​Learn Italian - How to say "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year" 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! - Surprise your family and friends by wishing them a happy holidays this year - in Italian!

Below are listed important Italian holidays and some common phrases that Italians use to wish each other "happy holidays."


Vigilia di Natale      Christmas Eve
Natale                       Christmas

Il biglietto di auguri Natalizi   Christmas card
Regalo di Natale                         Christmas present

Buon Natale!           Merry Christmas!
Buone Feste!           Happy Holidays!

Auguri di buon Natale!       Best wishes for a merry Christmas!
Tanti Auguri!                         Many good wishes!
Auguri!                                   Best wishes!


L'ultimo dell'anno      New Year's Eve
La notte di San Silvestro
December 31st is the feast day of San Silvestro for the Catholic church

Capodanno                   New Year's Day
Buon anno nuovo!      Happy New Year!  (used most often)
Buon anno!                
Felice anno nuovo!     Happy New Year!

Epifania:
Catholic church holiday, which celebrates when "Wise Men" visited the baby Jesus.  In Italy, gifts are exchanged on this day.  Italian traditions: a friendly witch, La Befana, brings gifts to children, although Santa Claus is also celebrated.



For those who know the subjunctive mood - or even for those haven't yet learned about this type of Italian verb - you can try to express your good wishes using these complete sentences!

Spero che tu passi                 I hope that you have a Merry Christmas.
un buon Natale.
Spero che voi passiate          I hope that you all (to a group) have a Merry Christmas.
un buon Natale. 


Spero che tu faccia  buone feste!            I hope that you have good holidays!
​Spero che  voi  facciate  buone feste!     I hope that you all have good holidays!


Spero che tu abbia                 I hope that you have a good New Year!
un buon anno!
Spero che voi abbiate           I hope that you all have a good New Year!
un buon anno!

Some of this material was reprinted from Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Verbs, courtesy of Stella Lucente, LLC.  Book available on Amazon.com and download to electronic devices on www.LearnTravelItalian.com. 

Learn Italian - "Quanto Costa?" means "How much does it cost?" 

Do you like to barter? Did you know that the merchants in the piazzas of Italy (and some stores) actually expect you to barter with them? Don't pay full price for your Italian treasure if you don't have to! And the sellers always appreciate it if you pepper your English with a few friendly Italian phrases to help the deal go through!

The next time you go to Italy, ask the shopkeeper "Quanto costa?" If the price doesn't seem just right, continue the conversation and  see how you do bartering Italian -style!

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                                   Quanto Costa?

When asking a shopkeeper in Italy how much one thing costs, you can point to the item and ask:
Quanto costa? =  How much does (it ) cost?

When asking a shopkeeper in Italy how much more than one thing costs, you can point to the items and ask:
Quanto costano? = How much do these things cost?

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Start a conversation with a shopkeeper by asking:
Quanto costa…      How much is…   (literally: How much costs…)

Maybe the article is:
in vendita/in saldo, saldi        on sale / on sale for a reduced price
in svendita                                  in a closeout sale
sconto/scontato                        discount / discounted
a prezzo basso                            at low/lowered price

If the price is right, you can pay for the item, and tell the shopkeeper, "Thank you," or  "Grazie."

But, if you are in the mood to barter, then...  Of course, the listed price will be:
troppo caro                                      too expensive
costoso                                              expensive / costly
proprio costoso                               really expensive
Costa un occhio della testa!        Costs an arm and a leg!
                                                             (lit. Costs an eye out of the head!)

And here we go with bartering... If you've tried this in Italy, leave a comment describing your method and let us know how it worked! 

Quanto costa?                  How much (does it) cost?
Venti euro.                        (It costs) 20 euro.
Troppo caro! Quindici euro, invece!            (That is) too expensive! 15 euros instead!
Non è in saldo… ma, diciannove va bene. (It) is not on sale… but 19 is good.
No, è costoso! Forse diciassette?                 No, (it) is expensive! Perhaps 17?
Diciotto. Non posso fare più sconto!          18. (I) can’t discount it any more!
                                                                              (lit. I can’t make it (any) more discounted!)
D’accordo.                          Agreed.

Contact Corrine at [email protected] for special offers for our "Conversational Italian for Travelers" series of books with the promo code CIAP.

Let's Learn About Italian Style!

With so many shops that carry beautiful clothing in Italy, you will probably want to talk about what you are wearing in Italian! It seems tricky at first, but just follow our method, and you will have it down in no time!

Here is a summary of this topic, adapted from  Chapter 10 of our book Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Verbs © 2012 by Stella Lucente, LLC,  available on Amazon.com and www.Learn Travel Italian.com.

Below are some important verbs to know and how to use them when talking about Italian clothing. Look for the shop signs that say "saldi" for "sale" and get started buying some fabulous clothes in Italy!

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                                        How to Wear Italian Clothes

Vestirsi = to get dressed.

Notice that getting dressed is reflexive in Italian. Remember that with reflexive verbs, we drop the subject pronoun (io, tu, lei, lui, noi, voi, loro) and understand who is getting dressed from the reflexive pronoun and verb ending.

Mi vesto.    (I) get dressed.
Ti vesti.      (You) get dressed.
Si veste.     (She/He) gets dressed.

Don't confuse the verb vestirsi with the noun vestito, which means the article of clothing that is an actual dress!


Mettersi = to put on.

Notice the many English phrases that are simply spoken with short Italian phrases using mettersi.

Mi metto il vestito.  (I) put on the dress.
                                      (I) put the dress on.
                                      (I) put on my dress.

Ti metti l'anello.       (You) put on the ring.
Si mette le scarpe.   (She/He) puts on the shoes.

If you want to say "I am wearing..." or "I take the size..." use the regularly conjugated verb portare, which in other situations means "to bring" or "to carry."

Porto il mio vestito preferito.     (I) am wearing my favorite dress.
Porto la taglia quarantotto.        (I) take size 48.


If you really want to be a part of Italian culture, use this idiomatic expression, which refers to shoes and means something fits perfectly. It is the equivalent of the English saying, "It fits me like a glove," or, "It fits me to a T"!
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Mi calza a pennello!      It fits me perfectly!... Like a glove! ...To a "T"!


Some of this material was reprinted from Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Verbs, courtesy of Stella Lucente, LLC.  Book available on Amazon.com and download to electronic devices on www.LearnTravelItalian.com. 


​Contact Corrine at [email protected] for special  book offers with the promo code CIAP.


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Let's talk about speaking in Italian! 

Here is a short blog of phrases that are found in my Conversational Italian for Travelers pocket travel book "Just the Important Phrases".  I call this little book "Your T
traveling companion in Italy," since, like the title suggests, it has "all the phrases you need to know to enjoy your trip to Italy." 

Traveling to Italy this summer?  Whether you are going in a group or with your family, try out these phrases, and get started on your way to communicating in Italian! 

If you are asked:
Parla italiano?       (Do) you (polite) speak Italian?

You may reply:
Si, un po’.                Yes, a little.
Si, molto bene.      Yes, very well.
No, mi dispiace!    No, I am sorry!
 Parla inglese?       (Do) you (polite) speak English?

An Italian may say:
No, parlo soltanto italiano.     
No, (I) only speak Italian.

You may want to ask:
Dov’è un interprete?               
Where is an interpreter?


If you are having difficulty understanding fluent Italian, you may want to say:
Che cosa?/Che?/ Cosa?    What?

Non capisco.                       (I) don’t understand.
Non capisco che cosa ha detto.
                                               (I) didn’t understand what you (polite) said.

Non ho sentito.                (I) didn’t hear (you).

Lei parla troppo veloce (per me)!
                                              You (polite) speak too fast (for me)!

To ask for help you could try:
Per favore, può...                           Please, could you (polite)...
    ...parlare più lentamente          ...speak more slowly?
     ...parlare più piano?                   ...speak more slowly?
     ...parlare più forte?                    ...speak more loudly?
     ...parlare in inglese?                  ...speak in English?

Non parlare troppo veloce.       Don’t speak too quickly.
Può ripetere?                                 Could you (polite) repeat (that)?

Come si dice...?                             How (do) you (polite) say...?
                                                          (literally: How does one say...?)

Come si dice in italiano?           How (do) you (polite) say (it) in Italian?
Cosa significa?                             What does (it) mean?
Come si chiama in italiano?    What is it called in Italian?


​Some of this material was reprinted from Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases (with Restaurant Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions), courtesy of Stella Lucente, LLC.  Book available on Amazon.com and download to electronic devices on www.LearnTravelItalian.com. 


​Contact Corrine at [email protected] for special  book offers with the promo code CIAP.

Let's Learn Italian - How to talk about where we are from in Italian!

One of the questions most frequently asked of travelers during polite conversation is, “Where are you from?” Two phrases can be used to ask this question in Italian. There are subtle differences in the meaning of these two questions, and in the reply for each.

The first phrase uses the combination:
di + dove + essere = from + where + to be

This phrase is most often used to inquire about an individual’s place of birth. In Italian, when the verb to be (essere) is used, the idea of "from" is expressed with di, as in, “From where are you?” In proper English, of course, we would say, “Where are you from?”

​The answer in Italian will also use di and will be followed by the town of one’s birth.

​Notice that the subject pronoun io (I) is usually left out of the answer, as it is understood from the ending of the verb.

Di dov’è Lei?            Where are you (polite) from?
Di dove sei?             Where are you (familiar) from?
Sono di Chicago.     (I) am from Chicago.



The second phrase uses the combination:
Da + dove + venire = from + where + to come

This phrase uses the action verb venire and is usually used in conversation when someone is visiting or has moved to a new place. 

​The reply will use the io form of venire, which is vengo, and da for "from," followed by a city, town, region/state, or country.

Also, remember that when speaking of a region, state, or country, the Italian definite article (il, lo, la, l’, gli) must be used.

The preposition da is then combined with the definite article to make dal, dallo, dall’, dalla, or dagli, which means “from the.”

For now, don’t worry about these rules. Just look up and remember the correct way to say where you are living in case you are asked!
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Da dove viene?    Where do you come from? (polite)
Da dove vieni?     Where do you come from? (familiar)



Vengo dall’America.          (I) come from America./I am from America.
Vengo dagli Stati Uniti.    (I) come from the United States.
Vengo dall’Illinois.             (I) come from Illinois.
Vengo dalla California.     (I) come from California.
Vengo dal New Jersey.      (I) come from New Jersey.
Vengo da Chicago.             (I) come from Chicago.

​Some of this material was reprinted from Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases (with Restaurant Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions), courtesy of Stella Lucente, LLC.  Book available on Amazon.com and download to electronic devices on www.LearnTravelItalian.com. 


​Contact Corrine at [email protected] for special  book offers with the promo code CIAP.

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Let's Learn Italian with a simple Italian word with many meanings!

Most everyone who is familiar enough with Italian culture to want to visit Italy will know a few basic Italian words, like "grazie" for "thank you", for instance.

But what is the proper reply?  Why, it is the word "prego," of course! Anyone who visits Italy, even for a short time, will certainly hear the Italian word prego, and in more situations than they might expect at first!

Here is a summary, adapted from our pocket book Conversational Italian for Travelers: Just the Important Phrases, of the many ways the word prego is used in Italian,  which was shared with our Conversational Italian! Facebook group prior to writing this blog.  This is an open group, where English speakers and Italian speakers share about the Italian language and culture.  Join us, if you like! 


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                                    How to use the Italian word "Prego"


Prego is the direct response to grazie and means, "You’re welcome." It is derived from the verb of politeness pregare, which has several meanings.

Pregare can be translated as "to pray", which lends itself to the connotation of asking or requesting something. English phrases like, “I pray of you,” “I beg of you,” or “Pray tell,” carry the same idea, although these are no longer commonly used.

In a similar way, a simple, “Prego…” can also be used, usually with a gesture,* to address someone when on line in a crowded place, as in, “Go ahead of me, I beg you, if you please...”
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“Sono pregati di” is a polite expression derived from pregare that may also be heard when someone in charge, such as a flight attendant or tour guide, for instance, is directing a group of people.

Finally, if an Italian waiter comes to your table at a restaurant with a wonderful dish for you to try, he may put it in front of you with a flourish and say, “Prego!” as in, “There you go!”

Below is a summary of all the uses of that short, simple Italian word with many uses: "Prego!"

Prego.
You’re welcome.

Prego…
 If (you) please…  
(When someone in Italy wants you to enter a room, or go ahead of them while waiting in line to enter a restaurant or tourist attraction. Usually accompanied by a hand gesture signaling the direction to go.)

Sono pregati di…
Are requested/asked/begged to…

Prego!
There you go!  Here it is for you!
(When a waiter in Italy brings a special meal to the table for everyone to share, for instance. Usually accompanied by a hand gesture - upward waving of the hands.)

*To really learn Italian, one must also learn the gestures that are a part of the language!


Some of this material was reprinted from Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases (with Restaurant Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions), courtesy of Stella Lucente, LLC.  Book available on Amazon.com and download to electronic devices on www.LearnTravelItalian.com. 



​Contact Corrine at [email protected] for special  book offers with the promo code CIAP.



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Let's get started Learning Italian with the basics - meeting and greeting your friends in Italian! These expressions will be even more important to know if you are planning a trip to Italy.  A little Italian goes a long way to making friends in Italy.  

As in English, in Italian there are many ways to greet people, and different expressions will be used depending on the situation and how well the individuals know one another.  Many easygoing, familiar, and slang expressions are commonly used in Italy today, just like here in America, although polite forms of address are still important to know in Italy.

Listed below are some of the most common ways to say, "hello." 

“Buon giorno” can be used to mean “Good morning,” when greeting family members at home and shop owners at the piazza in Italy; this phrase can also be used in more formal situations as its literal translation: “Good day.” It is a phrase used so often that in fact, that in Italy one often hears the reply shortened to simply “Giorno.” 

There are at least as many ways to say “good bye” as there are to say “hello,” in Italian, as listed below.

Notice from our list that the word ciao is unique because it can be used as an informal “hi” and a quick way to say “bye.” Ciao is used frequently throughout Italy today, but only with family and friends.  So, don't get stuck on the word ciao  - use your more formal greetings for those Italians you may meet the first time here in America or during your travels in Italy.

The word salve is also interesting.  It's originals date back many centuries.  Today, it is thought to be a bit formal and yet... still a bit informal.  In short, it is a good choice for both formal and informal situations.  Or, even when one is not sure just how "formal" the situation should be!

Use the phrases below as a guide when you are visiting Italy.  Take a walk (like the Italians love to do) and practice all of these greetings with the new people you meet at the shops, restaurants, and in the piazza! - Kathryn Occhipinti

Here are some ways to say "Hello" in Italian

Buon giorno.*
Good morning. (lit. Good day.)  used all day into the evening

Buona sera.*
Good evening.  early nighttime greeting, from about 4 PM (although the exact time of use for this phrase varies)

 Buona notte.*
Good night.   used when leaving/bedtime

 *Can be written as one word, as in buongiorno, buonasera, or buonanotte.

Buona giornata.
(Have a) good day.  wish someone a nice (entire) day

Salve.
Hello. (old greeting/ both formal and informal)

Ciao.
Hi./Bye. very informal - only for family and friends

Ciao bella!
Ciao bello!
Hey, beautiful girl! for someone you know (well)
Hey, handsome!

Come va?
How (is it) go(ing)? (a slang greeting used often)



 And some ways to say "Good Bye":

 Ci vediamo!
(Until) we see each other (again)! for family or for a friend you hope to see again soon
 
Arrivederci.
Good bye. (familiar polite)

Arrivederla.
Good bye. (polite, with respect)

ArrivederLa.
Good bye. (formal written form)

A dopo!
(See you) later! (good bye between friends)

A più tardi!
(See you) later! (good bye between friends)

A presto!
(See you) soon!
(good bye between friends)

Ciao Ciao!
Bye Bye!


 Use these phrases to agree with what someone is saying:
Si.
Yes.

Certo.
 Of course.

D’accordo.
(I) agree.

Penso di si.
(I) think so.
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Some of this material was reprinted from Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases (with Restaurant Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions), courtesy of Stella Lucente, LLC.  Book available on Amazon.com and download to electronic devices on www.LearnTravelItalian.com. 

Contact Corrine at [email protected] for special book offers with the promo code CIAP.
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