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Italian essentials: 50 high-frequency words and phrases

The first fifty Italian words and phrases to learn: greetings, core verbs like essere, avere and andare, everyday nouns with their article, and numbers.

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ciao

Informal greeting or farewell

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All 50 cards

  1. 1
    ciao
    Informal greeting or farewell
    hi; bye
    Ciao, come stai? — Hi, how are you?
  2. 2
    buongiorno
    Greeting, used in the morning and early afternoon
    good morning; hello
    Buongiorno, signora Rossi. — Good morning, Mrs. Rossi.
  3. 3
    buonasera
    Greeting or farewell, used later in the day
    good evening
    Buonasera, avete un tavolo per due? — Good evening, do you have a table for two?
  4. 4
    arrivederci
    Polite farewell
    goodbye
    Arrivederci, a domani. — Goodbye, see you tomorrow.
  5. 5
    grazie
    Phrase; grazie mille is warmer
    thank you; thanks
    Grazie per l’aiuto. — Thanks for the help.
  6. 6
    per favore
    Phrase
    please
    Un caffè, per favore. — A coffee, please.
  7. 7
    prego
    Reply to grazie; also used to invite someone in
    you’re welcome; please, go ahead
    Prego, si accomodi. — Please, have a seat.
  8. 8
    scusi
    Formal (Lei); informal: scusa
    excuse me; sorry
    Scusi, dov’è la stazione? — Excuse me, where is the station?
  9. 9
    mi dispiace
    Phrase (an apology or sympathy)
    I’m sorry
    Mi dispiace, non posso venire. — I’m sorry, I can’t come.
  10. 10
    Come stai?
    Informal (tu); formal: Come sta?
    How are you?
    Ciao, Marco, come stai? — Hi, Marco, how are you?
  11. 11
    Quanto costa?
    Question; plural: Quanto costano?
    How much does it cost?
    Quanto costa questa borsa? — How much is this bag?
  12. 12
    Non capisco
    Phrase
    I don’t understand
    Non capisco. Può ripetere, per favore? — I don’t understand. Could you repeat that, please?
  13. 13
    Dov’è…?
    Question; short for dove è
    Where is…?
    Dov’è il bagno? — Where is the bathroom?
  14. 14
    Mi chiamo…
    Phrase, literally “I call myself”
    My name is…
    Mi chiamo Giulia. E tu? — My name is Giulia. And you?
  15. 15
    essere
    Irregular verb: sono, sei, è
    to be
    Sono di Roma. — I’m from Rome.
  16. 16
    avere
    Irregular verb: ho, hai, ha; also used for age
    to have
    Ho trent’anni. — I’m thirty years old.
  17. 17
    andare
    Irregular verb: vado, vai, va
    to go
    Vado al lavoro in autobus. — I go to work by bus.
  18. 18
    fare
    Irregular verb: faccio; also used for weather
    to do; to make
    Oggi fa molto caldo. — It’s very hot today.
  19. 19
    stare
    Irregular verb: sto, stai, sta
    to stay; to be (how you are)
    Sto bene, grazie. — I’m fine, thanks.
  20. 20
    potere
    Irregular verb: posso, puoi, può
    can; to be able to
    Posso pagare con la carta? — Can I pay by card?
  21. 21
    volere
    Irregular verb: voglio; vorrei is the polite form
    to want
    Vorrei un bicchiere d’acqua. — I’d like a glass of water.
  22. 22
    sapere
    Irregular verb: so, sai, sa
    to know (facts, how to)
    Sai nuotare? — Can you swim?
  23. 23
    parlare
    Regular -are verb
    to speak; to talk
    Parli inglese? — Do you speak English?
  24. 24
    mangiare
    Regular -are verb
    to eat
    A che ora mangiamo? — What time do we eat?
  25. 25
    abitare
    Regular -are verb
    to live (somewhere)
    Abito a Milano. — I live in Milan.
  26. 26
    piacere
    Verb used with mi, ti, gli, le; plural: piacciono
    to like (literally “to be pleasing”)
    Mi piace molto il gelato. — I really like ice cream.
  27. 27
    venire
    Irregular verb: vengo, vieni, viene
    to come
    Vieni con noi? — Are you coming with us?
  28. 28
    dovere
    Irregular verb: devo, devi, deve
    must; to have to
    Domani devo lavorare. — I have to work tomorrow.
  29. 29
    l’acqua
    Feminine noun (la becomes l’ before a vowel)
    water
    Una bottiglia d’acqua naturale, per favore. — A bottle of still water, please.
  30. 30
    la casa
    Feminine noun
    house; home
    Stasera resto a casa. — I’m staying home tonight.
  31. 31
    il giorno
    Masculine noun
    day
    Lavoro tutti i giorni. — I work every day.
  32. 32
    la notte
    Feminine noun; buonanotte means “good night”
    night
    Di notte la città è tranquilla. — At night the city is quiet.
  33. 33
    il lavoro
    Masculine noun
    work; job
    Cerco lavoro a Torino. — I’m looking for work in Turin.
  34. 34
    la città
    Feminine noun; the plural is also città
    city; town
    Firenze è una città bellissima. — Florence is a beautiful city.
  35. 35
    l’amico / l’amica
    Noun; plural: gli amici, le amiche
    friend
    Luca è il mio migliore amico. — Luca is my best friend.
  36. 36
    il problema
    Masculine noun, despite the -a
    problem
    Non c’è problema. — No problem.
  37. 37
    la mano
    Feminine noun, despite the -o; plural: le mani
    hand
    Lavati le mani prima di mangiare. — Wash your hands before eating.
  38. 38
    il caffè
    Masculine noun; in Italy it means an espresso
    coffee
    Prendiamo un caffè? — Shall we get a coffee?
  39. 39
    l’uomo
    Masculine noun; irregular plural: gli uomini
    man
    Chi è quell’uomo? — Who is that man?
  40. 40
    uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque
    Numbers
    one, two, three, four, five
    Siamo in cinque. — There are five of us.
  41. 41
    sei, sette, otto, nove, dieci
    Numbers
    six, seven, eight, nine, ten
    Il negozio apre alle nove. — The shop opens at nine.
  42. 42
    venti
    Number; drops its -i before uno and otto: ventuno, ventotto
    twenty
    Ho ventotto anni. — I’m twenty-eight years old.
  43. 43
    cento / mille
    Numbers; the plural of mille is mila: duemila
    a hundred / a thousand
    Costa mille euro. — It costs a thousand euros.
  44. 44
    oggi
    Adverb
    today
    Che giorno è oggi? — What day is it today?
  45. 45
    domani
    Adverb
    tomorrow
    Ci vediamo domani. — See you tomorrow.
  46. 46
    ieri
    Adverb
    yesterday
    Ieri sono andato al mare. — Yesterday I went to the seaside.
  47. 47
    adesso
    Adverb; ora means the same
    now
    Adesso non posso parlare. — I can’t talk right now.
  48. 48
    Che ore sono?
    Question; also Che ora è?
    What time is it?
    Che ore sono? Sono le tre e mezza. — What time is it? It’s half past three.
  49. 49
    la settimana
    Feminine noun
    week
    Vado in palestra due volte alla settimana. — I go to the gym twice a week.
  50. 50
    molto
    Adverb, or an adjective that agrees: molta, molti, molte
    very; a lot; much
    C’è molta gente in piazza. — There are a lot of people in the square.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if an Italian noun is masculine or feminine?

Most nouns ending in -o are masculine and most ending in -a are feminine, but there are exceptions such as la mano and il problema, and nouns ending in -e can be either. Learning each noun with its article, as these cards do, settles it.

When do I use tu or Lei?

Tu with friends, family, children and people your age in casual settings; Lei with strangers, in shops and at work. Lei takes the same verb form as “he” or “she”: Come sta?

Why does the article change before some nouns?

Before a vowel, lo and la shorten to l’ (l’amico, l’acqua). Masculine nouns starting with z or with s plus a consonant take lo instead of il: lo zaino, lo studente. In the plural, masculine l’ and lo become gli: gli amici.

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