Grazie Mille to Rob Giachetti! He visited the site and offered to tweak and update our phonetic pronunciations here to bring out the
very best in your experiences in Italy and in Italian. Rob has also kindly done a quick pronunciation guide for us. Enjoy!
| Benvenuto! | Ben ven uto | welcome! | |
| Benvenuto a … | ben ven uto ah | welcome to … | |
| … nostra casa | nostra cah sah | our house | |
| … nostro villaggio | nostro | ||
| Buon giorno | Bwohn journo | hello/good day, mate | |
| Buona sera | bwohn ah say rah | good evening | after work |
| Buona notte | Bwohn ah nau-tay | good night | actually going to bed |
| Salve | sahl vey | sort of a laconic latin greeting | |
| Parla inglese? | Par lah in gley say | do you speak english? | |
| Per favore | pear fa vor reh | please | used all the time |
| Grazie | graht see ay | thanks | |
| Grazie mille | mee leh | thanks a lot | |
| Grazie tante | tan teh | ||
| Grazie infinite | een fin eet ay | ||
| Prego | preh goh | you are welcome | also used as “can I?” |
| Vorrei | vor ray | I would like … | start any “want” sentence. |
| Voi… | voy… | Do you want … | |
| Volete… | vol ate tey | would you guys like … | |
| Vorremmo | vor ray mo | we would like | |
| … qualcosa | qual cosa | something | |
| … un’altra | oon all tra | another | |
| … qualcosa’altra | qual cos all tra | another something | |
| … qualcosa da bere | dah beh reh | to drink | |
| … qualcosa da mangiare | dah mahn jar reh | to eat | |
| hai mangiato bene? | eye man jot toe bay neigh | did you enjoy that food? | |
| e’ sufficiente? | eh sue fish en tay | is that enough? | |
| e’ sufficiente | eh sue fish en tay | that’s enough, I’m fine, no more | |
| sei securo? | Say sea coo roh | you sure? | |
| Hai fame? | Eye fahm eh? | Are you hungry? | |
| Hai sete? | Eye seh teh? | Are you thirsty? | |
| Viene con me | vee eh nee con may | come with me | |
| Posso | poh sew | can I? May I? | |
| (Use this to point at something, like: “can I sit there?” Touch this? Go there? Pretty handy.) | |||
| Scusi | scu see | excuse me | |
| scusi, ma | scu see ma | excuse me but… | |
| puo dire mi | pwo deer me | can you tell me… | |
| dove’ | doe VEH | where is … | |
| (Scusi, ma puo dire mi dove’ ____________?) | |||
| dove | doe vay | where | |
| A che ora | ah Kay ora | you got the time? | |
| (Scusi, ma puo dire mi a che ora ____________?) | |||
| Sinistra | ah sin eest rah | left | usually “a sinistra” |
| Destra | ah day stra | right | usually “a destra” |
| Diretto | dee rehtoe | straight ahead | |
| Sempre diretto | semp ray | keep going straight | |
| No | no | no | easy, huh? |
| Si | see | yes | |
| Forse | for seh | maybe | |
| Puo darsi | pwo dar see | maybe | |
| Basta | bah sta | enough | as in “stop”! |
| Basta va via | vah duh vee ah | Enough! Go away | for pests |
| Aiuta mi | eye oota mee | help me | |
| Seguiremi | seg wee reh mee | follow me | |
| Mi chiamo | mee key amo | I call myself … | my name is |
| Si, e’ un nome italiano- | See eh un nomay | yep, it is an italian name | |
| No, non e’ “ | No, nohn eh… | no, it isn’t an italian name | |
| Come’ si chiama | co may see key ahma | how do they call you? | |
| Come’? | co may? | Huh? | |
| Sono Americano/a | sew- no a meh ree cahno | I’m an american | omasc. “a” fem. |
| Siamo americani | see amo amer ee can ee- | we are | |
| Abbitiamo | ahb beet tee ah mo | we live … | |
| nord di Boston | nord dee | north of boston | |
| Questa e’ | qwest ah eh | this is … | |
| mia moglie | mole yay | my wife | |
| questi sono | qwestee sew no | these are | |
| I miei genitori | ee mee yeahee gen ee tory- | my folks | |
| Sorrella/e | sore rell luh/lay | Sister/sisters | |
| Fratello/I | frah tell oh/ee | Brother/brothers | |
| Amica/o | ah mi ka/ am mi ko | friend (fem./masc.) | |
| (Hai sorrelle, fratelli in italia eye sore ray lay/fraa tell ee) | you got sisters, brothers in italy? | ||
| Quanti anni hai? | Quantee anni eye? | How many years do you have? | How old are you |
| Che fai in italia? | Kay fai een it al ee ah? | What do you do in italy? | |
| Piacere! | Pee ah chair ray | Pleased | Usually: pleased to meet you |
| Il piacere e’ mio | ill pee ah chair ray eh mee-o | pleasure is mine | |
| Faccio il | fahch cho ill | I do the … | |
| publicita’ | poob lee chee tah | advertising | Sure looks like Publicity doesn’t it? |
| Frequento la scuola ______ | free qwen toe la squola ______ | I go to school at … | |
| a Lugano | ah Loo gahn o | in Lugano | note: “at” a city, |
| in Ticino | een tih chi no | in Ticino | note: but its “in” state or country |
| Sono un | sew no un | I am a | |
| disegnatore | dee sayn yah torreh | designer | |
| artista | art teesta | artist | |
| studentessa | stu dent tay sa | student (female type) | |
| Faccio le | fahch choh lay | I do | |
| ricerche | ree chair kay | research | |
| lavoro qui | lav or oh quee | I work here | |
| a questo uffico | ah quest oh oo fi choh | at this office | |
| abito a __________ | ah beet toe ah … | I live in (city of your choice) | |
| e’ vicino | eh vee chee no | it is near (city of your choice) | |
| Un cappucino | oon cappooocheeno | one foamy coffee | |
| Con cacao | cone cah cow-o | with powdered chocolate on top – (usually only for mornings) | |
| E una pasta | ay una pa sta | and a pastry – they are all called a pastas interestingly | |
| Questa qui | qwesta queee | this one here | |
| Ce’ frutta interno? | Cheh froot ta een tear no | Is there fruit inside that one? | |
| Marmellata? | Mar mayl la tah | marmalade inside? | |
| Un gelato | Un jay latto | ice cream u scream | |
| Un cono | cone no | in a cone | |
| Due gusti | do ay goose tee | two flavors | “Scoops” = palline |
| La lista | la lee sta | menu | |
| Il conto | ill cohn toh | check | |
| Un litro di | lee tro dee | a liter of | |
| l’acqua | la acqwa | water | |
| minerale | mee nair ahl eh | mineral | |
| Con gas (Gassata) | cone gaas | carbonated | |
| Naturale | na toor ahl eh | natural | |
| Posso | Poh sew | can I | |
| Posso avere | Poh sew ah veh ray | can I have | |
| Possiamo avere | Poh see ah mo ah vey ray | can we have | |
| (Possiamo avere un litro di l’acqua minerale, per favore? Con gas.) | |||
| Con ghiaccio | cohn gi ahch choh | with ice – (expect 1 or 2 cubes, maybe) | |
| Posso vedere | Veh dehr eh | Can I see | |
| Possiamo vedere … | Poh see ah mo veh dehr eh | can we see …? can use “many” infinitives after Possiamo |
|
| Devo vedere … | Deh voh | I must see | |
| Dobbiamo vedere … | Doe beeamo veh dehr eh | Oh, we must see … | |
| Dobbiamo mangiare | doe beeamo mahn jar eh | We must eat! Now. | |
| Mangi! | Mahn gee | Eat! Eat! | |
| Ho mangiato | oh mahn jah toe | I ate | |
| Hai mangiato | eye “ | you (singular, familiar) ate | |
| Ha mangiato | ah “ | you (singular, formal) or he/she/it ate | |
| Abbiamo mangiato | ahb bee yah mo | we ate | |
| Piace … | pea ah cheh | do you like … | |
| Calcio | cal choh | soccer | |
| Piace giocare | joe car reh | play (as in play soccer, play cards, any game) | |
| (piace giocare le carte?) | want to play some cards? | ||
| Quando? | Qwan doe | when? | |
| Domani | doe mahn ee | tomorrow | |
| Doppo domani | doe poh doe mahn ee | after tomorrow (as in day after tomorrow) | |
| Ieri | yea ree | yesterday | |
| L’altro ieri | lawl tro yea ree | the other yesteday (as in day before yesterday) | |
| Sta mattina | stah mah tee nah | this morning | |
| Sta sera | stah say rah | this evening | |
| ABBIAMO MANGIATO BENE! (ahb bee yah mo mahn jah toe bay neh) We ate well. Strangely, this seems to be the ultimate compliment in a home or restaurant. Try it going out the door of a restaurant in Italy and enjoy the moment. Always a winner. | |||
| Buon divertimento a tutti. | Bwohn dee vehr tee mento | Everybody have fun! | |