Francesca Romana Onofri

Planning a trip to Italy? Learn some basic Italian to make it more fulfilling. Get to know Italian greetings, question words, numbers, and the days of the week. Also, be sure to know how to ask for help in Italian so you're prepared for emergencies. And something very important: how to order food and drink!Italian greetingsKnowing Italian greetings can make a good impression, whether you’re speaking Italian for business or while traveling.

The Italian language is adapting to the rhythms of modern life with the introduction of new idioms and the construction of simpler, more concise sentences and paragraphs. The basic rules of the Italian language, however, stay the same. Despite the ongoing transformation of the language, these rules remain the foundation that stabilizes it.

Knowing Italian greetings can make a good impression, whether you're speaking Italian for business or while traveling. The Italian culture places importance on introductions and salutations as it is often considered a foundational way of showing respect. There are different expressions you can use depending on if the situation is formal (business meeting) or informal (meeting someone at a restaurant).

Courtesy is important no matter what country you're in. Use these courtesy phrases when speaking in Italian so you can be considerate and polite; they'll also help you communicate easily: Per favore (pehr fah-voh-reh) (Please.) Per piacere (pehr pyah-cheh-reh) (Please.) Grazie (grah-tsee-eh) (Thank you.) Prego!

In Italian, nouns have gender and number — masculine or feminine, and singular or plural. Articles (a, an, the, and so on), which are associated with nouns, are also masculine, feminine, singular, or plural according to the noun they refer to. So the English definite article the is either masculine singular, masculine plural, feminine singular, or feminine plural in Italian.

If you visit Italy without trying some of the food, you haven't really visited Italy. (You're also probably rather hungry.) The following phrases can come in handy whether you need a bottle of water or you're ordering a lavish Italian dinner: Un cappucccino, per favore. (oohn kahp-pooh-chee-noh pehr fah-voh-reh) (A cappuccino, please.

Be sure to know your numbers in Italian. In Italian-speaking areas, you'll be dealing with numbers for transportation, while shopping, and when dining. Use this chart to get a good start with learning Italian numbers: Counting in Italian zero dzeh-roh 0 uno ooh-noh 1 due dooh-eh 2 tre treh 3 quattro kwaht-t

In Italian, the days of the week aren't capitalized. Eyeball this table of the days of the week in Italian (along with pronunciations and abbreviations) to ensure you get your days straight while in Italy. Italian/Abbreviation Pronunciation Translation domenica/do. doh-meh-nee-kah Sunday lunedì/lun. looh-neh-dee Monday martedì/mar.

If you have an emergency while traveling in Italy, you'll be glad to know these basic Italian phrases. Be prepared for emergencies by committing these Italian phrases to memory: Aiuto! (ah-yooh-toh) (Help!) Emergenza! (eh-mehr-jehn-tsah) (Emergency!) Chiamate la polizia! (chee-ah-mah-teh lah poh-lee-tsee-ah) (Call the police!