Parla Italiano? - Do you speak Italian?

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.