Italian Phrases for Travelers

If you are going to Italy, it's not too difficult to learn a handful of incredibly useful Italian words. I can't claim to speak Italian by any stretch; however, every time I've been in Italy or the Italian part of Switzerland, the few words I know were lifesavers.

First of all, learn their pronunciation. Italians pronounce every letter and every syllable - no tricky silent letters like the French. When I visit my two friends, both named Barbara, in the Italian part of Switzerland, they pronounce their own names "BAR-bar-a" and they trill the R's. They tease Americans for pronouncing their names "BAR-bra," but they tell me that is better than the Australians, who call them "BAH-bra."

Italian vowels are simple.

A - ah
E - ay
I - ee
O - oh
U - oo

Then, there are a few tricky consonants.

CH - k
CI - ch
G (before E or I) - j
GH - g (like in "spaghetti")
GLI - ly (like the "lli" in "million")
GNI - ny
SC (before E or I) - sh
SCH - sk

For a few familiar examples, Ghirardelli (like the chocolates) is pronounced with a hard G at the beginning of the word, and the appetizer bruschetta is pronounced broo-SKET-ta.

Italians use "Ciao" (pronounced "Chow") to say both Hello and Goodbye. If you want to be extra authentic, kiss the person you are greeting on both cheeks after you say it.

To say Thank You, say "Grazie" (pronounced "GRA-tsee") and to say Excuse Me, say "Scusi" (pronounced "SKOO-zee"). If you know nothing else, Hello, Thank You, and Excuse Me are excellent words to know when visiting any foreign country.

Going down on the list of priorities, the next heavy hitter is Do You Speak English?: "Parla Inglese?" (pronounced "PAR-la ing-LAY-zay?"). You can follow up by saying I Don't Speak Italian - "Non parlo Italiano" (pronounced "nohn PAR-lo it-a-LYA-no") - or I Speak English - "Parlo Inglese" (pronounced "PAR-lo ing-LAY-zay").

The next most useful Italian word I've ever learned: "dove" (pronounced "DO-vay"). It means Where. Italian cities were not built on a grid like Washington D.C., and it's not out of the question to get lost. To say Where Is, accent the second syllable instead of the first - dov'é (pronounced "dohv-AY").

If you wish to ask how much something costs, say "quanto costa?" (pronounced "QUAN-to KO-sta?"). To understand the answer, the numbers through ten are:

1 - Uno
2 - Due
3 - Tre
4 - Quattro
5 - Cinque (pronounced "CHEEN-kway")
6 - Sei
7 - Sette
8 - Otto
9 - Nove
10 - Dieci (pronounced "dee-YAY-chee")

It may not be much to start out with, but the few words listed here can make the difference between night and day when you are in Italy for the first time. Not only that, but you probably already know several other words to enhance your trip: Chianti, cappuccino, tiramisú…