posso portare qualche amico? (“Can I bring a few friends?”)
Sei pronta per uscire? |
Are you ready to go out? |
Sei disponibile per una riunione domani? |
Are you available for a meeting tomorrow? |
Ne parliamo dopo. |
Let’s talk about it later. |
Notice the use of ne, meaning “of it” or “about it.” |
Possiamo rinviare l’appuntamento alla settimana prossima? |
Can we postpone the appointment until next week? |
Posso portare qualche amico? |
Can I bring some friends? |
Notice that the indefinite adjective qualche, even though it means “some,” is always followed by a noun in the singular. |
Facciamo una videochiamata per entrare nei dettagli. |
Let’s have a video call to get into the details. |
3. Explaining and Listing Reasons
Sometimes, you’ll find yourself in situations where you will have to explain what happened or give reasons for your actions. Once you reach an intermediate level of proficiency in Italian, it’s important that you’re able to do this with relative ease. But don’t worry about it! We’re here to help you with some ready-to-use intermediate Italian phrases for giving reasons and explanations.
If you need more intermediate Italian vocabulary, check out our free dictionary on ItalianPod101.com, where you can search for specific words and listen to their perfect pronunciation!

Sei di nuovo in ritardo! (“You’re late again!”)
Sono in ritardo perché non ho sentito la sveglia. |
I’m late because I didn’t hear the alarm. |
Questo è il motivo per cui non mi piace. |
This is why I don’t like it. |
Literally: “This is the reason for which I don’t like it.” Note that cui is the relative pronoun (just like che – “that”) that we use together with prepositions such as di, a, da, in, con, su, per, tra, fra (“of, to, from, on, in, with, for, by, among”). |
Ti do tre buone ragioni per non uscire stasera: primo, sta piovendo tantissimo; secondo, ho preparato una buonissima lasagna; infine… non ne ho voglia! |
I’ll give you three good reasons not to go out tonight: First, it’s raining a lot; then, I prepared a very good lasagna; finally…I don’t feel like it! |
Piove troppo, quindi resto a casa. |
It’s raining too much, so I’m staying at home. |
Devi assolutamente venire alla mia festa, altrimenti mi arrabbio! |
You absolutely must come to my party; otherwise, I will get mad! |
Visto che non hai capito, te lo spiego di nuovo. |
Since you didn’t understand, I’ll explain it again. |
4. Making Recommendations and Complaints
How do we know if something is good or not so good? We usually rely on friends’ recommendations or, now that we’re in the era of social media, opinions and comments left by users on internet platforms.
So, let’s get ready to give five stars or to voice our complaints!
- ➜ And, if you’re lucky enough to go to an Italian restaurant, check out our free restaurant vocabulary list.

Posso reclamare col cuoco? (“Can I complain to the chef?”)
È un piatto fantastico. Dovresti provarlo. |
It’s a wonderful dish. You should try it. |
Te lo consiglio vivamente. |
I strongly recommend it. |
È il miglior ristorante della città. |
It’s the best restaurant in town. |
È la miglior pizza di Napoli. |
It’s Napoli’s best pizza. |
È un hotel bello ed economico. Sicuramente ci tornerò. |
It’s a nice and cheap hotel. I’ll definitely go back. |
Il servizio in quel locale non è un granchè. |
The service in that place is not that great. |
Mi sono lamentato con il servizio clienti. |
I complained to the customer service. |
5. Reaction Phrases for Everyday Conversations
In any conversation, it’s important to have the right reaction to what we’re being told. This helps us better empathize with the other party, and it makes them feel that we care or that we’re impressed.
As a beginner, you might often find yourself struggling to find the appropriate words. And that’s okay. But once you reach an intermediate level, you’ll want to be able to say the right thing at the right time. In fact, learning natural reaction phrases is one of the best ways to improve your Italian at this stage!
Here are some sample conversations to help with that. And don’t forget that body language and intonation also play important roles in establishing empathy in a conversation. Especially in Italy!
A: È stata una bella serata! (“It was a beautiful evening!”)
B: È vero! Anch’io mi sono divertito/a! (“True! I had fun too.”)
A: Ci siamo divertiti moltissimo ieri sera! (“We had a lot of fun last night!”)
B: Davvero moltissimo! (“Really a lot!”)
A: Ho iniziato a lavorare nel 2017. (“I started working in 2017.”)
B: Complimenti! E dove lavoravi? (“Congratulations! And where were you working?”)
A: Sono stato a Roma tre anni fa. (“I was in Rome three years ago.”)
B: Fantastico! Anche a me piacerebbe visitare l’Italia. (“Fantastic! I would also like to visit Italy.”)
A: Da piccolo avevo tanti amici. (“As a child, I had many friends.”)
B: Che bello! Eri un bambino felice? (“How nice! Were you a happy kid?”)
A: Mia nonna era pugliese. (“My grandmother was from Puglia.”)
B: Come si chiamava tua nonna? (“What was your grandma’s name?”)
- ➜ Notice how nonna/o translates both as “grandmother”/“grandfather” and as “grandma”/“grandpa.”
A: L’anno scorso sono stata in vacanza al mare. (“Last year, I went on vacation at the beach.”)
B: Io invece sono stato in montagna. (“On the other hand, I went to the mountains.”)
A: Siamo stati sposati per 7 anni. (“We had been married for seven years.”)
B: Avete divorziato? Mi dispiace. (“Did you get divorced? Sorry to hear that.”)
A: Vorremmo adottare un cane. (“We would like to adopt a dog.”)
B: Buona idea! (“Good idea!”)

Che bello! Ho adottato un cane… (“How wonderful! I adopted a dog…”)
6. Etiquette Phrases for Social and Business Settings
And last but not least, here are some intermediate-level Italian phrases for being polite in a variety of social and business contexts. Learning them will give you a leg up in your personal and professional life while in Italy, because good etiquette is always appreciated.
Do you want to know more? Check out our article on everything you should know about Italian etiquette.
Buon appetito. |
Bon appetit. |
To this, you can reply: Grazie, e altrettanto! (“Thanks, and to you too!”) |
Buongiorno, (come) posso aiutarla? |
Hello, (how) can I help you? |
Benvenuto/a nel nostro negozio. |
Welcome to our store. |
Accomodati. [Informal] |
Please, come in. |
Literally: Get comfortable. Notice how it changes when we use the formal: Si accomodi. |
Fa’ come se fossi a casa tua. |
Make yourself at home. |
Literally: Do as if you were at your house. |
Fammi sapere se hai domande. |
Let me know if you have questions. |
Some variants include:
|
Mi fai sapere cosa ne pensi? |
Will you let me know your thoughts? |
Literally: Will you make me know what you think about it? |
Resto in attesa di una tua risposta. |
I look forward to your response. |
Literally: I remain waiting for an answer of yours. |
Buon lavoro! |
Have a good workday! |
Literally: Have a good work. This phrase shouldn’t be confused with Bel lavoro! (“Good job!”) |
Buon viaggio! |
Have a nice trip! |
Buone vacanze! |
Have a nice vacation! |

Buone vacanze! (“Have a nice vacation!”)
7. Conclusion
I hope you liked this guide and that you found it useful for increasing your arsenal of intermediate Italian phrases. Do you know what else you might find useful and interesting? All the incredible learning tools you’ll find on ItalianPod101.com, such as the vocabulary lists and other free resources.
Have fun learning Italian with our podcasts, videos, and YouTube channel. And if you upgrade to Premium PLUS, you can check out MyTeacher to get personal 1-on-1 coaching with your own private teacher. They can help you practice the intermediate phrases from this list and aid you in creating your own. In addition to providing you with personalized assignments and exercises, your teacher can record audio samples just for you and review all your work.
Keep having fun with ItalianPod101!

The 10 Best Italian Podcasts to Improve Your Italian

Listening is one of the four skills you need to master when learning a language (the others are speaking, writing, and reading). These are the skills that you’ll have to keep training as you study Italian or any other language. But if you’re not planning to travel in order to get an immersive experience or don’t have a bunch of Italians living with you, listening to authentic Italian might not be the easiest thing to do. Luckily, the internet is replete with a variety of Italian podcasts that, as it turns out, are great for learning the language.

You can listen to podcasts literally anywhere!
In this article, we’ll present and analyze a list of the ten best podcasts to help you learn Italian and improve your learning experience. And we’ll also talk about tools, strategies, and tricks for making the most out of them.

- Benefits of Using Podcasts to Learn Italian
- The Top 10 Italian Podcasts
- Tricks to Help You Learn Italian More Effectively with Podcasts
- Conclusion
1. Benefits of Using Podcasts to Learn Italian
Listening to podcasts in Italian is the next best thing to visiting Italy.
Once you find the perfect fit, you can subscribe to the podcast so that you’ll always be updated when a new episode comes out. Podcasts are usually updated on a weekly basis, or sometimes even once every two or three days. But don’t worry! They stay online forever (or at least for a few years), and you can listen to them at your own pace.
So, what do podcasts have to offer?
- They are fun and interesting, therefore boosting your motivation.
- They provide authentic listening material produced (mostly) by Italians.
- They’re always available (online, downloaded, any way you prefer).
- You can listen to an episode as many times as you want; you can also pause it, rewind it, fast-forward it, and even slow it down.
- You can listen in the car, on the bus, on your bike, or even in bed with your eyes closed right before you go to sleep!
And since podcasts have become really popular in recent years, you’ll be able to find a number of different podcasts that suit your needs and preferences. There are those specifically devoted to learners of Italian (just like you!), those that provide the latest Italian news, and even those that focus on culture, music, sports, and cooking. Oh, yes! Especially cooking.

How about a little Italian on your way to work?
2. The Top 10 Italian Podcasts
1 – Italiano Automatico
- Level: Beginner to Intermediate
- Theme: Teaching Podcast
- PDF and YouTube channel
This is a great and fun podcast that will help you learn Italian and improve your listening skills with weekly 10-minute episodes. The podcast covers many different topics: grammar and vocabulary, gestures and culture, Romeo and Juliet, rude Italian expressions…the list goes on.
The course is intended for students who already have some basic knowledge of Italian but can’t speak well yet or have difficulty following the spoken language. Alberto (sometimes joined by his nonna) gives you tips and suggestions for making quick progress. The podcast is entirely in Italian but comes with a PDF transcript.
Italiano Automatico is also on YouTube, so you’ll be able to watch extra material.
2 – Coffee Break Italian
- Level: Absolute Beginner to Advanced
- Theme: Teaching Podcast
- Free content with ads + Premium paid content
This is a very interesting one because it offers something for learners at every level. It starts in English—making it ideal for absolute beginners—and as the seasons and episodes progress, the amount of Italian used increases alongside your progress in the language.
In each episode, the hosts explain the use of the language, introduce specific vocabulary for a variety of occasions, and help listeners make sense of Italian grammar. They also go around Italy and talk with different people, which will give you the chance to listen to a number of native speakers.
CoffeeBreak Italian is updated with great frequency, so you’ll always have some new content to enjoy.
3 – ItalianPod101
- Level: Absolute Beginner to Advanced
- Theme: Teaching Podcast
- Free content + Premium and Premium PLUS subscriptions
Well…of course I’m a bit biased here, but ItalianPod101 is a truly complete Italian course with many different podcast series. Just choose your level and the topic you want to learn about, and you’ll find everything you need, whether you’re an absolute beginner, an intermediate learner, or an advanced student.
You’ll find dialogues depicting common daily situations, cultural insights, and lots of first-hand information about Italy and the Italian lifestyle. You can complement this with the grammar points, exercises, quizzes, and vocabulary lists we provide. You could even get personal coaching by upgrading to Premium PLUS—perfect if you wish to have personalized lessons and a 1-to-1 learning experience.
4 – News in Slow Italian
- Level: Beginner to Advanced
- Theme: News
- Free 3-minute episodes or Premium content (full episodes)
Do you want to keep up with current events while improving your listening skills? Try the News in Slow Italian podcast. It offers weekly updates on everything that happened during the week, presented at a very slow pace so that you’ll be able to catch every single word.
A 3-minute summary of every episode is free, and it even comes with a written summary that will definitely help you get the main concepts, even if you’re a beginner.
5 – Coffee Break Italian – Travel Diaries
- Level: Intermediate to Advanced
- Theme: Teaching Podcast
- Free content with ads + Premium paid content
Even though Coffee Break Italian is already on the list, the Travel Diaries season deserves a special mention. Traveling has been complicated lately, right? So what could be better than a podcast that allows you to travel through the amazing Tuscany region and discover its history, gastronomy, and culture while practicing your Italian?
In its ten episodes, you will accompany Giulia and her friend Paolo on a train ride through Tuscany. If you’re willing to subscribe to the paid content, you can also get videos and lesson notes.

Let’s travel with a podcast and “listen” to the Torre di Pisa!
6 – L’italiano Vero
- Level: Intermediate to Advanced
- Theme: Teaching Podcast
- Free content with ads + Premium content with a small donation
As the title of this podcast (literally: “The Real Italian”) suggests, its more than 60 episodes feature real conversations about real topics with a group of true Italians.
One of the great things about this podcast is that it gives you the ability to read the transcript as you follow along with the audio (if you’re listening on the computer). Most of the content is free, though you can opt to give a small donation or pay a small fee for specific episodes.
7 – RaiPlay
- Level: Advanced
- Theme: Everything!
- Free
RAI is the public Italian radio and television service, and RaiPlay is its online platform. Here, advanced students can find every type of podcast and radio recording, literally from A to Z!
Music, news, cooking, travel, culture, you name it. My personal favorites are:
- Il rifugio (“The shelter”), which follows a high-altitude trek to the best Italian mountain shelters and covers the stories of those who live there
- Italia a tavola: pari o dispari? (“Italy at the table: even or odd?”), which is a lively discussion of what the best foods are and where to find them
8 – Mangia come Parli
- Level: Advanced
- Theme: Food and Good Living
- Free
A star chef. A sports journalist with a passion for la dolce vita. These two characters make up the strange couple hosting Mangia come Parli, a great cooking and food culture podcast.
If you’re an advanced learner with a strong grasp of the language (and a love of good food), this is the perfect Italian podcast for learning simple recipes while honing your language skills. Discussions focus on things like seasonal products, Italian culinary traditions, and everything that makes life more pleasant. You might even hear little secrets from the chef on how to make your dishes perfect!
All this is seasoned with clever dialogue and irony from the hosts, starting with the title. Mangia come parli (“Eat like you speak”) is a take on the popular saying Parla come mangi (“Speak like you eat”), a piece of advice suggesting that we speak in a simple way (just as we eat in a simple way).
9 – La mia Storia
- Level: Advanced
- Theme: Fiction
- Free
An intriguing podcast, La mia storia (“My Story”) is a series of over thirty 30-minute episodes. It’s a mix of history and stories, reality and fantasy, covering the lives of ordinary men and women in the context of the great events that made history.
Even though the theme might seem complex, the narration is so smooth and—naturally—slow that it will please even intermediate learners. And you’re free to listen to each episode as many times as you wish!
10 – Learn Italian with Lucrezia
- Level: Beginner to Intermediate
- Theme: Teaching Podcast
- YouTube channel
To finish our list of the ten best Italian podcasts, let’s look at one more podcast specifically aimed at students of Italian. Lucrezia is a vlogger and YouTuber who specializes in cultural topics as well as essential grammar and vocabulary. Each of her podcast episodes is 5 to 7 minutes long, and you can listen to them anywhere.
She has published a lot of material, and you’ll definitely find everything you need in addition to answers to any doubts or questions you might have. And she also has a popular YouTube channel you can check out!
3. Tricks to Help You Learn Italian More Effectively with Podcasts
Now that you’ve seen some of the best podcasts for learning Italian, let’s go over a few tips and tricks you can use to make the most of your listening time.
Picking the Perfect Podcast
- Find a podcast that meets you at your current level. If it’s too easy or too fast to follow, it’s probably not the right podcast for you. You would get bored or frustrated.
- Make sure it focuses on topics that really interest you. The topic of the podcast should be familiar to you or associated with something you’re interested in. The exception is if it’s a podcast aimed at Italian learners. But even in that case, different podcasts tackle different topics, so you always have the opportunity to pick the most appropriate one for you.
- Consider listening to many podcasts. This will help you find the one that’s right for you, even if it takes some time. So be it! This will actually be a good challenge, and it will “force” you to pay more attention. Listening to podcasts on different topics will also help enrich your vocabulary.
Making the Most of Podcasts for Language Learning
Have you already chosen your favorite podcast? Or two or three? Then get your headphones, grab a piece of paper, and make sure your pencil’s sharpened. Below, we’ll give you our top tips on how to improve your Italian listening skills with podcasts.
- Listen with headphones. This will allow you to better concentrate on the conversation without distractions.
- Catch the keywords. Don’t worry if you don’t get every single word. No problem at all! What’s important is that you get a sense of the topic by catching the keywords and main sentences. You will soon notice that the word denoting the topic is usually stressed more; that is, it is pronounced more clearly, maybe with a pause before or after it. For example, a host might say:
Oggi siamo qui per parlarvi di melanzane. (“Today we’re here to talk to you about eggplants.”)
But you’ll probably hear: Oggi siamo qui per parlarvi di MELANZANE. Or even: bla … bla … bla … bla … melanzane.
Yes, that’s right. Melanzane is the keyword here, and as long as you hear that clearly, you’ll know what they’re talking about.

Melanzane / Eggplant
- Feel free to pause, rewind, slow down the audio, and use the transcripts. One of the great advantages of podcasts is that, unlike real people and conversations, they offer you the chance to listen to the same content many times over. You can pause and take notes while you listen, and in some cases, you can even download the transcript and read it as they speak.
- Practice, practice, practice! Try and listen to at least one podcast episode every day, and repeat any words or expressions that catch your attention. This will help you learn and get used to the pronunciation. Some podcasts (like ItalianPod101) even provide a pause in the dialogue so you can repeat after the hosts.
- Mix the listening practice with other material. As we mentioned at the beginning, listening is one of the four skills you’ll need to work on throughout your Italian learning journey. So we recommend keeping things fresh and mixing it up a little. The best place to do just that is ItalianPod101.com, where you can take advantage of all the resources we have to offer.
- Be consistent. This will provide you with a more natural learning experience, so you can acquire the Italian language just like children do! When you read or listen to a language, you’re memorizing the grammatical structures of the language without even noticing. Kids learn all the basic grammar rules and are able to apply them correctly, way before they study any of it at school. If you listen many times to certain simple constructions—such as those using avere (“to have”) or essere (“to be”)—they will eventually become so natural that you’ll start using them correctly without thinking too much about it.
4. Conclusion

In this guide, we have presented the top ten Italian podcasts and discussed how you could benefit from them to improve your Italian skills. Are there other podcasts you would like to suggest? Please let us know in the comments below; we always love to hear from our readers.
If you’re looking for something to help you keep practicing all of your other communication skills, make sure you take a look at ItalianPod101.com. Here, you can find tons of free resources, grammar lessons, and vocabulary lists to review words and practice their pronunciation.
And if you need customized lessons, remember that you can subscribe to our Premium PLUS service, MyTeacher, to get personal 1-on-1 coaching with a private teacher. Have a question about a podcast episode you just listened to? Your teacher has answers! In addition to providing you with assignments, personalized exercises, and recorded audio samples just for you, your teacher will review your work and help improve your pronunciation.
Keep learning Italian and having fun with ItalianPod101!

Simple Italian Phrases for Beginners

Are you just starting out with Italian? In this guide, you’ll find all the Italian phrases for beginners that you will need in order to meet and greet people, get around cities and regions, ask for directions, and even order food or go shopping. All the basic sentences to get you going in your first Italian conversations!

- Greetings and Self-introductions
- Courtesy Phrases & Social Expressions
- Dining
- Shopping Phrases
- Asking for Help
- Conclusion
1. Greetings and Self-introductions
Hello. Good morning. How are you? Nice to meet you.
The first thing to know is that, in Italian, we have two ways of addressing people: with formal speech and with informal speech. Habits are slowly changing, and informality is becoming increasingly common and accepted in contexts where it previously would have been unheard of (in the workplace, between people of different age groups, etc.).
Especially in the case of new Italian learners, using informal speech is completely acceptable. But here, we have included phrases for both formality levels.

L’italiano è facile! (“Italian is easy!”)
Let’s start with some basic Italian phrases that you could use when meeting people in Italy.
Ciao. [Casual] |
Hi. / Bye. |
The word ciao is the most common greeting in the Italian language for friendly and informal encounters. You can use it when first meeting someone and when saying goodbye; you can also use it when addressing either one person or a group of people. The word is of Latin origin, and it was once used primarily in Northern Italy, though it is now used internationally. |
Salve. [Formal or casual] |
Hello. |
Literally: “Health to you.” This is another common Italian word derived from Latin. It is considered neutral, and it can be used in both formal and casual contexts. |
Buongiorno. [Formal or casual] |
Hello. |
Literally: “Good day.” |
Buonasera. [Formal or casual] |
Good evening. |
So, what time of day do we start saying buonasera? It might vary from region to region, but typically it’s correct to greet with buonasera when it starts getting dark. Obvious, right? |
Now that you’ve greeted everyone, it’s time for some polite questions and answers:
Come va? [Formal or casual] |
How is it going? |
Come stai? [Casual] | Come sta? [Formal] |
How are you? |
Tutto bene. [Casual] | Bene, grazie, e lei? [Formal] |
All good. | Fine, thanks, and you? |
Once you’ve gone over the basic greetings, you’ll want to find out a bit more about the people you’re meeting. This is the perfect time to start asking and answering more personal questions.
Come ti chiami? [Casual] | Come si chiama? [Formal] |
What’s your name? | |
Literally: “How do you call yourself?” |
Mi chiamo Maria. |
My name is Maria. |
Literally: “I call myself Maria.” |
Piacere. [Formal or casual] |
Nice to meet you. |
Literally: “Pleasure.” |
Di dove sei? [Casual] | Di dov’è? [Formal] |
Where are you from? |
Sono Italiano/a. |
I’m Italian. |
Sono di Roma. |
I am from Rome. |
Abito a Roma. |
I live in Rome. |
Quanti anni hai? [Casual] | Quanti anni ha? [Formal] |
How old are you? | |
Literally: “How many years do you have?” |
Ho 27 anni. |
I’m 27 years old. |
Literally: “I have 27 years.” |
Are you ready for some in-depth practice? We recommend checking out our video lessons on how to say hello and how to introduce yourself in Italian.

Piacere, mi chiamo Maria. (“Nice to meet you; I am Maria.”)
2. Courtesy Phrases & Social Expressions
Grazie! Nothing expresses courtesy, pleasantry, and kindness better than this word—also of Latin origin—which literally means “graces.”
Why is it important to master courtesy phrases and expressions? Because they help you navigate new environments, elicit sympathy from other people, and make it easier to communicate with others.
Below are several simple Italian phrases for beginners that will help you put your best foot forward in any situation.
Grazie. |
Thank you. |
Literally: “Graces.” Despite being the most basic Italian word, grazie can be a bit tricky to pronounce, especially the final -zie. Here is a little phonetic help for you: Pronounce this word as if it were written graTSeeAY. If the phonetic transcription looks strange, just listen to the audio recording… 😉 |
Prego. |
You’re welcome. |
Literally: “I pray.” You can also express this concept using one of these phrases: Di nulla. / Di niente. Literally: “Of nothing.” |
Scusa. / Scusami. [Casual] | Scusi. / Mi scusi. [Formal] |
Excuse me. / I am sorry. | |
This word works both for apologizing and for catching someone’s attention before asking a question. For example: Scusa, mi puoi dire dov’è la stazione? (“Excuse me, can you tell me where the station is?”) |
Per favore. / Per piacere. [Casual or formal] |
Please. |
Literally: “As a favor.” / “As a pleasure.” |
- → Would you like to improve your social grace? ItalianPod101 has plenty of resources to help you out. We recommend our lesson on how to say “you’re welcome” in Italian and our article on Italian customs and etiquette.

Mi dispiace… (“I’m sorry…”)
Another way to apologize:
Mi dispiace. |
Sorry. |
Literally: “It displeases me.” |
Non c’è problema. |
That’s okay. |
Literally: “There is no problem.” This is a good way to end the forgiveness topic. Better to forget and move on. But if this still isn’t enough, check out our guide on how to say sorry in Italian. |
And now, it’s time to say goodbye!
Arrivederci. [Casual] | Arrivederla. [Formal] |
Goodbye. | |
Literally: “Let’s see ourselves again.” Remember that you can also use the ever-useful ciao when you’re leaving an informal setting. |
Buonanotte. [Formal or casual] |
Goodnight. |
Buonanotte is generally the departure phrase we use at the very end of the day. Basically, right before we go to sleep. Would you like to serenade your Italian with a nice romantic lullaby? Here’s Buonanotte fiorellino (“Goodnight, Little Flower”) for you. |
A più tardi. | A dopo! |
See you later. | See you! |
Literally: “Until later.” | Literally: “Until after.” |
A presto. |
See you soon. |
A domani. |
See you tomorrow. |
Buona fortuna. |
Good luck. |
3. Dining
Whether you’re studying Italian or just traveling around, at some point you’ll find yourself sitting down in a restaurant or a trattoria. When this happens, you’ll get the best experience if you know a few basic Italian phrases for ordering food, getting your waiter’s attention, and more.

Ho fame…! (“I’m hungry…!”)
Andiamo a pranzo? |
Shall we go to lunch? |
Andiamo a cena? |
Shall we go to dinner? |
Ho fame. |
I’m hungry. |
Literally: “I have hunger.” |
Posso vedere il menù? |
Can I see the menu? |
Qual è il piatto del giorno? |
What is today’s special? |
Literally: “What is the dish of the day?” |
C’è un menu turistico? |
Is there a tourist menu? |
Per me una pizza margherita e una birra, grazie. |
I would like a pizza margherita and a beer, thanks. |
Probably the most renowned type of pizza, it’s very simple and traditional with an interesting story behind it. |
Da asporto / Da portare via |
To go |
Literally: “To remove” / “To take away” |
Il conto, per favore. |
The bill, please. |
- → Do you need more Italian vocabulary and phrases for the restaurant? Check out our vocabulary list with recorded examples to practice your pronunciation!
4. Shopping Phrases
What fun is traveling if you don’t stop to shop for souvenirs, local foods, and other fun stuff to bring home or give as a present?
So, here is a list of phrases to help you have the best (and easiest) shopping experience, whether you’re in an open-air mercatino or in a centro commerciale (shopping mall).
Very important! The first thing you’ll want to do is get the attention of the seller. Do you remember how? Yes! Scusi! And you might also lift your index finger for increased effect.
Scusi, posso avere…? |
Excuse me, can I get…? |
Scusi, posso vedere…? |
Excuse me, can I see…? |
If you want to be just a little more polite, try and use the conditional form. Don’t worry too much about learning the tense; just use this simple formula…
Scusi, potrei avere…? |
Excuse me, could I have…? |
Scusi, vorrei… |
Excuse me, I would like… |
And, especially if you’re going to local neighborhood markets, make sure to review your fruit and vegetable vocabulary with one of our fun lists. And then, you’ll really be ready to shop!
When it’s time to pay, you have a few options, depending on whether you plan to pay with cash or card. Here are some useful Italian phrases to get you started:
Quanto costa? |
How much does it cost? |
Quant’è? |
How much is it? |
Quanto viene? |
How much is it? |
Literally: “How much does it come (for)?” |
Quanto le devo? |
What do I owe you? |
Literally: “How much do I owe you?” |
Posso pagare con la carta? |
Can I pay by credit card? |
Literally: “Can I pay with the card?” |
Pago con la carta. |
I will pay by credit card. |
Literally: “I will pay with the card.” |
Ecco la carta. |
Here is my credit card. |
Literally: “Here is the card.” |
But actually, right before paying, it’s a good habit to ask to try on (or taste) the merchandise, right?
Posso provarlo? |
Can I try it on? |