Learn the most famous Italian “scioglilingua”, tongue twisters: challenge your fluency, pronunciation, speed and precision. Translating these sentences is quite pointless, because they make little or no sense. You can however recognize some common words. Thanks to our teacher Alessandra for recording these challenging sentences! If you know more, please get in touch, comment and we’ll … Read more ≫
Learn to deal with your hotel reservation and services. Listen to the correct pronunciation Today we’ll talk about your accommodation in Italia. Italy is one of the most visited countries in the world. Despite that, outside the usual destinations of the “grand tour”, big cities like Roma, Firenze or Venezia, many people including hotel managers … Read more ≫
Learn some basic Italian vocabulary and verbs related to shopping and fashion. PODCAST. Fashion is important business in Italia. Not just for money. We like to dress well in formal occasions, but also for a simple dinner out in centro (downtown). I’m sure you know some Italian fashion brands (Gucci, Prada, Armani, D&G etc), easily available in every … Read more ≫
LearnthecorrectvocabularyandsentencesfororderingfoodinItaly. PODCAST. Therearesomecommonpractices,setphrasesandwordsyoucanuseanywhere inItaly fororderingfoodandmakeyourselfunderstood. Wearegoingtoseethemtogether. Lacolazione-Breakfast Italianbreakfastisverysimple.Peopleeatthecolazioneat homeoratcafeterias(inItalywesimplycallita”bar”).Weusuallyhaveacaffelatte,(coffeeandmilk),cappuccino,orevenasimplecaffèandasweetpastry,abriocheorcornetto(croissant). InaB&B,a socalledagriturismo, youcaneattastylocalfoodlikesalameandprosciutto,formaggio(cheese)pane(bread)anddolcifattiincasa (homemadecakes)forbreakfast. Ilpranzo-Lunch Ilpranzoisusuallylighterthanlacena (supper).Onholiday however,proportionsandportionsarenotundercontrol.Ifyouwantalightmeal,youcaneata paninoconaffettati(delimeatlikeprosciuttoetc) porchetta (spit-roastedpork)formaggio.Youcanaskasalumiere (grocer)toprepareitforyouandfillitthewayyoulikeit. Anothergoodandcheapoptionisamenùa10euro,ormenùturisticoalunchsetwhichincludesaprimopiatto (pastaorrisotto),secondopiatto-carneopesce (meatorfish), contornodiverdura (patate,pomodori,insalataverde – sidedish,usuallypotatoes,tomatoesorgreensalad),pane(bread)acqua(water)andsometimesevenavinodellacasa,1/4 literof housewine.Uncaffèespressoisalwayspartofit. Ifyourbudgetallowsafulllunchinatrattoriaorristorante,ofcourseyoucaneatanddrinkasmuchasyouwant.ThecoursesofanItalianmealare:antipasto(appetizer),primo(firstdish),secondo(maindish),contorno(sidedish),formaggio(cheese),dolce(dessert),caffèandifyouarereadytotakeanap,anamaro(typicalItaliantonicliquor).Readytopaythebill?Askthewaiter,Ilcontoperfavore. Lacena-Supper Lacenacanberather cheapatapizzeria orexpensiveinanelegantristorante. Antipasto – Starter Italiansusually startadinner withsomeappetizers.Weusuallyeataffettati, cheese,andthefamousgrilledvegetablesmarinatedinoliveoil,thesocalledsottolio. Ifyoupreferfish,especiallyifyouarevisitingaplaceonthecoast,youcanorderanantipastodimare, aselectionofcoldseafoodandfish,pickled in oliveoilandlemon,ormoresophisticatedcoldentries. Ifyoutrustyourwaiter,andseethatotherpeoplearehavinganiceantipasto,youcanaskfortheantipastodellacasa,aselectionofpopularappetizers. Primipiatti ForgetabouttheItaliandishesyoucanfindathome. YouwillneverfindAmerican fettuccineAlfredo ormacaroniandcheese.Italiansdon’tevenknowwhattheyare. Pastaisking,from theextremenorthtoSicily.Thevarietyofshapes,fillings,saucesandcondimentsishuge. Risottoisprettycommoneverywherebutitismorepopularin thenorthernpartofthecountry.Pastaisusuallyservedaldente.Ifit’sovercooked wesayitisscotta. Youcanunderstandiftherestaurantisdecentif theyserveyourpastawithaformaggiera, acheesebowl,withgratedparmigianoorpecorino. Askforitifthewaiter forgets. Nowadaysrestaurantsservinggluten-freepastaareeasytofindinbigcities. Maybeyou’renotinthemoodforeatingmuchoryouhadaquitecaloriclunch,soyoucanaskthewaiterforasmall portion,ortoshareyourprimopiatto. Let’srecapwithapodcast: Vorrei degliaffettati-I’dlikeamixofdelimeat Vorrei unantipastodimare-I’dlikeaseafoodappetizer Vorrei unantipastodellacasa-I’dlikesome houseappetizers Vorrei unapastaalragù/alpesto Chetipodipastamiconsiglia?Whatkindofpastado yousuggest? Possoaveredelformaggiograttugiato?CanIhavesomegratedcheese? Qualeprimodellacasamiconsiglia? Vorrei unapastaaldente Avetedellapastasenzaglutine?Doyouhaveglutenfreepasta? Possiamoavereunaporzioneindue?Canweshareoneportionintwo? Possoavereunaporzioneabbondante?CanIhavealargeportion? Ilsecondo-Main course “Primo”and”secondo”canbeequallyconsideredmaincourses,butthesecondoisfarmorediverse.Meatandfish arethemainingredientsofasecondo. Ifyouorderasteak,thefamousbisteccafiorentina,grilled t-bonesteak, itoften comesalsangue(literally”bloody”rare),butyoucanhaveitcottaapuntino(medium)orbencotta(welldone). TheItaliancoastlineisverylong,andsoisthemenuofpesce -fishandfruttidimare -seafood. Bothmeatandfisharecookedindifferentfashions:bollito-boiled,grigliato-grilled,fritto-fried,inumido-stewed,alvapore-steamed,alforno-intheoven,inpadella-panfried. Dependingonthemaincourseyoucanaskamatchingcontorno,sidedish.Freshandgreenvegetables(verdura)areas commonas theubiquitouspotatoes. Qualesecondodicarne/dipescemiconsiglia? Ilpesceèfrescoosurgelato?(freshorfrozen) Vorreiunabistecca… …alsangue,…cottaapuntino,…bencotta Vorreidelpesce… …alvapore,…grigliato…inumido, …bollito,…fritto,…alforno,…inpadella Percontornovorrei… …dellepatatealforno/bollite/fritte …un’insalataverde/mista …dellaverdurabollita Bevande-Drinks Italyisoneofthelargestproducersofwineintheworld.Andmineralwater.Thelatteriseasytoorder.Youcanhaveyouracqua naturale(still)orfrizzante(fizzy). Youcanorderunacaraffa (apitcher)ofvinodellacasa(housewine)unbicchiere(aglass)orunabottiglia(abottle). Sometimesalocal vinodellacasaischeaperandbetterthanbottledwine. Vorreiunabottigliadiacqua… … Read more ≫
Addressingpeopleformallyandinformally,greetingsandintroductions.Listentothepodcast. ThePodcastisaboutmakingfriendsandstartingaconversation. “LEI”AND”TU” InItalian,wehavetwodifferentlevels ofcommunication:formalandinformal.Whenwewantto addresssomeoneinformally,weusethepronounTU(you).OntheotherhandtheformalpronounisLEI(she)usedforbothmenandwomen.ThefirstoneisequivalenttotheEnglishYOU,sothere’snoproblemhere.TheLEI isaformofrespectthat createsdistancebetweenspeakers.Forexample: Cometichiami(tu)? Comesichiama(lei)? Theybothmeanwhat’syourname,butthelatterismoreappropriateifyouspeaktoanadultyoudon’tknow,orneedtopayrespecttosomeone. Forexample,IknowmanypeopleusingtheLeiwiththeirparentsinlaw,theirbossesandcolleaguesatwork,theircustomers.Itdependsonthesituation. SometimestheLeiis notnecessarybecause thenature oftherelationshipisinformal.Italiansarefriendly,somostprobablytheLeiwillbe necessaryonlywhenyouintroduceyourself.YouwillsoonusetheinformalTu. Sinceyouareaforeigner,people willunderstandit’sdifficultforyoutousetheLei.Inanycase,it’srecommendedtoshowsomepolitenessandlearngreetingsandintroductionsusing Lei.Then,youcanasktoswitchtotheinformalTusaying: Diamocideltu. Possiamodarcideltu? Let’sproceedwithorder: TITLES ItaliansusetitlesmorethanEnglishspeakers.Thefollowingisthebasics: Signore-Sir Signora-Ma’am Signorina-Miss SignorRossi-Mr.Rossi SignoraBianchi-Mrs.Bianchi SignorinaFerrari-MissFerrari Ontopofit,people tendtogivealotofimportancetograduatedprofessionals.EveryItalianholdingauniversitydegreeisadottore ifmaleordottoressa if femaleandthetitleis usedinsteadofsignororsignorabeforethelastname,evenoutsidetheworkingenvironment.Themostcommonare: DottorRossi DottoressaBianchi AvvocatoMartini ProfessorArmani ProfessoressaLamborghini IngegnerCampari Youcanseethattitlesformalesendingin”e”,dropthe”e”beforethelastname.SignorebecomesSignorRossi,DottorebecomesDottorRossiandsoon. GREETINGS GreetingsinItalianfollowthesamesimplerulesyouhaveinEnglish.Theycanbeformal,informal,commonorlesscommondependingonthesituation.Downbelowthemostcommon. Buongiorno-Goodmorning,butalsogoodafternoonuntildusk Buonpomeriggio-Goodafternoon,notascommonasBuongiorno Buonasera-Goodevening Buonanotte-Goodnight Buonagiornata-Haveagoodday Buonaserata-Haveagoodevening These canbeusedinformalandinformalsituationsand areallratherpolite.I’drarely saybuonasera toaclosefriend. Ciao-Hi Salve-Hello Ciao iswhatIwouldsaytoafriendorarelative.It’dbevery rudetosayciaotoapersonwho deservestheformalLei. Salve istheformal versionofciao. Useitwhennecessary. Arrivederci-Seeyou. Civediamo-Seeyou. Cisivede-We’llseeeachother. Cisentiamo-Speaktoyousoon. Apresto-Seeyousoon. Adomani-Seeyoutomorrow. Allaprossima-Seeyounexttime. Adopo-Seeyoulater. Benvenuto/Benvenuta/Benvenuti-Welcome. Arrivederciisquiteformal.It’soktouseitwiththeLeiform.SamewithApresto.Alltheothersareratherconversationalandinformal.Cisentiamo ismorelike”we’llhearfromeachother”. INTRODUCTIONS Youprobablylearnedthat”Michiamo…”means”Mynameis…”.Right,buttheliteraltranslationis “Icallmyself…”.Chiamarsiisaverboriflessivo,areflexiveverb.Visitthelinkedpageifyouwanttolearnmore.So,what’syournameis”Cometichiami?-Howdoyoucallyourself?”.Thecompleteconjugationoftheverbchiamarsiisthefollowing: Iomichiamo- Tutichiami- … Read more ≫
Italian family vocabulary in 40 words: parents, siblings, in-laws, step-family. Plus the possessive trap (mio padre vs il mio amico) and a Sunday-lunch dialogue.
Theverbessereisusedintheexpressionsc’èandcisono(thereis-thereare) followedbya singularorpluralnoun.Podcast. C’èandcisono correspondtotheEnglishthereisandthereare. Asimplepostforbeginners There’snoperfectmatchbetweenEnglishandItalian.Sometimesessereandesserci(tobeandtobethere)areinterchangeable. Thenegativeformsare nonc’èand noncisono. Afewnotes.Money(soldi)initalianisplural,people(gente)inItalianissingular,so”thereis”and”thereare”areobviouslyinverted.Theorderofthewordsinthesentencedoesn’tchangeinquestions.InItalian,whenyoudon’tneedinterrogativeadverbs(come,dove,quando,perchéetc…)we justaddaquestionmark.Soicanask: Mariononc’è? Nonc’ètempo? Finally, fromalogicalpointofview,therearesomeverycommonItaliansentences(doublenegatives)thatinEnglishdon’tmakesense,butarecorrectinItalian.Forexample: Nonc’ènessuno -lit.Thereisn’tnobody Nonc’èniente-lit.Thereisn’tnothing ThereareplentyoforedoublenegativesinItalian(withmai,nessuno,niente).Learn themastheyare. Thanksforreading.VisitourhomepageandwinanItalianSkypeclasswithanativeteacher. photocredit
A list of Hollywood stars who speak awesome Italian or are such great actors that managed to speak it very well on stage. Some Hollywood actors speak (or spoke) Italian very well, others tried to speak a credible Italian but simply couldn’t. Some others, learned Italian only for acting properly, with astonishing results. Vincent Cassel … Read more ≫
What is the subject in a sentence like “Mi piace Firenze”? How about “Mi interessa Firenze”? Read this post and solve the quiz at the bottom Ciao a tutti. “Piacere”, translates in “to like” but has a different logic in Italian. If I say “Mi piace il gelato”, it means “I like ice cream” but translates … Read more ≫
The “conversational” use of the imperfetto in Italian is very common and helps to simplify the language. Is it right to learn it the wrong way? I’m not going to explain again the correct use of the imperfetto, but how the “incorrect” and common use of it, is so popular in the spoken language. The imperfetto, “imperfect” by … Read more ≫