Most important basic phrases
 

I'm currently in the process of learning Italian (started last week, ha ha), and I'm a super-beginner. So far, all I can cite from memory is:

- Ciao/buongiorno/piacere?
- Come sta/i?
- Bene, grazie.
- Una tavolo per due, per favore.
- Una birra.
- Il biacherre da vino rosso, per favore.
- Il conto, per favore.
- Scusi, non capisco. Non parlo molto bene l'Italiano.
- Di dov'e?

Apologies if any of those are incorrect.

So any more help would be great! Thanks! :D

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You did ask for help so I hope I don't offend when I correct your phrases.

Tavolo ends in an O so it is un tavolo and not una.

Il bicchiere is asking for THE glass and not A glass. Un bicchiere di vino rosso /bianco.

Here's a good one to know ......... quanto costa? How much is it?

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For when you get that Italian bird, 'dammelo'.

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Do you ever say anything nice to your wife like 'ti amo' ?

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Not offended at all, thanks for the help!

I know 'ti amo' means "I love you" to a lover. And there's another phrase that's used for unconditional love... but I don't know what it is, ha ha.

I knew quanto costa. Thank you! :)

How would you ask someone "what have you been doing?"

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What's "dammelo" by the way? Ha ha, I can't seem to find it in my (albeit small) dictionary!

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Could it be .... ti voglio bene.

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When our Italian neighbours arrive they always shout "Cosa Fi" and I think this means what are you doing or what have you done...They also say in response to their own question "dormire", even if it's dinnertime!

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Ah - ti voglio bene, I thought I'd seen that before. Thanks!

I'm going to amend my original list, and add the English, so I can refer to it whenever.

Anything else?

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Ah, just figured out that you can't edit.... or am I mistaken?

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To the wife, yes.

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Shouldn't it be come va? or cosa fa? for how's it going or what you doing?
Cosa fi? Maybe your Italian neighbours speak with a Scottish accent perhaps?

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Perhaps they shout "cosa fai" which sounds a bit like "fi" You didn't explain to DWE that "dammelo" means "give it to me"

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You can - but only upto a certain time and then it stays fixed..... I think. Not sure how long you have before your post becomes fixed.

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Ah I see, yeah that time has come and gone for the original post.

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N'importa ......... never mind.

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I have tried all the cds to learn Italian even got them in my car they drive me mad, has anyone else tried Michael Thomas? I want to scream after 10 minutes, I am picking up a lot by watching American stuff on sky with Italian sub titles, I know you don't get pronunciation but I seem to remember it that way

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be careful with that as alot of it is translated badly! I once saw a problem about mixed couples having babies and the mother said " I thought he would have been darker" and there translated it as " I though he would have been a daughter" :lol:

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I've seen some slang get totally lost in subtitles. Can't remember them all now but the one that sticks in my brain is
"quick - the pigs are coming." ..................... vengono i maiali

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:lol::lol: true. I learnt Italian in about 3 months but thats because I was with a family who spoke no English at all and it was either sink or swim. I also watched old films that I knew off by hand as I'd watched them that much and watched them over and over in Italian. The first word I learnt was "non importa" which was what I was told when I told the kids to do their homework (yes I was a nanny for the first year and now my 17 year old charge is studying in a boarding school in England because I made him do that homework and speak in English!)

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I learnt Italian quickly too - had no other choice really.
I remember watching reruns of Dallas to see if I could learn more vocab but I used to tune out after 15 minutes or so. I think most of my Italian was learnt by going out there and buying things. I lived in a place that didn't have any big supermarkets and even the fruit and veg was not a help yourself counter so I quickly learnt to ask for everything.
When the penny dropped about how tenses worked was a big moment for me - suddenly it all started to make sense.

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Impressive Salerno! Still, when needs must we can learn things extremely quickly! As a student I make my income two ways:

1. As a kebab shop worker (lots of fun...)
2. As a pianist.

Now with the latter, I was asked if I knew how to play Chopin's 1st piano concerto (over 40 minutes in total for the entire work), as there was a job going where I could earn £500 in one night if I played this at a formal dinner. I had a month to learn the entire thing and it nearly killed me ha ha, but I did it. Normally things like that take many months to learn.

Back to the topic, I have a longer question about Italian. I've heard that dinner parties are a very common and popular thing to do in Italy (suits me just fine!) and the locals often do this to meet new arrivals (please correct me if I'm wrong). So if I was invited to such an event, how would I say:

"Thanks for inviting me, I really appreciate it. However, I must apologise in advance for my poor Italian. So please don't be offended if I don't understand what you're saying."

"This food is delicious!"

"Could I please use your bathroom?"

Grazie!

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Well done on the Chopin and did you get the 500 quid?

As for dinner parties - I wouldn't call them that really where I live. They are less formal and less planned than most of the dinner parties I've been to in the UK. It's more a case of friends saying "wanna come round for dinner on Friday?" and they'll rustle something up - or you are already at somebody's house and it's getting near dinner time and they'll say "hey - stay and have some pasta with us or we'll call out for pizza."

I haven't ever been invited to anyone's home just beacuse I was new - not until I'd made friends first.

Anyway ......

Grazie dell'invito, l'apprezzo. Thanks for the invite, I appreciate it.

Questo cibo è delizioso. This food is delicious.

Potrei usare il bagno per cortesia? Could I please use the bathroom?
.

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I did indeed! I spent most of it within a week, ha ha.

Ah okay, that's good that it's not so formal. I like that.

Oh I didn't mean it as in "hey, you're new, want dinner?!" More a case of what you said. :)

Thanks for the help, but how would I say the latter part of my first language query?

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The trick is to always try and keep your phrases as simple as possible in the beginning. The less complicated you make them - the less room you have for error. The same thing goes for English students here. They have a big long sentence in their heads, try to translate it word for word and then come totally unstuck.

Say something like :

Apprezzo molto l'invito ma, mi devi scusare se non capisco tutta la conversazione.

I really appreciate the invite but, you'll have to excuse me if I don't understand all the conversation.

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Sorry! As with all things, I seem to enjoy jumping in at the deep end and seeing how far I can get before falling flat on my face.

Thanks again, everyone here is so helpful!

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You ask away. Just don't try to complicate the grammar as a beginner.
I know that to us Brits it sounds very rude to say 'I want' instead of 'I'd like' but really, in the beginning sometimes the present tense is the only thing you can think of. Past tenses, futures and conditionals come later.

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Here's a good little phrase that can pacify most Italians ..........

senza offesa ma .............. no offence but .........

senza offesa ma non capisco

senza offesa ma non mi piace

senza offesa ma non ho tempo

blah blah blah

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Is the last one "no offense but not so fast?"

Thanks again!

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No - it's "no offence but I don't have time - haven't got time."

Sensa offesa ma puoi parlare più piano? - no offence but can you speak more slowly?

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Keeping it simple is definately the key. Also, where I live there is a huge non italian community and the common language is of course, English. I always understand what people say to me whether it is really correct or not. When I realised this I also realised that even when my italian is not correct it is still understandable. Using the same words as my italian friends use also helps.

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I will definitely bear that in mind! Whereabouts do you live if you don't mind me asking?

I'm compiling a list of what I believe will be the most useful/important phrases/words, and I'm going to start learning the grammar and verb system, so that when the time comes to learn new words I'll be well equipped to know where to place them.

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We are in Varese which is between Milan and Como. Did you know that the first motorway ever built anywhere in the world was between Varese and Milan. I don't think they have resurfaced it since.

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:rofl:

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Would this be the correct way of asking for two drinks?

Avro una birra, e un biacherre da vino bianco, per favore.

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Not really.

I know that avrò is the future of the verb to have and "I'll have a beer" is how we would say it at home but not here.
Use the present part of the verb 'to take' ........ prendo una birra e un vino bianco per favore
-
or say "per me una birra per favore" and let the other person say what they want

-
or just wait for the staff to ask what you want and then say "una birra e un vino bianco per favore."

Most places are table waited here - even the bars/pubs if you sit down at one. Your choice whether to sit down or stay at the bar.

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Thank you once again! I must be driving you bonkers!

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Impossible. Most of us have been bonkers for years. Having kids starts you down a slippery slope and dealing with Italian paper work sends you flying down the rest of the way.

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Ha ha, good to know! So on that note...

How would I go about saying:

"My lady, your beauty knows no bounds."

And if you want, throw in something that's a bit more funny like:

"Alright love, fancy a quickie out back?"

Just because if a British girl asks me about Italian, I have something better to say than just "Sorry, I don't understand. My Italian is pants." I also have "would you like a drink" under my belt. So I have some bases covered!

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Own up! You're Duffer's twin.