Italiano · 63 phrases · 7 categories

Basic Italian Phrases for Travelers

Hello in Italian is Ciao / Salve, thank you is Grazie, and the one to memorise before anything else is Aiuto! — help. Below: all 63 phrases across 7 travel situations, each one tappable to copy.

Good around the sights in Rome, Florence and Venice. Thin in the south and in small towns.

Lei is the formal you, tu the informal. Buongiorno until mid-afternoon, then buonasera.

The Italian phrases to learn first

A greeting, a thank-you, an apology, a question, a price and an emergency — enough to get through a first day in Italiano.

Hello

Ciao / Salve

Thank you

Grazie

Please

Per favore

Excuse me / sorry

Scusa / Mi scusi

Do you speak English?

Parla inglese?

How much is this?

Quanto costa?

Where is...?

Dov'è...?

Help!

Aiuto!

How Italian is written

The 21-letter Italian alphabet. J, K, W, X and Y appear only in imported words.

Where it gets you further

Italy, San Marino, Vatican City, and Italian-speaking Switzerland (Ticino).

🇮🇹 Italian — Italy + Swiss

Saying Italiano out loud

  • C before e or i is ch (ciao), but ch before e or i is a hard k (chianti).
  • Gn is the ny in canyon — gnocchi is NYOK-kee.
  • Gli is close to the lli in million — famiglia is fa-MEEL-ya.
  • Double consonants are genuinely held longer, and it changes the word: nono is ninth, nonno is grandfather.
  • Every vowel is pronounced including the last one, so grazie has three syllables: GRAHT-tsee-eh.

The mistake travelers make in Italian: Ordering a cappuccino after lunch marks you as a tourist — Italians drink it in the morning. Also expect coperto, a per-person cover charge, on the bill.

All 63 Italian phrases, by situation

Yes

Sì

No

No

Please

Per favore

Thank you

Grazie

You're welcome

Prego

Excuse me / Sorry

Scusa / Mi scusi

I don't understand

Non capisco

Do you speak English?

Parla inglese?

I don't speak [lang]

Non parlo italiano

A little

Un po'

Phrase guides in other languages

🇪🇸Spanish🇫🇷French🇯🇵Japanese🇩🇪German🇵🇹Portuguese🇨🇳Mandarin🇸🇦Arabic🇹🇭Thai🇮🇩IndonesianAll 10 languages

Ready to Go?

You've got the phrases — now plan your full trip with costs, transport, and a day-by-day itinerary.

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