Italian phrases

Italian for where you are

Ten situations a trip to Italy is made of, each with the phrases you say, the ones you hear back, and the few things worth knowing before you go in. Every phrase comes from Verba’s ticket machine, and each page ends with a ticket of five to try.

• il caffèHow to order coffee in Italian

  The Italian you need at an Italian bar: ordering un caffè, paying at the till first, the counter and the table, and what to have with it.

  27 phrases

• il ristoranteItalian phrases for the restaurant

  Book a table, order course by course, explain an allergy and ask for the bill in Italian, with what the waiter will say back.

  36 phrases

• il trenoItalian phrases for the train station

  Buy a train ticket in Italian, find your platform, validate a regional ticket, find your seat, and cope with delays and strikes.

  32 phrases

• l’albergoItalian phrases for the hotel

  Check in to an Italian hotel or apartment in Italian, ask about breakfast and Wi-Fi, report a problem in the room, and check out.

  31 phrases

• la mappaHow to ask for directions in Italian

  Ask the way in Italian and understand the answer: left, right, straight on, across the bridge, and what to say when you did not catch it.

  27 phrases

• la farmaciaItalian at the pharmacy and the doctor

  Find an open pharmacy, say what hurts, ask for something for a headache or a cough, and understand how to take it, in Italian.

  32 phrases

• la pioggiaHow to talk about the weather in Italian

  Ask what the weather is like in Italian, say it is hot, cold, raining or foggy, make plans around it, and avoid the classic fa caldo mistake.

  26 phrases

• il mercatoItalian phrases for shopping and the market

  Buy by the etto at an Italian market, ask the price, pay, try clothes on, ask for another size, bargain a little and return things, in Italian.

  36 phrases

• il taxiItalian for taxis, buses and the airport

  Take the bus, a taxi, the metro or a hire car in Italy: buying tickets, getting off, the airport, petrol and parking, and the ZTL, in Italian.

  30 phrases

• le chiacchiereItalian small talk

  Meet someone in Italian, say where you are from and what you do, keep the conversation going, agree and disagree, and say goodbye.

  33 phrases