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Italian: travel phrases

Forty Italian (italiano) phrases for your trip: greetings, restaurants, directions, transport, hotels and getting help.

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Checked by the Brain Zap team · reviewed 10 Oct 2026

Source: Wiktionary (Italian)

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  • Hello (polite, daytime)

    Show answer: Hello (polite, daytime)

    Buongiorno

    Learn more: Buon + giorno, 'good day'. Use it until early afternoon; ciao is only for friends.

  • Good evening

    Show answer: Good evening

    Buonasera

    Learn more: Used from mid-afternoon on, both to greet and to say goodbye. Sera means 'evening'.

  • Good night

    Show answer: Good night

    Buonanotte

    Learn more: Only for parting at night or going to bed; to greet someone in the evening, say buonasera.

  • Goodbye

    Show answer: Goodbye

    Arrivederci

    Learn more: To a stranger, a more formal form is arrivederla. Among friends, ciao works both ways.

  • Please

    Show answer: Please

    Per favore

    Learn more: It follows a request: un caffè, per favore. Per piacere means the same.

About this topic

These are the phrases that carry a trip to Italy: greetings, thanks, ordering at a table, asking the way, buying a ticket and getting help. With them you can be polite in a shop, sort out a bill and find the station, and Italians warmly welcome any visitor who tries.

Italian is a good first language to speak because it is read as it is written: every vowel is sounded, and double consonants, as in mappa or biglietto, are held a little longer. Many words also share Latin roots with English, which the hints point to, such as aperto and aperture or sinistra and sinister.

Two things make it easier. Learn whole phrases rather than single words, since that is how you will use them. And note the polite forms: to a stranger, use mi scusi rather than scusa, and say buongiorno or buonasera when you walk into a shop. The Why lines flag these as they come.

All 40 cards

  1. Hello (polite, daytime)

    Buongiorno

    Learn more: Buon + giorno, 'good day'. Use it until early afternoon; ciao is only for friends.

  2. Good evening

    Buonasera

    Learn more: Used from mid-afternoon on, both to greet and to say goodbye. Sera means 'evening'.

  3. Good night

    Buonanotte

    Learn more: Only for parting at night or going to bed; to greet someone in the evening, say buonasera.

  4. Goodbye

    Arrivederci

    Learn more: To a stranger, a more formal form is arrivederla. Among friends, ciao works both ways.

  5. Please

    Per favore

    Learn more: It follows a request: un caffè, per favore. Per piacere means the same.

  6. Thank you

    Grazie

    Learn more: Grazie mille, 'a thousand thanks', means 'thanks a lot'. The reply is prego.

  7. You're welcome

    Prego

    Learn more: It means 'you're welcome', but also 'please, go ahead' or 'how can I help?' in a shop.

  8. Excuse me

    Mi scusi

    Learn more: This is the formal form, for strangers; with friends, say scusa.

  9. I'm sorry

    Mi dispiace

    Learn more: For real regret. To get past someone in a crowd, say permesso instead.

  10. Yes

    Sì

    Learn more: The accent tells sì, 'yes', apart from si, 'oneself'. Often said twice: sì, sì.

  11. No

    No

    Learn more: To say 'no, thanks', add grazie: no, grazie.

  12. Nice to meet you

    Piacere

    Learn more: Say it on meeting someone, often with a handshake and your name.

  13. I don't understand

    Non capisco

    Learn more: Add 'può ripetere?', 'can you repeat?', to keep the conversation going.

  14. Do you speak English?

    Parla inglese?

    Learn more: Parla is the formal 'you speak'; to a friend, say parli inglese? A common answer: un po', 'a bit'.

  15. Where is the bathroom?

    Dov'è il bagno?

    Learn more: Dov'è is dove + è, 'where is'. Signs may also read toilette or WC.

  16. How much is it?

    Quanto costa?

    Learn more: Ask it for one thing; for several, it becomes quanto costano?

  17. The bill, please

    Il conto, per favore

    Learn more: Waiters rarely bring the bill before you ask. Coperto on it is a cover charge.

  18. A table for two

    Un tavolo per due

    Learn more: Tavolo is the table you sit at; tavola is the table laid for a meal, as in a tavola!

  19. The menu, please

    Il menù, per favore

    Learn more: The word came from French. A fixed-price meal is a menù fisso.

  20. I would like some water

    Vorrei dell'acqua

    Learn more: Vorrei is the polite way to order. Ask for frizzante, sparkling, or naturale, still.

  21. I am vegetarian

    Sono vegetariano / vegetariana

    Learn more: Men say vegetariano, women vegetariana. Senza carne means 'without meat'.

  22. Cheers!

    Salute!

    Learn more: Also said after a sneeze. Cin cin! is the other common toast.

  23. Where is the station?

    Dov'è la stazione?

    Learn more: The noun is feminine, la stazione. A city's main one is often the stazione centrale.

  24. A ticket to Rome

    Un biglietto per Roma

    Learn more: Il biglietto is a ticket. Validate a paper regional ticket before boarding, or risk a fine.

  25. What time is it?

    Che ore sono?

    Learn more: The answer is sono le tre, 'it's three', but è l'una for one o'clock.

  26. Help!

    Aiuto!

    Learn more: Shout it in an emergency. Europe's emergency number, 112, works across Italy.

  27. I need a doctor

    Ho bisogno di un medico

    Learn more: Ho bisogno di means 'I need'. A pharmacy, la farmacia, is marked by a green cross.

  28. I have a reservation

    Ho una prenotazione

    Learn more: Prenotare is 'to book'. Give the name: a nome Rossi, 'under the name Rossi'.

  29. Is breakfast included?

    La colazione è inclusa?

    Learn more: Breakfast in Italy is often just coffee and a pastry. Inclusa agrees with the feminine noun.

  30. Left

    A sinistra

    Learn more: Sinistra also means the political left. English sinister comes from the Latin for 'left'.

  31. Right

    A destra

    Learn more: Destra shares its root with dexterity. Gira a destra means 'turn right'.

  32. Straight ahead

    Sempre dritto

    Learn more: Also spelled sempre diritto. You will hear it in almost every set of directions.

  33. Open

    Aperto

    Learn more: Seen on shop doors. Many shops close for a long lunch break in the early afternoon.

  34. Closed

    Chiuso

    Learn more: Often seen in August as chiuso per ferie, 'closed for the holidays'.

  35. Airport

    Aeroporto

    Learn more: Masculine: l'aeroporto. Rome's main one, Fiumicino, is officially named after Leonardo da Vinci.

  36. Train

    Treno

    Learn more: Masculine: il treno. Frecciarossa and Italo run the high-speed lines.

  37. Do you have a map?

    Ha una mappa?

    Learn more: Ha is the formal 'you have'. A town map is often called una pianta della città.

  38. I'm lost

    Mi sono perso / persa

    Learn more: Men say perso, women persa. Literally 'I have lost myself'.

  39. Can I pay by card?

    Posso pagare con la carta?

    Learn more: Posso, 'can I', starts any request. Carta means both 'card' and 'paper'.

  40. Where is the hotel?

    Dov'è l'hotel?

    Learn more: The h is silent in Italian, so il becomes l' before it. The native word is albergo.

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