Bare Bones Italian

Basic survival phrases

• Buon giorno ("bwon geeOR-no") = Good morning/day
• Buona sera ("BWO-nah SEH-rah") = Good evening
• Ciao ("chow") = Hi/Bye!
• Grazie ("GRAHTS-ee-eh") = Thank you
  • Don't forget the "eh" at the end
  • ...and it's different from Spanish gracias
• Prego ("PRAY-go") = You're welcome/Here you go/Please go ahead/How can I help you (a versatile word—it means all this except the American pasta sauce!)
• Si ("see") = Yes
• No ("no") = No
• Per favore/Per piacere ("pear fah-VO-ray" / "pee-ah-CHAY-ray") = Please
• Parla l'inglese? ("PAHR-lah leen-GLAY-say") = Do you speak English?
• Non capisco/non ho capito ("Nohn cah-PEES-coh"/"Nohn oh cah-PEE-toh") = I don't understand/I didn't understand
• C'è... ("chay") = There is.../Is there...?
• Dov'è... ("DOH-veh") = Where is...
• il bagno ("eel BAH-nyoh") = the bathroom
• Documento ("doh-coo-MEN-toh") = document (e.g. photo ID...at most stores, you will be asked to show documento if you use a credit card)
• Bancomat ("BAHN-coh-maht") = ATM

...next, learn some basic Italian