Basic Conversation in Italian: Here’s How to Start Speaking Italian

Tips to Have a Basic Conversation in Italian

Whether you’re a beginner or are learning Italian for your upcoming trip, it makes sense to start with basic Italian phrases to speak.

Learning a new foreign language is a gradual experience that starts from the easier concepts up to the most complex ones.

What do you need to know to learn the basics of the Italian language?

Firstly, a basic Italian sentence is made up of a subject and a verb.

In this case, the subject is io (I), but there’s no need to say it because the verb conjugation shows that.

Every sentence must express a complete thought. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense.

Then, the sentences can become more or less complex. If you don’t feel confident about your language skills, you can split complex sentences into simpler ones.

In general, Italian speakers are very polite. They always start a conversation with someone they don’t know with mi scusi (“excuse me”), and whenever they meet someone, they greet them.

It may sound cliché, but Italians love hand gestures. It’s part of their culture. So, don’t be surprised if Italian people use body language during a conversation!

Italian people have a gesture to express almost everything: surprise, anger, worry, fear, happiness, etc.

Italian study time calculator

Are you in a hurry? Find out how long it will take you to reach your target level of Italian with my free calculator.

It only takes 3 minutes!

Just fill out this simple form to find your ideal study schedule and get on the right track.

I’ll create your free lifetime account to store your study plan so that you may review it at any time. I’ll take you to your dashboard where you’ll find all my free resources.

On your dashboard, you’ll get to take some of my courses for free. I’ll also send you my best offers and free resources by email. You may opt out at any time.

Yes, all this is free for you!

   

Your language skills

How would you rate your skills in your native language?*

I keep my sentences simple; my vocabulary is limited

I can communicate effectively in my daily life, but I'm not comfortable with long or difficult texts

I'm confident speaking and writing about topics I'm familiar with; I can understand complex texts with some effort

I can write and speak correctly about various topics; I regularly read complex texts like newspaper articles

I can explain virtually anything in the right words; I can deal with very complex texts like scientific papers

How would you rate your skills in your native language? is required.

Were you raised bilingual (or more)?*

Were you raised bilingual (or more)? is required.

Have you ever reached an intermediate proficiency in a foreign language?*

Have you ever reached an intermediate proficiency in a foreign language? is required.

Do these languages include any language that is similar to Italian?*

Have you ever reached an intermediate proficiency in a foreign language? is required.

Namely French, Spanish, Portuguese, or Romanian.

How old are you?*

  < 1011 - 2021 - 3031 - 4041 - 5051 - 6061 - 7070 +

How old are you? is required.

Create a study schedule

Your current Italian level*BeginnerElementaryIntermediateUpper-intermediate

Your current Italian level is required.

Set the target level higher than your current one.

Elementary: Can communicate in simple and routine tasks.
Intermediate: Can deal with most situations likely to arise while traveling.
Upper-intermediate: Can interact regularly without strain with native speakers.

Your target Italian level*ElementaryIntermediateUpper-intermediateAdvanced

Your target Italian level is required.

Set the target level higher than your current one.

Deadline*

Deadline is required.

Based on your weekly time commitment, you need extra days to meet the deadline.

Example: your next trip to Italy.

Choose a study schedule*

Intensive 14 Hour/Weekly Commitment

Regular 7 Hour/Weekly Commitment

Free 5 Hours/Weekly Commitment

Deadline is required.

In order to meet your deadline, you need to commit extra hours/week.

Yes! If you follow the plan, you'll be speaking Italian at Advanced level by .

Intensive

In the intensive plan, you commit 2 hours per day.

Diversify your study activities to cover all the language skills that you need: speaking, listening, writing, and reading.

Even though you could argue that more your study, the faster you learn, I wouldn't recommend studying more than a couple of hours a day because the gain from extra time gradually gets smaller.

At the end of this form, you'll get a detailed weekly plan with all the study activites you need to reach your goal. 100% free!

Regular

With a regular plan, you practice 1 hour a day, every day.

Taking 2 live 1-on-1 lessons per week with a qualified teacher or an experienced native tutor is a good pace to practice speaking and get feedback.

This plan is the closest to the one I follow myself and I can assure that you'll make steady progress.

At the end of this form, you'll get a detailed weekly plan with all the study activites you need to reach your goal. 100% free!

Free

There's plenty of free resources online to make the free plan viable.

You need to substitute paid 1-on-1 tutoring with language exchange with native speakers or find other venues to practice speaking. This can be time-consuming and you need to make up for lack of guidance with self-study.

At the end of this form, you'll get a detailed weekly plan with all the study activites you need to reach your goal. 100% free!

Get your results

You're almost there!

Overcome your barriers in 3 minutes

What's holding you back from becoming fluent?
Find out with this free checklist!

FREE DOWNLOAD

Free Checklist

After you submit this form, you'll receive the results in your mailbox and will see the study schedule based on your level and the plan that you selected.

These questions below are not used to create your study plan, but I'd love to know more to make my service more relevant to you!

What's your reason for learning Italian? *

Hobby

Work

Study

Relatives / significant others

Travel

What's your reason for learning Italian? is required.

How long have you been studying Italian? *

Less than 1 month

1-2 months

3-5 months

6-12 months

1-2 years

More than 2 years

How long have you been studying Italian? is required.

What are you struggling with? *

I just don't know how to study a languageI'm embarrassed because I can't speakI'm frustrated because I'm wasting time and moneyI'm nervous because I make mistakesI fear that it's too late to startI regret that I don't have timeI feel discouraged because I can't travel or live in ItalyI fear that I'll forget after I quit studyingNothing, I'm confident in my abilities

What are you struggling with? is required.

Gender *

Male

Female

Other

Gender is required.

Your first name*

Your first name is required.

Email*

Email is required.

You'll receive the results together with my best free resources to learn faster. You may opt out at any time.

PreviousCreate a study schedule

1000s of happy learners on their way to fluency

Learning some of them could help you communicate with Italian people: sometimes, body language can be more effective in expressing concepts than words!

Learn more about Italian hand gestures.

Italian people use different personal pronouns according to whom they’re talking to.

They use the informal tu for friends, relatives, and young people.

They use the formal lei in different situations:

• For people they don’t know well, old people, or professors;
• In stores, hotels, restaurants, or pharmacies.

When they meet someone for the first time, Italians shake hands.

When they meet people they already know, they greet them with two or three kisses on their cheeks or shake their hands.

Learn the Most Common Italian Phrases to Speak Italian

If you want to learn Italian, you don’t have to memorize all the Italian words and sentences.

The good news is that you can have an Italian conversation by knowing only some of the many words and useful phrases. There’s no need to go through it all!

To begin, you can learn new words and merge them into short sentences.

You can combine all the Italian phrases you’ve learned to create new sentences. It is a funny and useful exercise, which will enhance your confidence in speaking.

With little effort, you can manage to have a basic conversation in Italian.

Some of the basic Italian phrases you need to know concern how to greet someone, be polite, and introduce yourself.

Once you know the basics, you’ll be surprised about how many things you can say!

Here are some of the first Italian words and phrases you can learn:

Learn more Italian phrases for beginners.

Learn through basic Italian conversations and short stories

Studying Italian grammar and learning new vocabulary is essential, but you need to combine it to actively speak and apply all that you’ve learned in a community forum for Italian students, for example.

You can do so through the help of basic Italian conversations and short stories, which describe typical situations that can happen during your stay in Italy (for example, going to the doctor, asking for information, answering the phone).

What are the benefits of this practice?

Reading or listening to a dialog helps you understand the language and the meaning of each phrase and memorize words easily.

Improve your listening skills

For sure, listening is one of the skills that will benefit the most from this practice: you need to catch up with what people are saying and understand the meaning.

Expand your vocabulary by learning new words

You will learn new words and memorize them easily.

It’s easier to remember the last word you’ve learned in a specific context (for example, how to order food) rather than looking for its meaning in the dictionary.

Being able to apply the new word to a new situation is one of the best ways to memorize it and expand your vocabulary.

Master grammar patterns and idioms

Learning how to say something, ask for information, communicate your feelings, etc. will make you learn new language structures easily, faster than you’d do if you studied from a grammar book.

Naturally, improve pronunciation

By actively listening and mimicking a native speaker, you will improve your Italian pronunciation and accent.

How does it work?

How can you improve your Italian through conversations and short stories?

First of all, start with a proper difficulty level. If you’re a beginner, don’t go directly to the C1 level!

Free Guide

How to Learn Languages Fast

FREE DOWNLOAD

Find the examples that inspire you the most and will be more useful for you.

If you’re planning a holiday, read stories about booking a hotel, going to the restaurant, asking for information, etc.

If you want to move to Italy, you can focus on authentic conversations about daily life tasks, such as going to the doctor, having a phone call, or introducing yourself.

Each short story is structured in:

• Audio;
• Italian transcript;
• English transcript.

Read the text and try to understand its meaning. Don’t focus on the details at first.

Instead, try to recognize the main plot behind the story: where’s the setting? What are the characters? What is the story about?

Then, read it again carefully. Underline unknown words or key phrases.

Look for grammar patterns that you don’t know. Write them in a notebook.

Read the Italian transcript along with the audio: this helps you understand better.

The English transcript helps you find the meaning of the words you don’t know.

A tip for memorizing new words and grammar constructs is to write down a summary of the story.

Writing helps you memorize new words and phrases and deeply understand their meaning.

Most important: don’t be anxious to learn! It takes time.

Learn more about Italian conversations and short stories. Try out the Italian course Ripeti Con Me.

Still translating in your head? Wanna speak Italian for real? Check out Stefano's courses to think directly in Italian and become fluent fast!