Although people in the tourism business speak (some) English, not everybody in Salento  is fluent – to put in  a diplomatic way. So a basic knowledge of Italian can help you a lot to get things done smoothly and nicely here.

A few basic words and expressions in Italian

 

Parla Inglese?	Do you speak English?
Grazie	Thank You
Prego	You are welcome
Per favore	Please
Buon giorno	Good Morning – Good Afternoon
Buona sera	Good Evening
Buona notte	Good Night
Come sta? (singular)	How are you?
Come state? (plural)	How are you?
Mi scusi / Scusi	Excuse me
Ciao	Hello / Goodbye
Quanto costa?	How much does it cost?
Arrivederci	Goodbye
Dov’è ….?	Where is …?
Bagno	Lavatory/Toilet
Mangiare	To eat (verb)
Dove si trova… l’ambasciata?	Where is… the Embassy?
Ristorante	restaurant
Francobollo	stamp
Cartolina	postcard
Posso fare fotografie?	May I take photos?
Dove posso trovare un…	Where can I find a…
Ho una prenotazione / Abbiamo una prenotazione	I have a booking/ we have a booking
Vorrei qualcosa da mangiare	I would like something to eat
Vorrei qualcosa da bere	I would like something to drink
Come posso andare a…	How can I go to….
Sono allergico a…	I am allergic to…
Accettate carte di credito?	Do you accept credit cards?
Prescrizione / ricetta	Prescription
Posso pagare al check-out?	May I pay at check-out?
Il conto, per favore.	The check please.
C’è la connessione ad internet?	Is there internet connection?
Quanto costa? / Quanto costa questo?	How much does it cost? / How much does this cost?
Polizia / Carabinieri	Police
Taxi	Taxi
Fermata dell’autobus	Bus stop
Aeroporto	Airport
Stazione	Train station
Farmacia	Pharmacy
Medico	Doctor
Albergo / Hotel	Hotel
Dolore	Pain
Vesciche	Blisters
Supermercato	Food store
Negozio	Shop
Ospedale	Hospital
Pronto soccorso	Emergency room
Museo	Museum
Biglietteria	Ticket desk
Guida turistica	Guidebook
Visita guidata	Guided tour
Orario di apertura	Opening time
Spingere	Push (a door)
Tirare	Pull (a door)
Dove posso lasciare… la mia borsa?	Where can I leave… my bag?
Vai via!	Go away!
Nord	North
Sud	South
Est	East
Ovest	West

 

Useful situational expressions

Italian Greetings

Offer polite greetings to friends and associates or as a way to break the ice when meeting new people. These are some common greetings in Italian:

• Buongiorno!(bwohn-johr-noh) (Hello! and Good morning!)
• Arrivederci!(ahr-ree-veh-dehr-chee) (Goodbye!) (Formal)
• Ciao!(chou) (Hello! and Good-bye!) (Informal)
• Salve!(sahl-veh) (Hello! and Good-bye!) (Neutral)
• Buonasera!(bwoh-nah-seh-rah) (Good afternoon! Good evening!) (Formal)
• Buonanotte!(bwoh-nah-noht-teh) (Good night!) (Informal)
• Come si chiama?(koh-meh see kyah-mah) (What is your name?) (Formal)
• Come ti chiami?(koh-meh tee kyah-mee) (What is your name?) (Informal)
• Mi chiamo…(mee kyah-moh) (My name is. . .)
• Come sta?(koh-meh stah) (How are you?) (Formal)
• Come stai?(koh-meh stahy) (How are you?) (Informal)
• Bene, grazie.(beh-neh grah-tsee-eh) (Fine, thank you.)

Italian Courtesy Phrases

• Per favore(pehr fah-voh-reh) (Please.)
• Per piacere (pehr pyah-cheh-reh) (Please.)
• Grazie(grah-tsee-eh) (Thank you.)
• Prego!(preh-goh) (You’re welcome!; By all means, after you.)
• Non c’è di che.(nohn cheh dee keh) (You’re welcome.)
• Mi dispiace.(mee dees-pyah-cheh) (I’m sorry.)
• Mi scusi.(mee skooh-zee) (Excuse me, formal.)
• Scusi, un informazione, per favore.(skooh-zee oohn-een-fohr-mats-yoh-neh pehr fah-voh-reh) (Excuse me, I need some information, please.)
• (skooh-zah) (Excuse me, I’m sorry, informal)
• Permesso?(pehr-mehs-soh) (Excuse me — when walking through a crowded train compartment; also, “May I come in?” when crossing the threshold of someone’s house.)
• Sì.(see) (Yes.)
• (noh) (No.)

Basic Question Words in Italian

To communicate in Italian and to travel with ease, there are practical questions in Italian that you’ll use daily and have to know:

• Parla inglese?(pahr-lah een-gleh-zeh) (Do you speak English?)
• Chi?(kee) (Who?)
• Cosa?(koh-sah) (What?)
• Quando?(kwahn-doh) (When?)
• Dove?(doh-veh) (Where?)
• Perché?(pehr-keh) (Why?)
• Come?(koh-meh) (How?)
• Quanto?(kwanh-toh) (How much?)

Try these helpful phrases:

• Dov’è la stazione?(doh-veh lah stah-tsyoh-neh) (Where is the station?)
• Scusi, dov’è il bagno?(skooh-zee doh-veh eel bahn-yoh) (Where is the bathroom?)
• Quanto dista il Colosseo?(kwahn-toh dees-tah eel koh-lohs-seh-oh) (How far is the Coloseum?)
• Dove si mangia il miglior gelato?(doh-veh see mahn-jah eel meel-yohr geh-lah-toh) (Where can you get the best ice cream?)

Come si arriva in Piazza della Repubblica? (koh-meh see ahr-ree-vah een pyahts-sah dehl-lah reh-pooh-blee-kah) (How do you get to Piazza della Repubblica?)

Days of the Week in Italian

In Italian, the days of the week aren’t capitalized. Eyeball this table of the days of the week in Italian (along with pronunciations and abbreviations) to ensure you get your days straight while in Italy.

Italian/Abbreviation	Pronunciation	Translation
domenica/do.	doh-meh-nee-kah	Sunday
lunedì/lun.	looh-neh-dee	Monday
martedì/mar.	mahr-teh-dee	Tuesday
mercoledì/mer.	mehr-koh-leh-dee	Wednesday
giovedì/gio.	joh-veh-dee	Thursday
venerdì/ven.	veh-nehr-dee	Friday
sabato/sab.	sah-bah-toh	Saturday

You might also need to know how to say the following:

• Oggi (ohj-jee)(today)
• Domani (doh-mah-nee)(tomorrow)
• Dopodomani (doh-poh-doh-mah-nee) (day after tomorrow)
• Ieri (yeh-ree) (yesterday)

Getting Help for Emergencies in Italian

• Aiuto!(ah-yooh-toh) (Help!)
• Emergenza!(eh-mehr-jehn-tsah) (Emergency!)
• Chiamate la polizia!(chee-ah-mah-teh lah poh-lee-tsee-ah) (Call the police!)
• Chiamate un’ambulanza!(kee-ah-mah-teh ooh-nahm-booh-lahn-tsah) (Call an ambulance!)
• Ho bisogno di un medico.(oh bee-zoh-nyoh dee oohn meh-dee-koh) (I need a doctor.)
• Dov’è l’ospedale?(doh-veh lohs-peh-dah-leh) (Where is the hospital?)
• Mi sento molto male.(mee sehn-toh mohl-toh mah-leh) (I feel very sick.)

Ordering Food and Drink in Italian

• Un cappucccino, per favore.(oohn kahp-pooh-chee-noh pehr fah-voh-reh) (A cappuccino, please.)
• Un bicchiere di acqua minerale per favore.(oohn bee-kyeh-reh dee ahk-wah meen-eh-rah-leh perh fah-voh-reh). (A glass of mineral water, please.)
• Mezzo litro d’acqua. (mehdz-zoh lee-troh dahk-wah) (Half a liter of water.) (Generally, you would take this to go, not standing at the bar)
• Mezzo chilo di pesche, per piacere.(mehdz-zoh kee-loh dee pehs-keh perh pyah-cheh-reh) (Half a kilo of peaches, please.)
• Quanto viene?(kwahn-toh vyeh-neh) (How much does it come to?)
• Un gelato di 2 euro, per favore.(oohn geh-lah-toh dee dooh-eh eh-ooh-roh pehr fah-voh-reh) (A 2-Euro size ice cream, please.)
• Quali gusti?(kwah-lee goohs-tee) (What flavors?)
• Ci fa il conto, per favore?/Ci porta il conto?(chee fah eel kohn-toh pehr fah-voh-reh/chee pohr-tah eel kohn-toh) (Will you bring us the bill please?)

 A bit longer list of words and expressions is found here: http://globtourism.com/files/catalog/1222238732_English-Italian.pdf