heather's handy language guide
Hi everyone! It's been a while since I made a post... not really much of a reason for that honestly, just wasn't feeling terribly inspired with any new ideas or what scraps I had in my drafts. But as I keep up my learning streak in Duolingo (currently at 270 days!!), I thought that a language guide would be a good post. So, read on to learn a handful of Spanish and Italian phrases relevant to traveling, plus some grammar tips and cultural fun facts as well!
One of my special interests is foreign languages, so I wanted to share some of that and how it's been helpful on my travels! I am conversant in Spanish, and know some basic Italian as well. When my partner and I went to Italy and Spain in June, I learned even more! Between the two of us, Ben is usually the chatty, outgoing extroverted one, so it was quite a role-reversal being the one in those two countries to have to do most of the talking. I remember thinking at first it was odd that he wasn't bantering with the barista like he usually does and then it hit me - in Italy, he couldn't! I shared a few handy phrases with him but it was still so unusual to hear him simply order his coffee, and then quietly wait for it rather than chatting with the barista or waitstaff.
Below are a few simple guides I made of words and phrases I found most useful for tourist communication in these countries. These include greetings, polite terms like please & thank you, phrases related to ordering food or shopping for clothes, and words you'd be likely to see on signs at shops and tourism attractions.
Greetings & Basic Niceties:
ENGLISH | SPANISH | ITALIAN |
|---|---|---|
Hello | Hola | informal: "Ciao" see also: time-of-day greetings below |
Goodbye | Adios, Ciao | informal: "Ciao" formal: "Arrivederci" |
Good morning | Buenos días | Buongiorno (abbrev: "'giorno") |
Good afternoon | Buenos tardes | Buon pomeriggio |
Good evening | Buenas tardes/noches | Buonasera |
Good night (going to bed) | Buenas noches | Buona notta |
Please | Por favor (abbrev: "porfa") | Per favore |
Thank you | Gracias | Grazie |
You're welcome | (de) nada | Prego |
Excuse me | Disculpe (to get attention) Perdón (to apologize) | mi scusi; scusame |
I don't speak [language] | No hablo español | Non parlo italiano |
Do you speak English? | Hablas inglés? | Parla inglese? |
Pronunciation tips: remember that in Spanish and Italian, "h" is the only silent letter! that means words with an "e" on the end will always have that "e" be pronounced. For example: "per favore" in Italian is pronounced phonetically like "pair fah-vorh-eh"
Grammar tip: words in Italian are pluralized by changing the vowel on the end, not by adding an "" (or "es") as you do in English and Spanish. Singular nouns will end in either an "o" (masculine) or "a" (feminine). Plural nouns will end with an "i" (masculine) or "e" (feminine).
For example: "cannoli" is actually the plural form of the word! if you only want one, ask for "un cannolo" - if you want two, order "due cannoli"
Restaurants & Food:
ENGLISH | SPANISH | ITALIAN |
|---|---|---|
Table for two, please | Una mesa para dos, por favor | Un tavolo per due, per favore |
Can I have a menu? | Me da la carta/el menu? | Posso avere il menu? |
I'll have the.... | Me pones la/el... | Prendo la/il... |
Check, please | La cuenta, por favor | Il conto, grazie |
Breakfast | el desayuno | la colazione |
Lunch | el amuerzo | il pranzo |
Dinner | la cena pronounced: "SEH-nuh" | la cena pronounced: "CHEh-nuh" |
Dessert | el postre | il dolce pronounced: "DOL-che" |
It's delicious! | Que rico/delicioso! | É delizioso! |
I have an allergy to... | Tengo alergia a... | Ho un'allergia a... |
nuts/peanuts | las nueces, los frusos secos; el maní, los cacahuates | le noci; le nocciolini/ le arachidi |
dairy | lactosa | latticini |
shellfish | los mariscos, los moluscos, los crustáceos | i crostacei pronounce: kros-TA-che-ee |
eggs | los huevos pronounced: "WEH-voes" | le uova |
gluten | el gluten | il glutine pronounced: gloo-TEE-neh |
Is this gluten-free/dairy-free? | Esto es sin gluten/lactosa? | É senza glutine/lattioso? |
Is it vegetarian/vegan? | Esto es vegetariano/vegano? | É vegetariano/vegano? |
Culture note: cafés are generally places you can expect to sit in and enjoy your coffee. In my experience, the only coffee shop in Italy or Spain that's offered coffee to go has been Starbucks! In restaurants, to-go boxes for leftovers are generally not a thing either. Portion sizes tend to be more manageable for eating in one sitting, so it's unlikely you would need a doggy bag in the first place.
Coffee & Gelato Orders:
ENGLISH | SPANISH | ITALIAN |
|---|---|---|
Black coffee, please | El café negro, por favor | Un caffe nero, per favore |
Coffee with milk/sugar (ordering a latte) | Café con leche / azucar | Caffé con latte / zucchero |
Hot chocolate | el chocolate caliente | la cioccolata calda |
Small | Pequeño | Piccolo |
Medium | Medio | Medio |
Large | Grande | Grande |
Flavor | el sabor | il gusto |
Chocolate | el chocolate | il cioccolato |
Vanilla | la vainilla | la vaniglia pronounced: "va-nee-ya" |
Caramel | el caramelo | il caramello |
Pistachio | el pistacho | il pistacchio |
Strawberry | la fresa | la fragola |
Almond | la almendra | la mandorla |
Nougat | el turrón | il torrone |
Pineapple | la piña | l'ananas |
Culture tip: in Italy, cappucinos (cappucini) are considered a breakfast beverage, while a macchiato is more commonly had later in the day. No one's going to deny you a cappucino in the afternoon, but it's good to know that it's culturally a morning drink.
Clothes & Shopping: if you plan to do any shopping for clothes or shoes, it's a good idea to look up how to say your (approximate/equivalent) size in the local language! European sizes go beyond knowing how to count to ten... but if you're a US women's 8 shoe, then you're the same as me - which is usually a European 39, or a UK 6.
ENGLISH | SPANISH | ITALIAN |
|---|---|---|
How much is this? | Cuánto cuesta? | Quanto costa? |
Where is the checkout/till? | Dónde está la caja? | Dov'é la cassa? |
Can I pay with card / cash? | Puedo pagar con tarjeta / el efectivo? | Posso pagare con carta / in contani? |
Do you have this in black? red? white? blue? silver/gold? | Tienes esto en negro? rojo? blanco? azul? plata / oro? | Hai in nero? rosso? bianco? blu / azzurro? argento / oro? |
Do you have this in size [thirty-nine]? | Tienes esto en el número [treinta y nueve]? | Hai in la taglia [trentanove]? |
I need to buy... sunglasses | Tengo que comprar... las gafas del sol | Devo comprare... occhiali da sole |
I want to buy... shoes/sandals | Quiero comprar... los zapatos / las sandalias | Voglio comprare... delle scarpe/sandali |
Do you sell socks here? | Vendes calcetines aquí? | Vende calzini qui? |
I need to buy bandaids/plasters | Necesito comprar algunas tiritas/curitas. | Devo comprare dei cerotti. pronounced: cheh-ROH-tee |
Where is the fitting room? | Dónde está el probador? | Dov'é il camerino (di prova)? |
Travel tip: most shops and establishments in Europe will have their open/close times listed in 24-hour time. there will also typically be an hour or two break in the early afternoon where the store is closed for lunch/siesta. take advantage of nothing being open during the hottest part of the day and get some siesta time in too!
Signs & Tickets:
ENGLISH | SPANISH | ITALIAN |
|---|---|---|
opened / closed | abierto / cerrado | aperto / chiuso |
tickets / admission | boletos / la entrada | biglietti / ammissione pronounced: "bee-YEH-tee" |
entrance / exit | entrada / salida | entrata / uscita pronounced: "oo-SHEE-tah" |
where is the bathroom? ... men's room? ... ladies' room? | dónde está el baño? ... para hombres? ...para mujeres | dov'é il bagno? ... degli uomini? ... delle donne? |
How much are tickets? | Cuánto cuestan las entradas? | Cuanto costano i biglietti? |
Two tickets, please | Dos boletos, por favor. | Due biglietti, per favore |
Monday | lunes | lunedí |
Tuesday | martes | martedí |
Wednesday | miércoles | mercoledí |
Thursday | jueves | giovedí |
Friday | viernes | venerdí |
Saturday | sabado | sabato |
Sunday | domingo | domenica |
the weekend | el fin de semana abbrev: el finde ("fin-dee") | la finne settimana |
tomorrow | la mañana | a domani |
Grammar tip: in Italian, the "-gn-" together make the same sound as "ñ" in Spanish, the "nya" sort of sound. therefore, "bagno" and "baño" are pronounced the same exact way!
I hope these guides have been interesting, and perhaps prove helpful if you ever find yourself in Spain or Italy! This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but merely the words and phrases I remember using and needing the most as a visitor in those two countries. Many (though not all) Italian/Spanish staff in stores and restaurants do speak English to some degree, so it is not terribly difficult to communicate with them. That said, they do tend to appreciate the effort to talk in the local language, even if they'll offer to continue in English. It shows forethought and respect when you know a few words or phrases rather than expecting to be catered to in English from the start. And it's fun to learn!
What are some helpful or fun phrases you've learned in other languages? Let me know in the comments!
take care of yourself<3
~heather
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