Rome Italian Language Basics
Your comprehensive guide to Everything Rome
The official language in Italy is Italian. Every part of the country has its own special dialect. These dialects can be very difficult to understand even for the Italians-if they speak in dialect, a Roman citizens and a Venice inhabitant will not understand each other.
Today the official Italian language is known by everyone (almost),a great deal due to the television and radio.
| English | Italian | Pronunciation |
| Thank you | Grazie | grath-tzee-yey |
| You're welcome | Prego | prey-go |
| Please | Per favore | pher fah-vohr-eh |
| Yes | Si | see |
| No | No | noh |
| Good morning/Good day | Buongiorno | bwohn-djor-noh |
| Good evening | Buona sera | bwohn-ah say-ra |
| Good night | Buona notte | bwohn-ah noht-tay |
| How are you? | Come sta ? | koh-may stah? |
| Very well | Molto bene | mohl-toh behn-ney |
| Goodbye | Arrivederci | ahr-ree-vah-dehr-chee |
| Excuse me (to get attention) | Scusi | skoo-zee |
| Excuse me (to get pass someone) | Permesso | pehr-mehs-soh |
| Where is...? | Dovè...? | doh-vey...? |
| the station | la stazione | lah stat-tzee-oh-neh |
| a hotel | un albergo | oon ahl-behr-goh |
| a restaurant | un ristorante | oon- reest-ohr-ahnt-eh |
| The bathroom | il bagno | eel bahn-nyoh |
| To the right | A destra | ah dehy-stra |
| To the left | A sinistra | ah see-nees-tra |
| Straight ahead | Avanti (or sempre diritto) | ahv-vahn-tee (sehm-pray dee-reet-toh) |
| How much is it? | Quanto costa? | kwan-toh coh-sta? |
| The check please | Il conto, per favore | eel kon-toh pehr fah-vohr-eh |
| When? | Quando? | Kwan-doh? |
| Yesterday | Ieri | ee-yehr-ree |
| Today | Oggi | oh-jee |
| Tomorrow | Domani | doh-mah-nee |
| Breakfast | Prima colazione | Pree-mah col-laht-tzee-ohn-ay |
| Lunch | Pranzo | prahn-zoh |
| Dinner | Cena | chay-nah |
| What time is it? | Che ore sono? | kay or-ay soh-noh |
| Monday | Lunedì | loo-nay-dee |
| Tuesday | Martedì | mart-ay-dee |
| Wednesday | Mercoledì | mehr-cohl-ay-dee |
| Thursday | Giovedì | joh-vay-dee |
| Friday | Venerdì | ven-nehr-dee |
| Saturday | Sabato | sah-bah-toh |
| Sunday | Domenica | doh-mehn-nee-kah |
