Italian is a popular language of love, and also one of the most practical languages to learn. Because Italy is a premier location for business across Europe, knowing the language is an asset for personal growth and also a crucial business tool for participants of the global economy.
Although some may have the misconception that Italian is difficult to learn, it’s actually much easier than many believe. Because Italian is one of the Romance languages, it is part of the same linguistic group that includes French, Portuguese and Spanish. So if you already have some familiarity with one of those languages, learning Italian will prove to be much easier. With a commitment to practice, and help from Rosetta Stone, Italian is definitely within reach.
Common Italian words
Similar to English, the Italian alphabet uses 21 letters, with five vowels––a, e, i, o, u––and 16 consonants. Here is a list of some common Italian words, phrases and greetings. It’s handy to know that in Italian, when you come across double consonants, the general rule is to deemphasize the preceding vowels.
- Pizza = Pizza
- Year = Anno
- Yes = Si
- No = No
- Thank you = Grazie
- You’re welcome = Prego
- Please = Per favore
- Excuse me = Mi scusi
- Good morning = Buon giorno
- Good evening = Buona sera
- Good night = Buona notte
- Speak = Parlare
- Buy = Comprare
- Go = Andare
- Think = Pensare
Learn Italian with Rosetta Stone
Of course, knowing a few handy words is great, but it’s difficult to truly learn the language and grammar rules on your own. A quality language learning program plays a crucial part of your learning journey, and keeps you from getting frustrated and throwing in the towel. This is where Rosetta Stone comes in!
Memorizing vocabulary is not commonly an effective way to learn Italian, or any language. Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion approach is the most effective way to learn a new language. This immersive approach prepares you to learn the language, not just the words. A series of words are presented in the situations in which they’d occur. This is called contextualized learning, and the approach leaves you equipped to handle any situation with ease, to confidently understand and speak Italian in real-world conversations.
Another important advantage of using Rosetta Stone is our speech-recognition engine feature which is embedded into every lesson. Based on accents of native speakers, TruAccent™ gives you immediate feedback when you pronounce words. This instant feedback allows you to make corrections while you are practicing, and fine tune your accent until you are speaking like a local. You will enjoy conversational confidence, even if Italy is miles away.
Try our award-winning app
Surround yourself with Italian whenever, wherever with the Rosetta Stone app .
Download a unit and knock it out on the train or a flight. Select a 5-10 minute lesson and sneak it in while you wait in line or for your ride to show up. And explore dynamic features, like Seek and Speak, where you can point at an object in the real world and get a translation.
The best part? You don’t have to choose between app or desktop. Both come with your subscription and sync, so you can switch between devices seamlessly.
