
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? |
Posso assaggiarlo? |
Can I try/taste it? |
If you need more shopping words, take a look at this free vocabulary list on ItalianPod101.com.

Posso assaggiare il pistacchio? (“Can I taste the pistachio?”)
5. Asking for Help
There is no shame in asking for help, especially if you’ve just started learning Italian. Asking for help is a great way to talk to people, find out information, establish contact, and even make new friends along the way.
You’ll find that most Italians, especially those not in the middle of the most touristic cities, will be more than happy to help you. Some will even go out of their way to show you special attention and give extra help! And if you’re very lucky, you might even get an invitation to lunch or to a homemade cappuccino!
1 – Help with Directions
Below are a few beginner phrases in Italian you can use to ask for directions. Just remember:
- Address the person with scusa if you want to be casual.
- Address the person with scusi if you need to be a bit more formal. For example, when speaking to older people or to a poliziotto/a (“policeman” / “policewoman”) or a vigile urbano (“traffic policeman”).
Dov’è…? |
Where is…? |
Dove si trova? |
Where is…? |
Literally: “Where can it be found?” |
Scusa, dov’è il bagno? [Casual] | Scusi, dov’è il bagno? [Formal] |
Excuse me, where is the bathroom? | |
While traveling through Italy, you might often hear la toilette. Maybe it just sounds more elegant if you give it a French name! |
Scusa, cerco la fermata dell’autobus. [Casual] | Scusi, cerco la fermata dell’autobus. [Formal] |
Excuse me, I’m looking for the bus stop. |
Come arrivo a…? |
How do I get to…? |
Vorrei andare a… |
I would like to go… |
Mi sono perso/a. |
I got lost. |
- → Do you need more help when it comes to getting around and asking for directions? Here is a more exhaustive vocabulary list with lots of practical direction-related words and samples of their pronunciation.

Mmm… Mi sono perso? (“Mmm… Am I lost?”)
2 – Overcoming Language Barriers
We all know the feeling: As beginner learners, listening and speaking can be challenging and even terrifying…
What if I don’t understand? What if they speak too fast? What if they don’t understand me? What… what… what?
Don’t worry. Here are some useful phrases to ease your communication with native speakers, even if you’re an absolute beginner.
Parli inglese? [Casual] | Parla inglese? [Formal] |
Do you speak English? |
Non parlo bene l’italiano. | |
I don’t speak Italian very well. |
Non capisco. |
I don’t understand. |
Non ho capito. |
I didn’t understand. |
Come si chiama questo in italiano? |
What do you call this in Italian? |
Come si traduce questa parola in italiano? |
How do you translate this word in Italian? |
Puoi ripetere? [Casual] | Può ripetere? [Formal] |
Can you repeat? |
Puoi parlare più lentamente? [Casual] | Può parlare più lentamente? [Formal] |
Can you speak slowly? |
Cosa è successo? |
What happened? |
Che cos’è? |
What is it? |
A che serve? |
What is it for? |
Literally: “What does it serve?” |
Non so. |
I don’t know. |
Non lo so. |
I don’t know. |
Literally: “I don’t know it.” |
Ho bisogno di aiuto! |
I need help! |
Non preoccuparti. [Casual] | Non si preoccupi. [Formal] |
Don’t worry about it. |
Non c’è problema. |
There is no problem. |
Non fa niente. |
There’s nothing to it. |
Literally: “It doesn’t do anything.” |
And remember, when the situation gets really confusing, you can always resort to the most useful word in the whole Italian vocabulary: Boh! A great little word that’s wonderful for expressing uncertainty, disbelief, and contempt all at once.
6. Conclusion
We hope that this simple guide has helped you acquire the most common Italian phrases for beginners. You can now face simple situations such as first meetings, greetings, asking and answering basic questions, and finding your way out of different everyday situations.
Are there other situations that you think we should have covered? Please let us know in the comments below, and we’d be glad to help you with those too.
And if you still haven’t had enough, you can practice some more with our Can-Do Italian for Absolute Beginners course! It features 105 lessons for a total of 5.5 hours of lesson material covering basic words and phrases you should know when first starting out.
Don’t forget to explore ItalianPod101.com to start taking advantage of our free resources, useful vocabulary lists with audio recordings, and a variety of fun lessons designed to make learning Italian easy.
Remember that you can also upgrade your account to use our Premium PLUS service, MyTeacher, to get personal 1-on-1 coaching with your own private teacher. Your tutor will help you practice, provide personalized assignments and exercises, and even record audio samples of pronunciation just for you. In addition, they can review your work to help you improve faster.
Keep it up with ItalianPod101!

Advanced Italian Words to Spice Up Your Vocabulary

So, you’ve passed the intermediate level in Italian. You have all the basics and then some, but you want to go the extra mile and learn more advanced Italian words and sentences.
Are you applying for an Advanced Italian certificate [CILS], corresponding to the C1 or C2 level? Or are you enrolled in an Italian university? Maybe you just need to write an essay, compose the perfect cover letter, or take part in more formal and complex discussions with your Italian friends and colleagues.
According to the Common European Framework Reference for Languages (known in Italian as QCER, Quadro Comune Europeo di Riferimento delle Lingue), advanced learners of a language are able to effortlessly understand virtually everything, whether it’s written or oral. They can also use the language effectively for social, academic, and professional purposes, as well as produce well-structured and articulated text on complex topics.
Do you think you’re getting there?
Here, we’ll present you with a great list of advanced Italian vocabulary words, including verbs, nouns, connectors, and example sentences and phrases. This list will help you sort out any complex linguistic situation for any professional environment you might find yourself in. But, if you still want more by the time you reach the end, check out our wide array of vocabulary lists with audio recordings.

- Advanced Academic Words
- Advanced Business Words
- Advanced Medical Words
- Advanced Legal Words
- Advanced Words for Acing Italian Writing/Essays
- Conclusion
1. Advanced Academic Words
Let’s start with some vocabulary you’ll need to feel at ease in any academic context.

Are you ready for some serious academic work?
Approccio (n.) | Bisogna avere un approccio scientifico. |
Approach | You have to have a scientific approach. |
Beneficio (n.) | Tutti possono trarne beneficio. |
Benefit | Everyone can benefit from that. |
Concettuale (adj.) | Si tratta di arte concettuale. |
Conceptual | This is conceptual art. |
Ruolo (n.) | Il ruolo fondamentale della storia |
Role | The fundamental role of history |
Astratto (adj.) | Questo è un concetto astratto. |
Abstract | This is an abstract concept. |