Learning Italian

Texting in Italian – sound like a native!

Texting in Italian is a great way to learn the language while making friends. To text somebody is mandare un SMS (esse emme esse) a qualcuno, or you can say inviare un messaggio su WhatsApp/Messenger/Instagram, depending on your social networking preferences! Much like in English, Italian text messages use abbreviations… Read More

Learning Italian: Asking for directions

When you’re travelling around Italy, there is no doubt you will need some information to help you get to where you want to go. Whether you’re in a big city or a small town, it’s always useful to know some basic phrases to ask the locals. In order to ask… Read More

Learning Italian: Saying what you like, dislike and prefer

Whether you’re visiting galleries and museums, sampling Italian cuisine or simply chatting to your Italian-speaking friends, you’ll probably want to talk about what you like and dislike. To say what you like, use mi piace (I like) and non mi piace to talk about something you don’t like. These come… Read More

Learning Italian: Introduce yourself!

In order to get the conversation going, you’ll want to say a bit about yourself – what your name is, what you do and so on. Having a few phrases under your belt will come in very handy if you’re making friends or meeting acquaintances for the first time. There… Read More

Learning Italian: Making sure you’ve understood!

When learning a language, our understanding of what’s being said normally comes before our ability to be able to speak the language and become confident enough to contribute to the conversation. That said, there will be times when you might have a problem understanding what’s been said or may not… Read More

How to apologize and attract someone’s attention in Italian

Most of us know when we have to say sorry, but when we’re not speaking our own language, it’s important to know how to do it. In Italian, different circumstances call for different words and expressions for apologizing. The most common way of saying I’m sorry is mi dispiace. Read More

Learning Italian: Common courtesies

Whether you’re visiting Italy or even planning to live there, you’ll want to be able to chat to people and get to know them better. The nuts and bolts of conversations revolve around common courtesies. As in English, in Italian there are several ways you can ask someone how they… Read More

Ciao! Meeting and greeting in Italian

Conversational Italian In our next few blog articles, we’re going to be looking at some very common words and phrases which will help you to improve the Italian you use on a day-to-day basis, making you sound more natural. Each blog article will look at a different area of conversation,… Read More

Understanding Italian verb tenses

One of the most challenging parts of learning a foreign language is getting to grips with all the different verb tenses. Verb tenses explain when events happen, whether in the past, present or future. In this short article we will explain and provide some examples of the most common tenses… Read More