Word learn in italian

Ciao a tutti!

Looking to become more conversational and effectively tackle a lot of new vocabulary? Check out our post on the 1000 Most Common Words in Italian below. If you would like some help working on them, feel free to get some help with one of our award-winning online instructors.

OUR LIST OF THE 1000 MOST COMMON WORDS IN ITALIANS BELOW:

This Italian word list is in order of frequency. 

When learning a new language the amount of vocabulary can be daunting. Have you heard people say things like: “We only use around 700 words when we talk?” This is true to some degree. The number of words to learn to speak a language really depends on your purpose. Remember that 300 to 600 words may be enough to travel, but at least 1,000 words are necessary for a conversation. The most important thing is not knowing how many words you need to speak a language, but which words to know. Complete fluency is in the 10,000 word range. According to the economist: “Most adult native test-takers range from 20,000–35,000 words. Average native test-takers of age 8 already know 10,000 words. Average native test-takers of age 4 already know 5,000 words. Adult native test-takers learn almost 1 new word a day until middle age”

10,000 words. Wow. That does seem daunting when you are first starting out. But like anything new, you just have to start small and keep adding to it. Why not start smart as well? Below is a list of 100 words that are the most commonly used in the Spanish language.

That’s why we wrote this blog article: Find the 1000 words used most often in spoken Italian below.

Why these 1000 words?

Let’s imagine that you just got a job as a bartender. Would you try to learn every cocktail known to man, or would you focus on the cocktails that are most popular in your area? We developed this list of words based on the idea of the 80/20 principle (the cornerstone of results-based living). This strategy developed by David Kock that says “The 80/20 Principle asserts that a minority of causes, inputs or efforts usually lead to a majority of the results, outputs or rewards” So instead of learning 10,000 words in no particular order, learn the most common 100 words, then the most common 500 words, and then the most common 1000 words. If you want to check out this classic business book, you can order it here.

Some other great ways to improve your vocabulary:

1. Watch Netflix in Original language with original language captions
2. Check out a great book like this: 2500 most frequently used Italian words
3. Do some quick daily exercises on DuoLingo or any other free language learning app
4. Take some classes with us at Strømmen and speak to a real human in person or online 

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

This article is for everyone in love with the Italian language. Whether you are just thinking of learning italiano or are already proficient in it, it doesn’t matter. Here you will find a selection of materials and tips on how to learn Italian. Brew a delicious coffee, pause The Young Pope, open your favorite notebook, and andiamo!

Features of the Italian language

• Dialects or individual languages? Italy historically developed as a country of city-states. As a result, each of them has a local dialect. A single language standard was introduced only in 1861, after the unification of the country. The dialects of lingua italiana are still so diverse that not all Italians understand each other (especially if one is from the South and the other from the North).

• Omnipresent articles. Not as bad as German, Italian still tries to knock you out of your shoes with its 8 articlesor 15, if you count their variants and short versions — take a gander.

• Language of art. Music students should be familiar with words like crescendo, staccato, or forte. Many terms of art and music originated in Italian culture during the Renaissance. By the way, modern italiano originated in the Tuscan dialect group. This is the high style that Petrarch and Dante used and popularized. So Italian is truly a literary language.
• It is read like it is written. A big advantage of Italian is that it is “phonetic» — the pronunciation of words coincides with their spelling. This is no French with its four-letter-one-sound combinations. The pronunciation itself is not easy for everyone, but more on that later.
• Vowel endings. Many words in Italian end with vowels. This gives it a special melody. Italians also love double consonants. There are words with three such pairs at once. For example: appallottolareto form into a ball or disseppellireto unearth.
• The subject is often omitted in colloquial Italian. It is already clear who or what is performing the action from the agreement of the verb. Therefore, the subject is not pronounced.
• Active suffixes. In this way, Italian is reminiscent of Russian. Both use suffixes to give the word different shades of meaning. For example, ragazzo — a guy; ragazzino, ragazzetto — a small guy; ragazzone — a big guy.

How to learn Italian on your own?

Learning Italian on your own is plausible. The only question is how much time, effort, and money you are willing to spend. Here are some general tips for learning lingua italiana:

• Study your “own” resources. With studying languages, everything is individual. You can find dozens of tutorials that have worked for others but somehow don’t for you. Look for something you find interesting personally. It’s not just about specific textbooks, but about methods in general. For some, it is easier to perceive information with their eyes, for some to listen, and others are advised to touch the objects in order to better memorize new words. Ideally, all of these techniques should be used. This makes the learning process faster.
• Always find new motivation. Learning Italian is easier when you need it: for college admission, work, or marriage. In this case, you do not need to look for motivation — it is always with you. But more often italiano is learned out of love. It lives for three years for some, for others for three months, and for the rest for only three days. Italian can easily carry you away: it’s beautiful and melodic, the language of fashion and art. However, this motivation is easy to lose. So always remind yourself why you fell in love with the language. Remember how you first wanted to learn Italian, when you saw a game by “Inter”Italian football team or watched The Taming of the Scoundrela 1980 feature film starring Adriano Celentano.
• Un passo alla volta, which means “step by step.” Learn gradually. Take your time with grammar. First, pay attention to Italian phonetics, reading rules, learn the first 100 words and basic constructions. Leave all the other complications for later. If you need italiano for study or work, you will have to get there anyway.
• Immerse yourself in the language environment. The ideal option is to go there to live, study at the university, or at least attend one-week courses. If that doesn’t suit you, surround yourself with Italy. And no, this does not mean eating pizza and drinking espresso every day (although this is also possible). Listen to Italian music and podcasts, watch TV shows and movies, switch your phone to Italian, and so on.

Lessico — Italian words

Vocabulary is the main component of the language. And you need to improve yours regularly and correctly. We will tell you about the methods of learning Italian words. Spoiler alert: there is no cramming in this section.

Borrowed words

Generous Italians have gifted many words to other languages, including English. They are familiar to everyone: bank, tomato, passport, etc. And don’t even get us started on lexical borrowings in culture and architecture:

• Balcone — balcony;
• Arca — arch;
• Museo — museum;
• Musica — music;
• Ballerina is still a ballerina.

English and Italian vocabulary are very similar. When learning italiano, pay attention to the roots of words. In English, they sound different, but the writing and meaning are the same. The Spanish speakers have nothing to do here. These languages ​​are so close that you almost speak Italian already.

Sometimes you come across words posing as others. For example, the Italian word camera means «room» and “camera” is macchina fotografica.

The Importance of context

A common mistake when learning new words is to take them out of context. How does it usually happen at school? We write down the vocabulary in a column, add the translations and memorize it all. You are lucky if the words were given on the same topic, for example, «medicine.» Then they are easier to remember. But more often than not, the vocabulary is given randomly: we begin with the verb mangiare — “to eat,” and end with tirapugni — “brass knuckles.” So no associations are built between words.

Therefore, it is best to learn vocabulary in context. You will sooner remember that mago is a «magician» if you read at least a few sentences where it is used. For example: Il mago ha fatto un incantesimo sul cavalierethe wizard cursed the knight; Il mago l’ha trasformato in una ranathe wizard has turned him into a frog. The same goes for the set expressions: alzare i tacchiflee (as in «run away»), montare la testato put on airs, etc.

List of necessary words

Make a list of essential words with which to start learning a language. Here we are talking not only about the clichéd «20 basic phrases in Italian», but also about what is important for you. Let’s say you love movies and can chat about them for hours. Find and make a list of words on the topic of «cinema». It will be easier for you to memorize new vocabulary, because it is related to the topic of interest to you. Plus, it will come in handy in communicating with the native, to tell about yourself and your hobbies.

Italian songs

Lingua italiana is a melodic language. There are just so many beautiful songs written in it. You don’t have to be an opera lover to listen to Italian music. Some of the most popular performers are Il Volo, Andrea Bocelli, Adriano Celentano, Laura Pausini, and others. Enjoy the music while learning new words. There are special apps to learn the language from the lyrics. For example, lyricstraining.com.

30 first verbs to learn in Italian

Resources

Grammatica — Italian grammar

Grammar is one of the most difficult aspects of any language, and Italian is no exception. At first, it looks rather simple, but as the days get longer, the cold gets stronger. Every time you think you’ve learned a rule, a new detail appears, and then another and another. Here are some tricks that should help you to survive and not get lost in the thicket of Imperativo, Condizionale, and Congiuntivo.

Define a goal

First, define a goal. Why are you learning Italian? There are two main approaches: jumping straight into the rules or immersing yourself in the language — listen, watch and read, without delving into grammar. You don’t always need to know how something works in order to apply it in life. This is also true for foreign languages. To understand and speak it, you don’t need to waste time on a detailed analysis of grammar. Basic knowledge is enough for traveling and communication. But if you are taking CILS, going to study or work in Italy, it is better to understand the twists and turns of grammar rules from the very beginning.

First the rule — then practice

We analyze the rule and only then use it with examples. A universal order, which many tend to forget. In most textbooks, the authors first give texts with constructions unknown to the student and only afterward do they explain what has just happened. It’s much better to do it in the opposite order: read the rule → look at the examples → put it all into practice. The latter should preferably be done both in writing and out loud. This way, the grammar is also consolidated in oral speech.

Learn verb conjugation

Verbs are perhaps the most daunting part of Italian grammar. Mostly because of the conjugations that strike terror into the hearts of beginners. For example, the complete declension table of the verb essere — «to be» — in all tenses and forms looks like this:

In reality, everything is not that scary. In short, there are 3 groups of verbs in Italian:

• With the ending -are: lavorare — to work, visitare — to visit;
• With the ending -ere: scrivere — to write, decidere — to decide;
• With the ending -ire: dormire — to sleep, sentire — to feel/hear.

Within the same group, they all conjugate in the same way. Of course, there are exceptions. Every self-respecting language has a couple (dozen or hundred). But for the entry level, only the most basic ones are needed: essere — to be, and avere — to have.

Multiple sources are better than one

Get your knowledge of the language from different resources. Even if you are sure that you are studying the best textbook in the world, written by an Italian, still take several sources. Don’t limit yourself to one thing. Use the Internet, mobile applications, and other study materials: videos, podcasts, magazines, blogs, and more.

Resources

Comprensione orale — What to listen to in Italian?

The most enjoyable part of learning Italian is listening. It is pleasant for two reasons. First, the very sound of lingua italiana. Second, the amount of fun and free study materials you can use. How to develop listening skills?

Films and TV shows

Watch movies and TV shows in Italian. It’s a fun and effective way to learn to understand native speakers. The only nuance is that it works well as an addition, but not as the primary method. Perhaps not everyone will like Italian cinema, but there are many world-famous classics among their directors. So getting to know them will be useful not only for language learning but also for general development. Famous Italian directors are Vittorio De Sica, Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Paolo Sorrentino, and so on.

You can find subtitled Italian films and series on streaming services like Netflix or YouTube. You can always find content with English subtitles, but if your level is B1 or higher, it is better to watch immediately with Italian subs. This way you will not get lost in translation and get the greatest benefits from the series.

Radio and podcasts

A great way to learn to understand a language is to listen to radio and podcasts. If you like the first option, then get ready. Italian speakers speak very quickly. There are many different stations: the first state-owned RAI Radio, the musical Lattemiele, the Neapolitan Radio Kiss Kiss Italia, and others.

Among the podcasts, we suggest you look into News in Slow Italian. This is a topical news program covering the field of politics, science, and culture. They are recorded at different speeds and vocabulary for levels from Beginner to Advanced. Plus, the site has free Italian courses and the news itself contains a transcript and even translations of some words. Other interesting resources: Italy made easy, Max Mondo, Sientificast, Daily Cogito. The last two are suitable for levels B2-C1.

Audiobooks

Another source for developing your language comprehension skills is audiobooks in Italian. Here the choice depends only on your preferences. In theory, you can even listen to those works that you do not understand. The bottom line is that you get used to Italian and after a while, you begin to distinguish between individual phrases and words. Audiobooks are easy to find on Audible, but they cost money. More options are available on YouTube or on LibriVox. And you can choose the book yourself: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino, or whatever you like.

Italian YouTube

We promised that listening will be the most fun part of learning the language. Any resources are suitable for developing skills, and YouTube is no exception. Find Italian blogs with topics that interest you: the culture and life of the country, comedic sketches, film analysis, and more. A big advantage of this format is that people communicate less formally. From them you can learn trendy words, slang and other amenities of the Italian language, which you will not hear on the radio or in podcasts. Also try to watch bloggers from different cities. This will help you to better understand dialects and learn about the regional characteristics of Italy. Channels to look out for: Marcello Ascani, Massimo Polidoro, Breaking Italy.

Resources

Lettura — What to read in Italian?

Reading in a foreign language is difficult. Many people postpone this skill for later. They think: «Now I will learn to speak, then enrich my vocabulary, and finally…» And finally what? In reality, without reading, you cannot improve other aspects of Italian. After all, from books you will learn new words and expressions that make speaking more interesting, and practice grammar at the same time. So what to read in italiano?

Adapted texts

For those who are just starting out on their journey of learning Italian, short stories and dialogues are suitable. They can be found in textbooks or on the internet. For example, sites such as Think in Italian or Lingua have easy texts specifically for the A2 level. When you get bored with such reading, move on to adapted works or books with parallel translation.

News

If you want to get a feel of the modern Italian language, read the news. This is a good way to train your reading skills and stay up-to-date with world events. Plus, this way you immerse yourself in the political and social life of Italy — you will find out what is important for the local population. Find extracts from the daily newspapers like Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica, Il Messaggero, and La Stampa.

Fiction

It is impossible to learn Italian without referring to its literature. After all, the works of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio essentially became the primary source from which the modern version of the language emerged. We are not suggesting that you charge the classics of the Renaissance. This way you will scare both yourself and them. You need to gradually submerge in Italian literature. Below is a video showing Italians offering 15 of the best books to read in their language. You can choose one of the options, but always remember two rules: personal interest and level of language proficiency.

Better start with more relevant pieces. There you will find vocabulary that will be useful now, not 500 years ago. Books in Italian can be found on the Readlang, Liber Liber, and in many FB communities. Italiano enthusiasts enjoy sharing their accumulated wisdom.

Poems

This method is more suitable for developing the feeling of language and expanding your general outlook. If you have already reached the heights in Italian prose, try to study the subtle matters of poetry. Untranslated poems are easy to find on the Internet. For example, here on this resource there are poems with a parallel translation into English.

Resources

Produzione scritta — Let’s write in Italian

A big upside of the Italian language — words are written as they are heard. The difficulty in writing in italiano comes mainly from grammar and sounding like an italian. If you are learning the language for travels, you can omit the rules and practice of writing. But for those wishing to study and work in Italy, there is no escape from them. Take a notebook, a pen, and get ready for work.

Look at samples

Use materials that someone else has written as examples. It is better to take them from the native speakers themselves in order to write like a true Italian. A common mistake of foreign learners is direct translations. This is especially true for beginners who do not yet have a sense of the language. They take the sentence in their native language and translate it «as is» into Italian. Most often, it turns out logically and grammatically correct, but it is noticeable that a foreigner is writing. For example, you can start a business letter with the words “Buongiorno, …” and you will be understood. However, the locals are more likely to greet you like this: “Egregiodear (close to «darling») / Spettabiledear (more official) / Gentileestimable.” This also needs to be learned. Interaction with natives helps a lot in this.

Find a pen pal

To spice up your practice, chat in Italian. There are many platforms on the Internet where you can meet native speakers. For example, Tandem, Hello Talk, Ablo, or Interpals. Try to find someone who really fixes your shortcomings. Also, remember that «native» is not always equal to “flawless.” They can sometimes make mistakes in spelling and punctuation just like your doing in the English.

Corresponding with an Italian is great. But if your goal is to work and study in the country, business writing skills, essays and abstracts are required. So practice with all types of texts. Of course, here we are talking about people who have already reached the level of B1-B2. At the beginning of the journey, there is no point in tormenting yourself with the description of graphs in Italian.

Transcribe audios

Technique for intermediate to advanced level — listen to audio and write down a transcript of it (preferably by hand). This is how you simultaneously improve your listening skills and practice writing. At first it seems that this is quite easy, because in general you understand the announcer. But when it comes to writing every single word according to all the rules of grammar, the difficulty rises steeply. But do not worry, a couple of dozen texts and everything will go smoothly.

Resources

Produzione orale — How to speak Italian?

One of the main goals for Italian learners is to learn how to speak it. Fortunately, this is not the most difficult aspect of the language. The main thing is to practice a lot and correctly.

Find a conversation partner

The best way to develop your communication skills is to find a conversation partner. Ideally, they should be Italian. With a partner, you not only train speaking but also get acquainted with the peculiarities of Italian mentality. A native speaker will tell you about the intricacies of pronunciation and use of specific words. Check out italki, Speaky, or Easy Language Exchange. There you can find teachers of Italian and just friends for communication.

But you don’t have to practice exclusively with native speakers. Foreigners who speak italiano also work fine. Try talking clubs, which are often found in language schools and cultural centers. Just choose a group according to your level. If you already have B1, you may not be very comfortable interacting with beginners.

Speak all the phrases out loud

Learning a language while silently moving your lips will not work. You need to speak Italian right away. Now you have learned the first 30 or 300 — no matter how many — words. Take them and make a sentence, and then be sure to say it out loud. If it’s hard for you, read ready-made Italian texts aloud. You need to get used to speaking Italian, and train your vocal apparatus. Otherwise, there is a risk of crashing into the language barrier. A person can know the entire vocabulary inside out, but find it difficult to connect words in speech.

Expand your vocabulary

The vocabulary is divided into passive and active. The first is vocabulary that you only learn but rarely use. The second is regularly used phrases. To communicate fluently in Italian, you need to move as many words as possible from passive to active. How? Through practice, of course. As soon as you learn a new word, immediately add it to your speech. Repeat it one, two, ten times to secure. It is important to do this in context, as part of a phrase.

Resources

Pronuncia — How to master Italian pronunciation?

First, let’s define what «Italian» pronunciation is, and if it exists at all. The special feature of lingua italiana is the huge number of dialects, which in fact were formed as separate languages. Italy had been a country of city-states for a long time, so each region has its own dialect. And although they are all rooted in Latin, they sound completely different. Today, the most common variant is the official Italian, created after the unification of Italy. The second most popular language is the Neapolitan language. It is used in the south of the country.

«Neutral» Italian

Foreigners are advised to learn the official version of italiano. In general, with Italian it is best to focus on the correct pronunciation of words first. And only after, when you have already reached an advanced level, sharpen your accent. The easiest and most efficient way is to move to Italy. Sounds tempting, but expensive, and doesn’t suit everyone. Another option is classes with a professional linguist (maybe an Italian) who will correct all your mistakes. But even without the accent, they will understand you in any case. The question is what do you want: just speak the language or speak like a local. If the former, then leave the accent correction for last.

Observe the articulation

Italian pronunciation is characterized by distinct articulation. Therefore, when learning a language, it is important not only to listen, but also to watch how the native speaker talks. Pay attention to the movement of the lips, tongue: how wide the mouth opens on vowel sounds, how consonants are annunciated, and so on.

Learn gestures

No Italian conversation is complete without active gestures. Non-verbal communication plays a large role in their daily life, so we advise you to study it. Facial expressions, gestures and posture are special parts of the language. It is best to practice speaking with native speakers. Or you can watch the video on YouTube. For example, here are 60 Italian gestures explained (and this is just a part). Well, for aesthetes there is a similar video from Dolce & Gabbana. It is also worth mentioning that the Italians in the comments easily spot foreign models by incorrectly shown gestures. Can you?

But be careful. Do not mindlessly copy every movement of local residents. Otherwise, there is a risk of slipping into the parody zone and offending everyone around you. It is important to understand the true meaning of the gesture (in different situations and regions). This aspect of the language should be considered when you are already on C1-C2 level.

Resources

There are four main options for where to learn Italian:

• Language school (group lessons);
• Individual lessons with a tutor;
• Language courses abroad;
• On your own.

Italian courses abroad

Resources for self-studying Italian

Why learn Italian?

Lingua italiana is significantly less widespread than English and Chinese. But you probably know at least a couple of Italian words and use them regularly in your everyday life. For example, when you order pizza or go to the bank. So you are surrounded by Italy. In addition, italiano is the fourth most studied language in the world. A very good achievement for its relatively small size. Why do people learn Italian?

Italian for Study

Italy is one of the most affordable European countries for study. The average tuition fee is 4,421 USD per year. There are also many ancient universities: Bologna, Padua, Neapolitan and others. Plus, universities in Italy provide students with good scholarships — from 1,105 USD to 11,051 USD. They cover tuition and living expenses. True, to study there you need to know italiano. There are programs in English, but there are much fewer of them. And the level of fluency in the country is not the highest (worse than in Bulgaria). Foreign students say that knowledge of Italian is necessary for staying in the country anyway. The standard admission requirement is B2. To prove your level of proficiency, you need to pass one of the exams. Most often it is CILS, but there are also CELI and PLIDA.

So if you are planning to study in Italy, it is better to study with a tutor right away. Find a tutor who has personally taken one of the exams, or sign up for a preparatory course at a language school. In theory, preparing for CILS on your own is possible, but then you should study using special textbooks to understand the format of the assignments.

Italian for work

In terms of international business, Italian offers fewer opportunities than Spanish or French. However, if you want to work in the country, then you cannot do it without knowing the local language. This is not a mandatory requirement and no one will ask you for confirmation to get a work visa. But it is still desirable to own it at least at the level B1-B2.

Get ready though — it is not easy to find a job in Italy. The unemployment rate among foreigners is one of the highest in Europe at 13.1%^[1]. The problem of finding a job is also relevant for Italians themselves. Over the past few years, more than 800,000 young people have left the country. This is more than the entire population of Palermo^[2]. The main reasons are a lack of jobs and poor career prospects.

It is easiest for foreigners to find a job where special qualifications are not required: nanny, worker, entertainer, housemaid, and so on. You can also find a job as an English or another language teacher. Also, always remember that every region of Italy is like a mini-country. Salaries, requirements and the approach to foreigners differ. For example, in the South it will be easier to find a job without knowing italiano. But in the North, you will most likely be checked for your level of language proficiency.

Italian for immigration

There are people who study Italian for one specific purpose — to immigrate. In general, this can be done without knowing italiano. There are many examples of people coming to Italy without knowing the language and staying for life. But we advise you to study it up to level A2-B1. This way, you will avoid problems in everyday communication at first. Knowledge of Italian is essential in any case: without it, you cannot become a part of society. Of course, someone just wants to live in Italy, but what’s the point if you remain an alien to the locals?

The process of obtaining citizenship here is not the fastest (in fact, like all bureaucratic procedures), and takes up to 10 yearsthrough employment. If you graduate from an Italian university, you are given a year to stay in the country and look for a job.

Italian for travel

Every year Italy attracts millions of tourists^[3]. This amazing country offers travelers everything: delicious food, beautiful landscapes, historical sites and hospitable locals. It’s a great idea to drive through Italy to see all the regions. Indeed, each has its own peculiarities of language, mentality, traditions and even cuisine. Don’t forget that Italian is also useful for visiting other countries: Switzerland, San Marino, as well as some regions of Slovenia and Croatia.

If you are learning italiano for traveling, then focus on speaking, listening, and vocabulary. Choose the words and phrases that you need first. Below is a list of the most important expressions for tourists. Better learn them beforehand. This is more convenient than looking in the dictionary every other minute.

15 phrases in Italian for a tourist

Italian for yourself

Study, work, and immigration are all noble reasons for learning Italian, but far from the only ones. Many people choose it for its sound and beauty. Others admire the expressiveness and the flamboyant temperament of the natives. And others fall in love with Italian cuisine. Whichever category you put yourself in, the main thing is to stay motivated. Learning lingua italiana «for yourself» is the hardest part, especially if you study it on your own. In order not to lose your enthusiasm, remind yourself why you decided to take on this feat at all. Revisit that movie with Marcello Mastroianni that won you over, or listen to a concert of Il Volo.

Italian Exams

To confirm the level of proficiency, you must pass an international exam. This is required for entry to university and getting a job in Italydepends on the employer. There are several options for Italian:

• CELI;
• CILS;
• PLIDA

The most popular is CILS (Certificazione di Italiano come Lingua Straniera). It has four levels, with 1 being «beginner» and 4 being “native.” The exam has five sections:

• Listening;
• Reading;
• Letter;
• Vocabulary / grammar;
• The oral part.

In CELI (Certificati di Lingua Italiana) there is one more level — 5 major ones, plus an additional CELI Impatto equal to A1. Also, the test does not have separate lexical and grammatical parts.

Unlike English IELTS and TOEFL, all certificates are perpetual.

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