What is the word life in italian

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army life         n   vita militare  

change of life         n   menopausa  

half-life      n  
  (Phys)   tempo di dimezzamento  

high life         n  
the high life      la vita dell’alta società or del bel mondo  

kiss of life         n     (esp Brit)  
to give the kiss of life      fare la respirazione bocca a bocca  

life-and-death      adj  
life-and-death struggle      lotta all’ultimo sangue  

life annuity         n   rendita vitalizia  

life assurance         n     (Brit)     →
  life insurance  

life belt   , life buoy      n   salvagente    m     

life cycle         n   ciclo vitale  

life expectancy         n   aspecttativa di vita  

life form         n   forma di vita  

life history         n  
  (Bio)   ciclo biologico  
a significant event in his life history      un avvenimento importante nella sua vita  

life imprisonment         n   ergastolo  

life insurance         n     (life assurance, Brit)      n   assicurazione    f   sulla vita  

life jacket         n   giubbotto di salvataggio  

life member         n   membro a vita  

life partner         n   compagno (-a)  , partner    m/f inv     (in relazione a lungo termine)     

life peer         n   pari    m inv   a vita  

life peerage         n   titolo di pari a vita  

life preserver      n  

life raft         n   zattera di salvataggio  

life-saver      n  
  (person)
   bagnino (-a)     
it/he etc was a life-saver        (fig)   mi ha salvato la vita  

life-saving  

life science         n   scienze    fpl   naturali  

life sentence         n   condanna all’ergastolo  

life-size(d)      adj   in or a grandezza naturale  

life span         n   (durata della) vita  

life story         n   biografia  
her life story      la sua biografia, la storia della sua vita  

life style         n   stile    m   di vita  

life support system         n  
  (Med)   respiratore    m   automatico  

long-life   [¹]      adj   a lunga conservazione  
long-life milk      latte    m   a lunga conservazione  

love life         n   vita sentimentale  

plant life         n   flora  

prison life         n   vita carceraria  

pro-life      adj   per il diritto alla vita  

quality of life         n   qualità    f inv   della vita  

right to life         n   diritto alla vita  

sex life         n   vita sessuale  

shelf life         n  
  (Comm)   durata di conservazione  

social life         n  
to have a good social life      avere un’intensa vita sociale  

still life   [²]      n     (Art)   natura morta

Principal Translations/Traduzioni principali Inglese Italiano life n (lifetime) vita nf   He led an interesting life.   Ha condotto una vita interessante. life n uncountable (organisms) vita nf   Scientists were surprised to discover life at the bottom of the sea.   Gli scienziati sono rimasti sorpresi di scoprire la vita in fondo al mare. life n uncountable (existence) vita nf   Do you think there is intelligent life on other planets?   Pensi che ci sia vita intelligente su altri pianeti? life n figurative, uncountable (useful duration) durata nf    (figurato: durata) vita nf   This battery should have a life of 20 hours.   La durata di questa batteria dovrebbe essere di venti ore. life n figurative, uncountable (spirit, liveliness) vita, vitalità, grinta nf   The children are so full of life.   I bambini sono davvero pieni di vita. life n (human being) (figurato: persona) anima, vita nf   Twenty lives were lost in the bombing.   Venti anime hanno perso la vita nel bombardamento. life n (experience) vita nf   My grandma told me all about her life as a nurse during the war.   Ha una vita sociale attiva.

Traduzioni aggiuntive Inglese Italiano life n (biography) biografia nf   The academic wrote an excellent life of Shakespeare.   L’accademico ha scritto un’eccellente biografia di Shakespeare. life n figurative, uncountable (animation) vita nf   That actress really gives life to the role.   Quella attrice dà veramente vita al suo personaggio. life n informal, abbreviation (long-term imprisonment) ergastolo nm     carcere a vita nm   The judge sentenced him to life.   Il giudice lo ha condannato all’ergastolo. life n figurative (precious person) (figurato) vita nf     ragione di vita nf   I love my boy. He is my life.   Adoro il mio bambino. È la mia vita.

Compound Forms/Forme composte
life Inglese Italiano actuarial table,
actuarial life table,
life table n (mortality probability) tavola attuariale nf all my life adv (throughout my lifetime) da sempre, tutta una vita, per tutta la mia vita avv   I was born in Manchester, and I’ve lived here all my life.   Sono nato a Manchester e ci vivo da sempre. all the days of your life expr (for rest of your life) per tutta la vita loc avv the autumn of your life,
your autumn years n figurative (later years of life) terza età, vecchiaia nf   In the autumn of his life, Charles was no longer interested in his former hobbies. average life (physics) vita media nf bane,
bane of your life,
bane of your existence n figurative (source of annoyance) tormento, assillo nm   My computer’s crashed again; technology is the bane of my life!   Il mio computer si è bloccato di nuovo: la tecnologia è il tormento della mia vita! battery life n (how long battery lasts) durata della batteria loc nom be the life and soul of [sth],
be the heart and soul of [sth] v expr figurative (be the source of animation, vitality) (figurato) essere l’anima di, essere la linfa vitale di vtr bread of life n (food, sustenance) sostentamento nm bread of life n figurative (Christianity: spiritual sustenance) pane della vita nm breathe life into [sth] vtr figurative (revive, rejuvenate) far rivivere⇒, riportare in vita, portare a nuova vita vtr   The paramedics breathed life into the accident victim.   ⓘQuesta frase non è una traduzione della frase inglese. È un artigiano molto rinomato e ricercato perché ha la straordinaria capacità di far rivivere i dipinti che restaura. breathe new life into [sth] v expr (reinvent, rejuvenate) (figurato) far rivivere⇒, portare a nuova vita vtr    (figurato) portare una ventata di freschezza vtr   Hiring Edie with her fresh new ideas will breathe new life into this company.   Assumere Edie con le sue idee giovani porterà una ventata di freschezza in quest’azienda. bring [sb] back to life v expr (resuscitate) riportare in vita, resuscitare⇒ vtr bring [sth] back to life v expr figurative (reintroduce) (figurato: idea) resuscitare⇒ vtr    (figurato, informale: idea) ritirare fuori vtr   The idea, once rejected, has been brought back to life by proponents.   L’idea, dopo esser stata rifiutata, è stata ritirata fuori dai proponenti. bring [sth] to life v expr figurative (enliven) animare⇒ vtr   The party was boring until the band started playing and brought it to life.   La festa è stata noiosa finché il gruppo non si è messo a suonare e non l’ha animata. bring [sth/sb] to life v expr figurative (make seem real) rendere vivo vtr     far vivere⇒ vtr   A good movie adaptation really brings the characters to life.   Un buon adattamento cinematografico rende vivi i personaggi. bring [sth/sb] to life v expr often passive (give life) dare la vita a vtr   A fairy brought the puppet Pinocchio to life.   Una fata diede la vita al burattino Pinocchio. the change,
the change of life n dated, informal (menopause) menopausa nf   Weight gain is common among women who are going through the change.   L’aumento di peso è normale tra le donne che entrano in menopausa. the circle of life n figurative (cycle of birth and death) ciclo vitale, ciclo della vita nm city life n (urban lifestyle) vita cittadina, vita di città nf   I prefer the high energy of city life to the calm of the country.   Preferisco l’energia della vita cittadina alla calma della campagna. come to life v expr figurative (liven up) riprendere le energie, riguadagnare le energie vtr     riprendere vitalità vtr   It’s surprising how much I come to life after a short nap.   È sorprendente come mi basti un pisolino di pochi minuti per riprendere le energie. come to life v expr figurative (art, theatre: be convincing) prendere vita vtr   His stories seem to come to life as he tells them with such passion.   Le sue storie sembrano prendere vita, tanta è la passione con cui le racconta. country life n (rural lifestyle) vita di campagna nf daily life n (everyday existence) vita quotidiana nf   Some people only practice their religion on holidays, while for others it’s a part of their daily life.   Certe persone praticano la loro religione solo nei giorni di festa, mentre per altri è parte della vita quotidiana. decay time,
mean life n (radioactivity: rate of decay) tempo di decadimento nm   The decay time of Carbon is used in Carbon Dating to find out how old artifacts are.   Nella datazione al carbonio si usa il tempo di decadimento del carbonio per scoprire l’età degli oggetti. depart this life v expr euphemism (die) (eufemismo: morire) lasciare questo mondo vtr   I want to depart this life at the time and in the manner of my choosing.   Voglio lasciare questo mondo nei tempi e nei modi che più mi aggradano. devote your life to [sth/sb] v expr (be totally committed: to a cause) dedicare la propria vita vtr   Jeremy devoted his life to a vain cause.   Jeremy ha dedicato la propria vita a una causa vana. a dog’s life n figurative (miserable existence) (figurato: difficile) vita da cani nf domestic life n (home, how [sb] lives) vita domestica nf dream life n (what is experienced in dreams) atmosfera da sogno nf dream life n figurative (ideal lifestyle) vita da sogno nf early life n (childhood) infanzia nf   She spent her early life in India, but moved to Britain as a teenager.   Ha passato l’infanzia in India ma si è trasferita nel Regno Unito da adolescente. elixir of life n (immortality potion) elisir di lunga vita nm   The search for the elixir of life dates back thousands of years.   La ricerca per l’elisir di lunga vita risale a migliaia di anni fa. end of life n (product, vehicle: discontinuation) fine del ciclo di vita nf Nota: Hyphens are used when the term is an adjective that precedes the noun. end of life,
end-of-life adj (final days of terminal disease) fine vita nm   A hospice is often the best place for end-of-life care.   Una casa di cura è spesso il posto migliore per le cure del fine vita. end of life,
end-of-life adj (product, vehicle: discontinued) (prodotto) ritirato dal mercato agg    (prodotto) dismesso agg     non più sul mercato end-of-life product n (manufacturing: discontinued item) prodotto dismesso nm estimated life n (person: life expectancy) (riferito a persone) aspettativa di vita nf   Nel Medioevo l’aspettativa di vita alla nascita era di 33 anni. estimated life n figurative (expected duration) (riferito a cose) durata stimata, vita stimata nf   The light bulb has an estimated life of 64 hours.   La durata stimata di questa lampadina è di 64 ore. estimated useful life n (approximate) vita utile stimata nf eternal life n (religion: life after death) vita eterna nf   Christians believe that, through faith and good works, they can attain eternal life with God.   I cristiani credono che grazie alla fede e alle opere buone possono ottenere la vita eterna con Dio. everlasting life n (religion: eternal life) vita eterna nf   Many religions promise their followers everlasting life. everyday life n (normal daily existence) vita quotidiana, vita di ogni giorno, vita di tutti i giorni nf   The teacher showed the students how they use math in everyday life. Taking his medicine became part of his everyday life.   L’insegnante ha fatto vedere agli studenti come usano la matematica nella vita quotidiana. Prendere la medicina diventò parte della sua vita di ogni giorno. fact of life n ([sth] unavoidably true) fatto della vita nm the facts of life npl (sex education) educazione sessuale nf   If the parents don’t teach their children the facts of life the school system will have to do it.   Se i genitori non insegnano l’educazione sessuale ai figli, dovrà farlo il sistema scolastico. family life n (how a family lives, interacts) vita familiare nf fear for your life v expr (think you are likely to die) temere per la propria vita vi   He feared for his life when the robber drew a gun.   Quando il ladro tirò fuori una pistola, cominciò a temere per la propria vita. for dear life expr (desperately) (informale, figurato) per salvare la pelle,
per salvare la pellaccia loc avv for life adv (for the rest of your life) a vita, per tutta la vita avv   Marriage is a commitment for life.   Il matrimonio è un impegno per tutta la vita. for the life of [sb] expr informal (however hard you try) (di fare qualcosa) non c’è verso    (di fare qualcosa) non c’è modo   I cannot for the life of me remember my next-door neighbour’s name.   Non c’è verso di ricordarmi il nome del mio vicino. full of life adj (lively, energetic) pieno di vita, arzillo, vispo agg   He’s nearly 80 but still full of life and with an eye for the ladies.   Avrà anche 80 anni, ma è arzillo e non disdegna la compagnia femminile. future life n (reincarnation) vita futura nf   I hope to come back as a house cat in a future life.   Spero di reincarnarmi in un gatto nella vita futura. Get a life! interj (expressing contempt) (colloquiale, potenzialmente offensivo) Fai qualcosa della tua vita!, Stai sprecando la tua vita! inter    (colloquiale, potenzialmente offensivo) Smettila di perdere tempo in sciocchezze!, Trovati di meglio da fare! inter   When I told them I was translating the Bible into Vulcan they all said “Get a life!”   Quando ho detto loro che stavo traducendo la bibbia in vulcaniano mi hanno detto: «smettila di perdere tempo in sciocchezze!» give life to [sth] vtr (enliven) (figurato) dare vita a vtr    (figurato) dare alla luce vtr   He provides just enough description to give life to his characters.   Le sue descrizioni sono così accurate che sembrano dare vita ai suoi personaggi. give life to [sb] vtr (give birth to) mettere al mondo vtr good life n (luxurious lifestyle) bella vita nf   He’s living the good life on his yacht in the Mediterranean.   Fa la bella vita nel suo yacht in giro per il Mediterraneo. half-life,
half life n (radioactivity decrease) (fisica) periodo di dimezzamento, tempo di dimezzamento nm   The half-life of uranium-238 is about 4.47 billion years.   Il tempo di dimezzamento dell’uranio-238 è di circa 4,47 miliardi di anni. half-life,
half life n (finance: principal decrease) (finanza) periodo di dimezzamento nm   The time taken to repay half the mortgage debt is referred to here as the half-life of the mortgage.   Il tempo impiegato per ripagare metà debito del mutuo viene definito qui come periodo di dimezzamento del mutuo. hard life n (difficult existence) vita difficile nf   Working in the coal mines was a hard life.   Chi lavora nelle miniere di carbone ha una vita difficile. Have a nice life interj informal, ironic (bitter, dismissive) (colloquiale) a mai più rivederci, a non rivederci inter healthy lifestyle,
healthy life-style,
healthy life style n (exercise, good nutrition, etc.) stile di vita sano nm   More people are beginning to realize that a healthy lifestyle can prevent diabetes.   Sempre più persone iniziano a rendersi conto che con uno stile di vita sano si può prevenire il diabete. high life n (luxurious lifestyle) vita sfarzosa nf    (vita di agi e piaceri) bella vita nf home life n (life at home) vita casalinga, vita domestica nf human life n (humanity, people) vita umana nf   So far there is no evidence of human life on Mars.   Ad oggi non ci sono prove di vita umana su Marte. imprisonment for life n (law: lifelong punishment) ergastolo nm     reclusione a vita nf in the prime of life,
in the prime of your life,
in your prime expr (when you are healthiest, happiest) (figurato) nel pieno della vita    (figurato) negli anni verdi, negli anni migliori   Da quando ho iniziato ad allenarmi, mi sento come se fossi di nuovo nei miei anni verdi. the kiss of life n mainly UK, informal (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation) respirazione bocca a bocca nf   The first-aider gave the patient the kiss of life.   Il soccorritore praticò la respirazione bocca a bocca. large as life,
as large as life expr informal (in person, physically present) in persona loc avv     di persona loc avv     personalmente avv larger-than-life,
larger than life adj (very striking) fuori dall’ordinario loc agg     straordinario agg     esagerato agg Nota: A hyphen is used when the adjective precedes the noun.   She’s a larger-than-life character who is usually the centre of attention. later life n (mature years of adulthood) età avanzata, tarda età nf lay down your life for [sb/sth] v expr (die for a cause) morire per vi     dare la vita per vtr   Some mothers would lay down their lives for their children. life after death n (afterlife) aldilà nm    (figurato: vita dopo la morte) altro mondo nm life assurance n UK (pays when holder dies) assicurazione sulla vita nf   People with young children are more likely to buy life assurance.   Le persone con figli piccoli sono più propense a stipulare un’assicurazione sulla vita. life choice n (decision impacting on lifestyle) scelta di vita nf   My boyfriend and I have lived together for 20 years, but are not married; it’s a life choice.   Io e il mio ragazzo abbiamo vissuto insieme per 20 anni ma non siamo sposati: è una scelta di vita. life class,
also US: life drawing class,
also UK: life-drawing class n (nude drawing lesson) (arte) lezioni di nudo nmpl life cycle,
lifecycle n (development process: [sth] living) ciclo vitale nm   The students learned about the life cycle of a butterfly.   Gli studenti studiarono il ciclo vitale di una farfalla. life drawing n (art: drawing from a nude model) disegno di nudo nm life estate n (law: for duration of lifetime) concessione per la durata della vita nf life expectancy n (age one is expected to live to) aspettativa di vita nf   The average life expectancy for a man in the US is about 75 years.   L’aspettativa di vita media per un uomo statunitense è di circa 75 anni. life force (philosophy) forza vitale nf life hack n (helpful tip) consiglio, suggerimento nm   This site is full of handy life hacks, such as how to fold a shirt in under three seconds.   Questo sito è pieno di consigli utili come per esempio come ripiegare una maglietta in meno di tre secondi. life history n (biology: course of life) (biologia) corso della vita nm life history n (all events in [sb]‘s life) storia di vita, vita nf life imprisonment n (long-term prison sentence) carcere a vita nm     ergastolo nm   After being convicted of murder, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.   Dopo essere stato dichiarato colpevole di omicidio, fu condannato al carcere a vita. life insurance n (insurance in case of death) assicurazione sulla vita nf   I bought life insurance to help my family if something happens to me.   Ho fatto un’assicurazione sulla vita per aiutare la mia famiglia nel caso in cui mi dovesse succedere qualcosa. life jacket,
life vest,
life preserver,
lifesaver,
life saver n (inflatable safety vest) giubbotto di salvataggio nm   Some of the crewmen weren’t wearing life jackets. When the ship hit the rocks we were all ordered to put on our life jackets.   Alcuni membri dell’equipaggio non indossavano i giubbotti di salvataggio. Quando la nave urtò gli scogli ci fu ordinato di indossare i giubbotti di salvataggio. life management skills npl (everyday coping strategies) strategie di vita quotidiana life net n (rescue net used by firefighters) (vigli del fuoco) telo da salto, telo di salvataggio nm life of luxury n (comfortable and wealthy lifestyle) vita agiata nf     vita nel lusso nf   My pension does not allow a life of luxury, but it’s enough to get by on.   La mia pensione non mi permette una vita agiata, ma è sufficiente per andare avanti. life of the party n informal, figurative (most lively, outgoing person) anima della festa nf     intrattenitore nm   I love hanging out with Mark – he’s the life of the party.   Mi piace uscire con Mark, è l’anima della festa. life partner n (long-term boyfriend or girlfriend) compagno di vita nm     compagno nm life peer n UK (nonhereditary peer) pari a vita nm life preserver n US (life vest, life belt) giubbotto di salvataggio nm     salvagente nm life preserver n UK, slang (short club, blackjack) manganello nm life raft n (emergency boat, esp. inflatable) gommone di salvataggio nm     zattera di salvataggio nf life saver,
lifesaver n figurative, informal ([sb], [sth] helpful in emergency) salvatore nm     salvare la vita vtr   Thank you so much for the loan! You’re a life saver!   Grazie mille per il prestito! Mi hai salvato la vita! life savings npl (all money set aside over years) risparmi di una vita nmpl   Many people lost their life savings when the bank failed.   Quando la banca fallì, molte persone persero i risparmi di una vita. life science (branch of science) scienze naturali nfpl life sciences npl (biology, etc.) scienze biologiche nfpl   He wants to study the life sciences and become a cancer researcher.

Why learn the 1000 most common Italian words?

Are you trying to learn Italian?

The best way to get started is to memorize the 1000 most common Italian words.

Many language experts will point out that focusing on the basic vocabulary in any language is the best investment for your time.

You will rarely use complicated or trivial words in your daily life when speaking with friends, colleagues, or family members.

So why not focus on getting familiar with only the words you know you’ll use?

With the basic words, you can make simple phrases for your first Italian  conversation or your next trip to Italy!

With basic Italian words, you’ll start forming sentences in Italian and ultimately have flowing Italian conversations.

Learn how to form sentences in Italian.

How much can you say with 1,000 words?

How much can you understand with the top 1000 most common Italian words?

A study revealed how much you can understand with 1000, 2000, or 3000 words.

Studying the first 1000 most commonly used Italian words in the language will familiarize you with:

• 76.0% of all vocabulary in non-fiction literature
• 79.6% of all vocabulary in fiction literature
• 87.8% of vocabulary in oral speech

Studying the 2000 most commonly Italian used words will familiarize you with:

• 84% of vocabulary in non-fiction
• 86.1% of vocabulary in fictional literature
• 92.7% of vocabulary in oral speech

And studying the 3000 most commonly Italian used words will familiarize you with:

• 88.2% of vocabulary in non-fiction
• 89.6% of vocabulary in fiction
• 94.0% of vocabulary in oral speech

If you’re an ambitious language learner, you can certainly learn 3,000 of the most common words for 94% comprehension.

However, for most of us, we want to optimize for what’s the best return for our time.

Based on this study, it seems that 1,000 most common words are the best bet.

The reason is, you have to memorize 3x (or 2,000 more words) to be able to understand only 6.2% of vocabulary in oral speech.

It doesn’t seem very exciting considering how valuable your time is.

In fact, we’ve seen that most Italian learners can get to a comfortable conversation speaking level with less than 1,000 Italian words.

If you listen to Italian music to learn this beautiful language and improve your Italian pronunciation, choose the right Italian songs because some lyrics aren’t exactly what you’d say in real life.

The same applies to Italian idioms, Italian sayings, verbal phrases, Italian proverbs, Italian quotes, or even Italian swear words.

Frequent Italian words: facts and figures

The Italian language is estimated to be made out of a total of 450000 words with the largest Italian dictionary having over 270000 words.

This can seem a really big and frightening number to someone wanting to start learning Italian, but here’s the good news: you only need to know roughly 5% of the total words to be fluent in Italian.

This means that focusing your efforts on learning the most frequent Italian words you will be fluent in Italian in no time.

What’s even more encouraging is that knowing as little as 100 words helps you understand half of the words in an article or book written in Italian.

Learn the most common 1000 words and you get to a 75% understanding of texts in Italian.

Also, each new word you learn helps you guess the Italian meaning of up to 135 words you have never seen before.

This means that knowing only 1000 words helps you guess up to 135000 Italian words.

Doesn’t seem that frightening now, right?

The problem with lists of common Italian words

Now that you know what you can do with 1000 words in the Italian language, the question is: how to learn these basic Italian words?

Many people make flashcards with word lists.

These word lists are usually generated from a huge multi-billion sample of language called a corpus which ensures all topics and text types are covered and the word list reflects how words are used by real users.

On the internet, you can find quite a few lists of the most 1000 common Italian words like this, this, and this.

Some of these lists of 100, 500, 1000, and 2000 basic Italian words are available for free in PDF or CSV format.

However, many are not very useful because they include “function words” like “for, but, when”.

For example, here are the top 50 words from one of those lists:

non che di e la il un a è per in una sono mi ho si lo ma ti ha le cosa con i no da se come io ci questo qui hai bene sei tu del me mio al solo sì tutto te più della era c lei gli

Does that help? No.

Even though these words are frequent and useful, they don’t make any sense per se and need a context to be practiced and mastered.

Another reason for not using them is how different forms of the same word are counted.

Some wordlists are not lemmatized.

This means that different forms of the same words are not counted together, i.e. goes, went, gone, going and go. This is generally more practical.

Ironically, one of the largest lists of Italian words is made from movie subtitles, which are often a translation of foreign movie scripts. Often, they’re not even professionally translated.

So, they don’t reflect the way an Italian speaker really talk.

In other words, the top 1000 Italian words are not the same for everyone.

The 1000 most used Italian words depend on who uses them, and on their purpose.

Do you want to chat with friends with natural Italian phrases? Travel? Or watch the news in Italian? These situations require a different vocabulary.

The best list of common Italian words

This is what you were looking for: the best list of common Italian words.

The smartest word list for the Italian language I’ve found so far is this.

It’s divided into:

• Italian nouns
• Italian adjectives
• Italian verbs
• Italian function words like and adverbs, prepositions, articles

Judging from the words, I guess they were taken from newspaper articles.

The picture below is a preview. As you can see, the words are arranged according to parts of speech.

Feel free to download it and edit it as you wish.

However, this list lacks a translation.

For my translation, keep reading!

Top 1000 common Italian words with English translation

The list of common Italian words I recommend doesn’t come with an English translation, so I translated the words for you.

Open the spreadsheet below to see the list of the top 1000 most frequent Italian words with English translation:

1. Italian nouns make the longest list
2. Then come Italian adjectives with translation
3. Italian verbs with English translation in the infinitive form
4. Other Italian words include adverbs, prepositions, and adjectives

You may also download the file to edit it as you wish.

To download it in a printable PDF format, just tell me where I should send it.

You’ll receive it immediately!

If you create a free account, you’ll also get other freebies for members. 100% free!

Just tell me where I should send it.

What are the most common words used in Italian?

Let’s start with some of the most common Italian words used in this popular language:

cosa
thing
giorno
day
anno
year
uomo
man
donna
woman
volta (as in “many times”)
time
casa
home
vita
life
tempo
time and weather
mano
hand
ora
now
paese
country, town
momento
moment
parola
word
famiglia
family
padre
father
madre
mother
figlio, figlia
son, daughter
amico
friend
lavoro
work
strada
street
nome
name
acqua
water
gente
people
persona
person
amore
love
mare
sea

What are the 100 most common words in Italian?

Even from a list of 1000 words, it still makes sense to start memorizing the 100 most common Italian words.
That’s your foundation to start forming an Italian phrase and ultimately have flowing conversations.
Indeed, you will rarely use complicated words in your daily conversations with friends, colleagues, or family members.
You find the 100 most common Italian words on the top of the list.
Once you’re done with them, you can move on to the other 900 words.
While apps like Quizlet and Anki are popular choices, I still recommend learning these words by putting them in context, for example in conversations with native speakers.

Learn more about Italian words.

What is the most popular Italian word?

You only need to look at the top of this list of the 1000 most used Italian words.
According to the list above, the most popular Italian word is a noun: cosa.
The word cosa in Italian gets so many colours and flavours according to the context.
Let’s see a few examples:

E’ la cosa piu’ bella che abbia mai visto.
It’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

In this sentence, cosa doesn’t get any specific meaning besides the generic ”thing” we’re referring to.

Cosa mangiamo stasera?
What do we eat tonight?

In this sentence cosa is actually used to refer to something which, in this specific context, can be replaced with “food”.
We give for granted that we’re talking of food because of the type of question we do.
This would already be enough to make it to the top 1000.

Ti ricordi quella cosa che avevi visto tempo fa? L’ho vista anch’io ora!
Do you remember that thing you saw a while ago? I’ve just seen it now!

Again, the use of cosa, in this context, is referred to as a generic “thing” that could be potentially anything (A star? A spoon? A mouse? A spaceship? A waterfall?).

In this 3rd example, is that we use cosa in the same way you’d say “thingy” when you don’t remember the actual name of an object.
“Cosa” is a noun, thus you will need to remember, in this specific 3rd scenario, to also decline it according to what are you referring to/pointing at.
If you’re referring to a piatto (male noun meaning plate, dish) then you should say coso if you’re referring to it.
If you’re referring to some specific breed of conigli (means “rabbits”) then you will need to use the plural form of the noun which would be cosi (sounds a little bit rude).
With so many uses, it’s no wonder that it ranks #1 among the top 1000 most common Italian words in the Italian language.

Learn more about other meanings of the word cosa in Italian.

The most popular Italian word

We just told you the most popular word is cosa. However, deciding which is the most popular Italian word is not so simple.
Here’s another very common Italian word: ciao.
Ciao means hello and is pronounced as “chaw” since it’s a word Italians use every day.
It is mainly used in informal contexts. You can say ciao to friends and family members.
Ciao comes from the Venetian dialect (spoken in the Northeast of Italy), more specifically from the phrase s-ciào vostro, literally meaning “I am your slave”.
In the 17th century, this expression was used by servants when addressing their employers.
Often, s-ciào vostro was shortened to simply s-ciào and then to ciào.
With time, this word lost all its servile connotations and started to be used as an informal greeting (instead of Buongiorno, Buona Sera or Buona Notte).

Read more about the most popular Italian word.

The verb mangiare in Italian

This is probably the most important Italian verb you need to know if you’re planning to go to Italy!
It is well known all around the world that the boot-shaped peninsula has a huge eating culture.
Mangiare is a regular verb of the first conjugation and follows the typical –are pattern:
Io mangio= I eat
Tu mangi= you eat
Lui/Lei mangia= He/she eats
Noi mangiamo= we eat
Voi mangiate= you (plural) eat
Loro mangiano= they eat
Here’s a list of all the Italian meals you will find yourself invited to by your Italian friends:

colazione
breakfast
spuntino
light meal, nibble
pranzo
lunch
merenda
snack
aperitivo
aperitif
cena
dinner
spuntino di mezzanotte
midnight snack

Just so you know, it is incorrect to use mangiare followed by the meals we just described above, so we DO NOT SAY: mangiare colazione, pranzo, etc.
Instead, for colazione, spuntino, merenda, and aperitivo, we use the word fare (to do):

fare colazione
to have breakfast
fare uno spuntino
to have a nibble
fare merenda
to have a snack
fare l’aperitivo
to have an aperitif

To talk about lunch (pranzo) and dinner (cena), we actually use these verbs:

pranzare
to have lunch
cenare
to have dinner

Learn more about the verb mangiare and other Italian food phrases.

Are flashcards useful to learn common Italian words?

Now that we’ve shown you the benefits of focusing on the common words, let’s go over the methods to memorize them.
Casual learners love making flashcards, either on paper, on websites, or apps like Anki, Memrise, and Quizlet.
Anki is a digital flashcard creator that’s fairly popular in the language learning community.
You can use it to create your flashcards and its function goes beyond language learning.
The user interface is not the most modern, but it gets the job done.
Plus, you can use your phone, desktop, or tablet to learn basic Italian words.
Memrise has a more friendly user interface for creating and reading digital flashcards.
Our favorite part about Memrise is the ability to leverage the other digital flashcards that other community members have created.
For learning Italian, you’ll find several flashcard collections you can choose from.
Here’s an example of how to go through flashcards with Quizlet:

Does that help? Maybe, but it has some serious limits.

The problem with flashcards of common words

Now that you’re about to rush to download an app to memorize the top 1000 Italian words, I’ll spoil the fun.
This point is going to upset a lot of people.
Even though flashcard apps are the hottest thing in language learning right now, I’ll tell you to stop using them.
Stop using flashcards. Stop learning vocabulary from list of terms, or decks, or programs. Stop.
It doesn’t work, it’s a waste of time, and it’s creating bad patterns in your brain.
Even if your goal is to memorize these 1000 words, it won’t help you.
It could be Italian numbers, common Italian phrases, anything.
Learning anything (words, phrases, ideas, whatever) against its translation is creating extra steps in your brain.
It’s making you slow. It makes you think slowly, hear slowly, speak slowly.
I have a feeling that many of you reading this have experienced this frustration. I have experienced it, and it’s horrible.
There are few things as frustrating as knowing that you know what something means, but not being able to understand it when you see or hear it.

But the problem is that learning incorrectly is creating a maze that your brain has to run through as it processes every word.

You don’t do that to yourself in English (or whatever your native language), so why are you doing that with a foreign language?
Even if you take nootropics for studying languages to boost brain power, you can still get better results with other methods.

Put words in context

Apps such as Anki, Memrise, and Quizlet focus on traditional single-word flashcard study.
For example, a student of Italian may have a set of flashcards for studying the days of the week, with the basic Italian word on one side and the English translation on the other side.
In contrast, well-designed language courses focus on studying vocabulary in context by prompting the user to fill in the missing word in a sentence or repeating whole sentences.
With context-based flashcards, you’ll learn the meaning of the word, the appropriate situations to use the word, and you’ll also have the chance to learn related vocabulary at the same time.

When presented with vocabulary in rich contexts provided by authentic texts instead of in isolated vocabulary drills, students become more actively engaged in using words, analyzing word meanings, and creating relationships between words.
That’s also the case of the top 1000 Italian words.
This helps develop skills and strategies that will allow them to more easily determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.
A growing number of people have realized that studying in context provides a faster, more enjoyable, and more effective method for studying a large amount of vocabulary.
If you’re currently using a single-word study app and are looking for a better way to learn, here’s the best learning resource for the Italian language.

How to put words in context

One of the great things about learning a foreign language is that you can be creative. You need creativity and motivation to develop your language skills.
This is why, when it comes to vocabulary, one of the best tools you have to memorize new words and grasp their meanings is your own brain.
You could start with the easiest words.
Choose five to ten words that you like and invent a story, a tongue twister, a song, or a poem.
Something that makes sense or that makes you laugh.
You can repeat it and show it to your friends.
Your brain will remember those words in context and that’s your aim.
You could then move onto the next level and choose five to ten words that you find hard to remember.
If what you find difficult is the correct pronunciation, you could invent a tongue twister for each word and repeat it.
You could then invent Italian  stories with those words.
These are just ideas.
You can find your own way to be creative.
The important thing is that you use the vocabulary in context.

Group words into sentences, not categories

These words will form the foundation of your Italian vocabulary.
They’re some of the most frequent words you will encounter, and they’re all easy to learn.
Because these words are grouped together into sentences, they will be much easier to memorize when compared with the typical word lists that you find in language textbooks and classrooms, where you learn colors one day, types of vegetables the next day, members of the family the following day, etc.
Learning entire categories of words is a waste of time because you don’t need all those words and many compete with each other for your memory. After all, they’re similar.

Learn more about Italian vocabulary.

Common Italian phrases

How to use these words in real phrases?
Check out this list of common Italian phrases sorted by context:

• Travel information
• Restaurants
• Hotels
• Making plans
• Attractions
• Food & drink
• Polite expressions
• Culture

Every phrase comes with its English translation.
If you want to practice those words and phrases and not just read them, I recommend audio lessons based on spaced repetition.

The best way to put words in practice: Ripeti con me!

You don’t have to give up on learning the top 1000 Italian words. You only need a good method!
The best way to acquire words and phrases naturally without relying on translation is with a well-designed set of sentences from conversations in the right order.
A focus on audio over text also helps bypass reading habits based on your native language.
This also makes it possible to learn Italian in the car.
The Italian audio course “Ripeti con me!” covers the 1000 most common Italian words in a set of sentences grouped by grammar patterns.
Those patterns are acquired almost unconsciously, while the very act of speaking bypassing translation will get you to think in Italian.
What’s more, since these are audio lessons, you’ll learn the new words with pronunciation.
This course provides plenty of comprehensible input balanced by variety and relevance, in small daily doses (spaced repetition).

Learn more about Ripeti Con Me.verbal phrases