If you are looking to learn a few useful Italian words before your solo trip to Italy, you are at the right place. On my way back from my exquisite trip to Italy, I have managed to grasp a few useful travel-friendly Italian words.

Yeah, I have visited Italy, and it is an amazing place to spend your vacation. As you know, it is a major hub for tourists around the world. That brings me to our concern: though Italy is a popular destination, not many people in Italy talk in English.

Oh no! I am not saying Italians do not speak English at all. For instance, I have been to a place called Tuscany. Of course, you would be familiar with this place. Quite a few tourist destinations are located here. And, you can find people communicating in English here because Tuscany is a place occupied by immigrants. Most native people you encounter there would not be ancestral Italians. 

Due to this amalgamated space, you will find people who know and speak English in Tuscany. In these places, learning travel-friendly Italian words will be more than enough. So, what do you do in other cases? Are you going to stay dumb?

Let me catch you up with a few travel-friendly Italian words so that you can murmur Italian when searching for a location or to express your discomfort with the taxi men for arriving late or maybe to order in a restaurant.

Travel-friendly Italian words

You could be asking why anyone would learn travel-friendly Italian words. Given the fact, Italy is a tourist destination. Not even a single day passes in there devoid of travellers from the world. So, is it really necessary to learn travel-friendly Italian words in such a multi-mingled location?

Yes, you need to know a handful of Italian words and a few tips to make your Italy trip easy and hassle-free. You are a traveller looking for a joyous experience, and these travel-friendly Italian words can give you the pleasure you expect. Trust me, learning the native language will boost up your enjoyment in Italy.

Reasons to learn Italian

• You are entering the home of other people. To the natives, you are like a guest. Learning their language shows your politeness and respect towards your host.
• If you want to connect with the locals, you must show them your interest in their culture and language. So learning Italian will help you create a bond with the locals.
• Broken Italian is very much necessary if you want to bargain with the shopkeepers.
• The most adventurous and hallmark activities of Italy are skateboarding and graffiti art. Oh, God! How can you miss the maze of graffito filled streets? These artisans will be the locals, and to communicate with them, you need to know a bit of Italian.
• If you get lost, knowing Italian can save you. The same goes for transport also.

Italian Greetings for travellers

First things first, the basic travel-friendly word to learn in any language is greetings. Greetings are salutations like good morning, thank you, welcome, and so on. You must learn at least the greetings while you visit Italy.

Hi – Ciao

No one needs a great introduction to the word ‘ciao.’ Thanks to Money Heist for saving me one explanation. If you haven’t noticed, tourists like us say ciao with a cheerful bright face. To me, I feel more joy when saying hi to the natives. I feel one among them. Ciao is that word which reflects my happiest expectations in Italy.

Have a good day – Buona giornata

An elegant greeting you can say to anyone is Buona giornata. Say it with a pleasant smile and let it put a smile on the receiver. And, it really is my best travel-friendly Italian word.

Use these common Italian words whenever you like because your tongue picks up these words quickly. 

Must-know Italian words

Coming up next is the must-know Italian words that are not only compulsory but also travel friendly. Greetings are the most basic words anyone can learn. Equally, like greetings, there are a few other Italian words we use often. Let’s take a look at them.

Please – Per favore

I love how the Italian language gives us varieties to use in place of a single word. For instance, the word please has alternatives that are so beautiful and honestly don’t sound like please at all.

Beginners will be exposed to the word per favore. Per favore’s equal competitor is per piacere. You can use either of them. They both mean the same. Then there is Gentilmente and Cortesemente.

Gentilmente and Cortesemente are used in formal situations. Do these words really sound like, please? I don’t think so. Anyways, you use per favore or per piacere in scenarios such as “Please, leave me alone” and “Please, lower the volume.” Gentilmente and Cortesemente are used in situations such as “Could you please tell me where Pisa is” and “Could you please give me your mobile.” I hope you get the difference. 

Thank you – Grazie

Another familiar Italian word like Ciao is Grazie. Grazie means Thank You. Besides using it when you receive any help, you can use them whenever you finish conversations to be polite. And, when in a discomforting situation, add a ‘no’ before Thank you. Is there any polite way to tell the shopkeepers to leave you alone and stop annoying other than the No, Grazie?

I’m sorry – Mi dispiace

Mi dispiace means I am sorry in Italian. You could be sorry for many reasons in Italy. For example, on my trip to Italy, I stopped going to restaurants that were not crowded. I had this thought that the reputation of the place relies on the busy ambience of the restaurant. Mi dispiace, friends! This doesn’t work in Italy. It doesn’t mean that all the restaurants and cafes are good in Italy, but you can never guess the quality of the food offered based on the customers’ headcount.

You’re welcome – Prego

Prego is a nice and cool word. I doubt you will have umpty chances to use this word in Italy. If I recall correctly, I didn’t get any chance to help a native to utter this phrase. Though I have been of some help to travellers like me, what use is that to tell prego to a fellow traveller like me.

Excuse me – Mi scusi

Tourist places are always occupied with a good amount of crowd. In my experience, some people will be lethargically walking, chatting with their acquaintances, and in some other time, elderly people might be walking before you. In those scenarios, just say Mi scusi and hurry up your steps. You have no time to waste.

Speak slowly – Parli lentamente

Here comes the holy grail phrase you will be using a lot on your solo trip to Italy. True! As a foreign traveller, nobody can expect you to understand Italian conversation in a go. So, when you are stuck in those situations where you need the person conversing in Italian with you to speak out slow or with pauses, you can say Parli Lentamente.

Italian phrase related to food

It is no wonder we know by heart every popular dish name in Italian cuisine like Pizzette, Gonita, Pastiers, spaghetti, and whatnot. Since you know what you are going to order, you just need to learn to add “I would like to have” (Vorrei avere) before it. Next time, tell the waiter, “Vorrei avere, pizza.”

Italian words for Safety

Next on the list is the vocabulary for traveller safety in Italy. These alarming words will ease up the hurdles you will face as a solo traveller.

Aiuto means Help in Italian. Now, you know what to scream in danger. And, if you encounter a thief, without any second thought, shout Ladro Aiuto!!! Ladro means Thief. 

I forget to mention those awkward situations when Italian men bother you. If you face someone, who is either following or hitting on you. Take a deep breath and scream Lasiciami in pace. Yes, Lasiciami in pace is the word you are looking for. Lasiciami in pace means leave me alone, but with extra attachments like our disgusted face and screaming, the men will probably understand it as meaning “Leave me the hell alone.”

Italian words to describe the beauty

You know the enchanting beauty of Italian art and architecture. You know that wonders like the Coliseum, the Pisa Tower, the Pantheon, and the Roman Forum are home to Italy.

It is natural for you to get mesmerized by these beauties, and words like wow, what a beauty, beautiful, I love Italy slips from the mouth naturally.

Imagine how cool it will be when you utter these amused emotions in Italian.

Italian Transport Vocabulary

Moving on, let us dig into some transport vocabulary.

Stop! Stop! – Basta Basta

It is one of my favourite words in Italian. You can use it when you want to stop any vehicle. By the way, the bus is called autobus, the train is called a treno, and the taxi is a taxi in Italian. 

Is the flight delayed? – Il Volo è in ritardo? Is the flight cancelled? – Il Volo è cancellato? I learnt these sentences during my solo trip. According to my plan, I had to take a public flight from Pisa-San Giusto Galileo Galilei Airport, Tuscany, to Lampedusa Airport, Sicily. Unfortunately, the flight got delayed, and I was clueless about what was happening. At the time to enquire about the situation with a fellow Italian traveller who was sitting close to me, I used these words. Thanks to Google Translator!

I want seasonal tickets – Voglio l’abbonamento

Voglio l’abbonamento means I want seasonal tickets. It would be very apt if you utter this word on ticket counters only. Seasonal tickets are every traveller’s blessing in disguise. If you are not aware, seasonal tickets are tickets giving access to unlimited travel in a day. As a tourist, you can’t wish for anything more than this!

Shopping Italian Phrases

Next is the shopping vocabulary for travellers in Italy. I am damn sure this vocabulary will make your shopping time in Italy less exhausting.

If anything attracts you while casually passing through the streets, you will be in the urge to know the price. During that time, use Quanto costa. Quanto costa means how much is the cost. Quanto costa and Quanto costano are the same. You can use both of these words to ask for the price of the product.

Can I have a receipt? – Posso avere una ricevuta?

Not everyone like us has the opportunity to travel to Italy. Your friends or family may ask you to get items for them. In that case, you will need a receipt to show them to claim your money or for authenticity. So, don’t forget to get a receipt. If they forget to provide it, ask them for it, saying Posso avere una ricevuta?

Is it imported? – È importato?

The accented ‘e’ is open and makes a sound as in ‘hell.’ You will need this word to know if the thing you are buying is Italy made or imported. You can always buy the imported online. So, buy original products as a souvenir to take from Italy.

Can you reduce the price? – Puoi ridurre il prezzo?

Shopping is incomplete without a bargain. We are champions in bargaining like a pro. Happy bargaining with the travel-friendly Italian words you have learned so far.

I hope my travel-friendly Italian words based on my trip to Italy were informative. There is a ‘n’ number of Italian phrases you can learn to gear up your interaction with Italy. There are also many useful apps to learn Italian. Special mention to the apps such as Busuu, Duolingo, Babbel, Memrise, and Drops. I liked drops. Give it a try, friends. It will be joyful learning with images and all.

I guess I managed to sort the most basic and travel-friendly Italian words. Make time to check Italian gestures. As we know, signs and gestures also secure a place in communication. Italians have interesting gestures to mean certain things, but I feel gestures are the native people’s thing. Anyway, if you want to check out Italian gestures and their meaning, click here.