In today’s guest post, Brendon Gleaves explains the basics of Italian.
Italian is one of the most spoken languages in the world. Italy is a country that has a rich history, with the Roman Catholic having its origin in Italy. You might want to visit the country, or maybe you just need to learn the adorable language. There might be times when you could be on a job tour in Italy or you are on a special, short visit there, for that, you will need to learn Italian basics that will keep you on track.
If you need to learn Italian more effectively, you will have to practice more of it. On your trip to Italy, you will have to know some easy to say words and phrases that will help you be understood easily. These words and phrases are the once that are called the Italian basics, which are also easy to learn. It will help if you constantly practice them, for a quicker understanding, before you advance to the next level.
The Basic Words
The most common words that you would expect to say, nearly every time you meet or leave someone are the following; Some words or phrases have their pronunciation included, for the sake of avoiding, the wrong pronunciation.
• Buongiorno, pronounced, Bohn- jyouhr-no, or the informal, Ciao, meaning Hello
• Come sta, pronounced, ko-me-sta, means How are you?
• To say fine, thank you, you will reply, Bene, grazie, which is said be-ne, grat-zi.
• What’s your name – Come si chiama, said, ki-a-ma.
• My name is… Mi chiamo – ki-a-mo
• Pleasure meeting you – Piacere di conoscerla, it sounds, pya-che-re di ko-no-shayrla.
• Please – Per favore, said, peyr fa-vo-re.
• Thank you – Grazie.
• You are welcome – Prego
• Yes – Si
• No – no
• Excuse me – Mi scusi, this is said, mi sku-zi
• I’m sorry – Mi scusi
• Goodbye – Arrivederci, pronounced, ari-ve-der-chi.
• Good morning – Buonamattina
• Good afternoon – Buongiorno, this is pronounced, bon-jyior-no.
• Good evening – Bounasera
• Good night – Bounanotte
Basic Phrases
You might be in dire need of accessing or knowing anything when in a store or the bus, for that, these phrases would help you to communicate in a more understandable way.
• I don’t speak Italian – Non parlo Italiano
• Do you speak English? – Parla Inglese, this sounds like, ing-leze.
• Does anyone speak English here? Qualcuno parla Inglese?
• Help! – Aiuto, pronounced, ai-yu-to.
• I don’t understand – Non capisco
• Where is the toilet? – Dov’ è il bagno, said ban-yo.
• I speak a little Italian – So soltanto un po’ di Italiano
• This is…. (When introducing a person) – Le presento…
• What did you say? – Che cosa hadetto?
• Could you talk slowly? – Può parlare lentamente?
• Yes, I understand very well. – Si, capiscco benissmo
• Enjoy your day, or have a great day – Buoba giornata.
There are some Italian letter C that will sound -ch-, but other uses of C will sound -kah-, but you will learn more as you advance in the language. These phrases will help you to get along with people that you might meet on the way, or at a social gathering. They might also help you to know if there is an English speaking person around, who might translate more to you, or help you learn even more. Always try to pronounce them the right way, in order to avoid confusion. Nevertheless, you should know the phrases and the words, which will give the native speaker a clue of what you might need. If you attend a reputable school that has competent teachers, learning Italian is not difficult. Within a short time, you will become familiar with the basic of this language and be in a positron to communicate.
Brendon Gleaves runs LanguageHelper.net where he discusses his best language learning techniques. Visit his website for more information.