You’re in Italy and you’re really excited, maybe even a bit nervous, to speak Italian. You use your best Italian accent to order a coffee: vorrei un cappuccino per favore. (“I’d like a cappuccino please”).
And the reply: “Of course!”
You just got “Englished”. It’s really common to get an automatic reply in English, but here you can find out how to avoid it happening so you can actually put your Italian to practice.
Key Phrases to Avoid Getting “Englished” When Speaking Italian
Don't take it personally if Italians reply to you in English. They may think it's easier for you or they just want to practice their English. They also might not expect you to know Italian.
So don’t worry, it’s normal! But to insist on practicing your Italian, here are some phrases you can use:
| In italiano, per favore!* | In Italian, please! | Een ee-tah-LYAH-noh per fah-VOR-eh |
| Posso provare in italiano? | Can I try in Italian? | POH-ssoh proh-VAH-reh een ee-tah-LYAH-noh? |
| Possiamo provare in italiano? | Can we try in Italian? | Pohs-SYAH-moh proh-VAH-reh een ee-tah-LYAH-noh? |
| Possiamo parlare in italiano? | Can we speak in Italian? | Pohs-SYAH-moh pahr-LAH-reh een ee-tah-LYAH-noh? |
| Va bene in italiano? | Is it ok in Italian? | Vah BEH-neh een ee-tah-LYAH-noh? |
| Va bene se parliamo in italiano? | Is it ok if we speak Italian? | Vah BEH-neh seh pahr-LYAH-moh een ee-tah-LYAH-noh |
* A nice simple phrase, just make sure to say it with a smile to show you’re being friendly.
For example:
Va bene se parliamo in italiano? Vorrei provare. -Is it ok if we speak in Italian? I’d like to try.
Possiamo parlare in italiano? Vorrei migliorare . -Can we speak in Italian? I’d like to improve.
In italiano per favore! Vorrei imparare. -In Italian please! I’d like to learn.
Avoid Looking Like a Tourist: Dress Like an Italian!
If you want to blend in with Italians (who are known for their style), your outfit choices can make all the difference. Here are some do’s and don’ts to help you dress the Italian way.
Do’s:
✅ Stylish sunglasses
✅ Dress smartly (think trousers and shirt) when out to dinner or at the theater
✅ Classic leather shoes (yes, even in summer)
Don’ts
❌Flip-flops if you’re not at the beach
❌Sports clothes or loungewear out to dinner (food is sacred after all!)
❌Socks and sandals
How to Feel Less Nervous When You Speak Italian
Speaking in another language can be nerve-wracking, but don’t let that stop you from giving it a go. To ease the pressure, you can let Italians know that you're still learning and don't speak it perfectly (yet).
| Non parlo bene, ma capisco | I don’t speak well, but I understand | Non PAR-loh BEH-neh, mah ca-PIS-koh |
| Sono principiante | I’m a beginner | SOH-noh prin-ci-pee-AN-teh |
| Sto imparando | I’m learning | Stoh im-pa-RAN-doh |
| Vorrei imparare | I’d like to learn | Vor-RAY im-pa-RAH-reh |
| Grazie per la pazienza | Thank you for the patience | GRATS-yeh per lah pah-TSYEN-tsah |
| Mi aiuta? | Can you (formal) help me? | Mee ay-OO-tah? |
| Mi aiuti? | Can you (informal) help me? | Mee ay-OO-tee? |
For example:
Sono principiante, ma vorrei imparare -I’m a beginner, but I’d like to learn
Vorrei provare in italiano, mi aiuta? -I’d like to try in Italian, can you (formal) help me?
Grazie per la pazienza, sto imparando -Thank you for the patience, I’m learning
How to Avoid Freezing Up: The Phrases You Need
You’re speaking Italian, everything’s flowing, and then… wait, what was that word again?
It’s completely normal to freeze up when speaking Italian, whether from a little nervousness or forgetting the word you need.
To keep the conversation going and avoid the switch to English, try using these phrases:
| Come si dice… | How do you say… | KOH-meh see DEE-cheh |
| Come si chiama? | What’s it called? | KOH-meh see KYA-mah |
| Cos’è questo? | What’s this? | KOH-zeh KWEHS-toh? |
For example:
Vorrei questo. Come si chiama? -I’d like this, what’s it called?
Come si dice “ticket” in italiano? -How do you say “ticket” in Italian?
Cos’è questo? Lo so in inglese, ma non in italiano. -What’s this? I know in English, but not in Italian.
How to Ask Someone to Repeat in Italian
When you start speaking Italian, the person you're talking to might forget you're still learning and start speaking really quickly.
But if you say “I don’t understand” Italians might switch to English. So here are some phrases that you can use instead to show you’d like to try and understand, with a bit of help.
| Più piano per favore | More slowly please | PyOO pee-AH-no pear fah-VOH-reh |
| Può ripetere? | Can you (formal) repeat? | PwOH ree-PEH-teh-reh? |
| Puoi ripetere? | Can you (informal) repeat? | Pwo-ee ree-PEH-teh-reh? |
For example:
Mi scusi, può ripetere? -I’m sorry, can you (formal) repeat?
Puoi ripetere la domanda per favore? -Can you repeat the question please?
Più piano per favore, sono principiante -More slowly please, I’m a beginner
On the other hand, if you want to reassure an Italian that you have actually understood them (a bit like saying “got it” in English) check out these helpful phrases . They’re perfect for keeping the conversation in Italian.
How You Can Practice Speaking in Italian
Want to get better at Italian? Talk😉
It's not just about remembering words—it helps with your pronunciation, gets your mouth used to the sounds (muscle memory!), and makes everything stick better.
Here are some tips for how you can practice speaking.
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Talk to yourself
It’s one of the first times that you can get away with it! Of course, you can practice with an Italian teacher or real-life Italian, but to take the pressure off, you can practice repeating words and phrases by yourself.
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Don’t Just Talk, Listen
Listen to Italian as much as possible to get used to the sounds and common phrases. You’ll be surprised by how much you’ll absorb that way.
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Learn the Phrases You Actually Need
Focus on learning phrases that you’ll actually use in everyday conversations. That way they’ll be more useful and you can start putting them into practice right away.
For more tips on speaking Italian, here’s a video with some honest, practical advice!
Improve Your Italian Pronunciation
To sound like you have a good knowledge of the language (and to make it less obvious that you’re not from Italy) good pronunciation can make a big difference.
Here are some simple ways to improve pronunciation in Italian:
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Listen and repeat
Mimic native speakers from videos, podcasts, or Italian shows.
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Practice difficult sounds
Focus on tricky sounds like gli (as in famiglia ) or rolled R’s.
If you're looking for more pronunciation tips, especially for tricky sounds, this video will help!
Advice for Speaking Italian (and not getting Englished): Review
Now you have plenty of ways to keep conversations going in Italian. Let’s review the key strategies:
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If someone replies in English, encourage them to stick to Italian.
For example:
In italiano, per favore! -In Italian, please!
Posso provare in italiano? -Can I try in Italian?
Possiamo parlare in italiano? -Can we speak in Italian?
-
Dressing like a local can help you blend in and avoid being seen as a tourist.
-
If you’re feeling nervous, let people know you’re learning
For example:
Sono principiante -I’m a beginner
Sto imparando -I’m learning
Grazie per la pazienza -Thank you for the patience
-
When you get stuck, use simple phrases to keep the conversation going.
For example:
Come si dice… in italiano? -How do you say… in Italian?
Cos’è questo? -What is this?
Può ripetere per favore? -Can you repeat please?
-
The best way to improve? Speak as much as possible, listen actively, and focus on useful phrases.
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to “Learn Italian with Joy of Languages”.
M: In this episode, you’ll hear our advice to help make your conversations flow in Italy.
K: They’re the phrases that can help you not get a reply in English, but will also help you in general if you get stuck when trying to say things in Italian.
Before we get started, can we ask you a quick favore? If you’re listening to this on your podcast app, could you hit the subscribe or follow button? This way you’ll get notified when we release a new episode and you’ll help our podcast grow so that we can keep making free lessons like this. Grazie!
M: Italians sometimes reply to you in English because they think you might appreciate the help, or they might just want to practice their English.
K: They’re often not expecting you to speak Italian either, although for that same reason, when you do, it’s a nice surprise for them!
M: So speaking Italian is a good way to put a smile on an Italian’s face. But how can you make sure you speak Italian if they just switch to English?
K: One really simple phrase that you can use in Italian is:
In italiano per favore! - In Italian please!
K: This phrase might sound a bit direct, so you’ll probably want to say it in a playful way.
M: If you say it in a friendly way, Italians will probably find it amusing and enjoy interacting with you.
K: You might worry their English is better than your Italian, but this isn’t always true, especially in rural areas. And even when it is, you’re in Italy, learning Italian, and it’s natural to want to practice! Most Italians get this.
If you want to ask in a more polite way, you can try:
M: Va bene in italiano? - is it ok in Italian? Literally:
Va - it goes
Bene - well
In - in
Italiano - Italian
Va bene in italiano?
K: It can also help to tell people that you’re a beginner to lower the pressure. This way they will expect you to make mistakes, have long pauses and maybe only know a few phrases. It’s normal! You can say:
M: Sono principiante - I’m a beginner. Literally:
Sono - I am
Principiante - beginner
Sono principiante
K: Although if you say this, Italians might think that you’re struggling and would prefer to speak in English. So make sure you follow up the phrase with:
M: Sono principiante, vorrei imparare - I’m a beginner, I’d like to learn. Literally:
Sono - I am
Principiante - beginner
Vorrei - I would like
Imparare - to learn
Sono principiante, vorrei imparare
K: You could also ask:
M: Vorrei provare in italiano, va bene? - I’d like to try in Italian, is that ok? Literally:
Vorrei - I would like
Provare - to try
In - in
Italiano - Italian
Va - it goes
Bene - well
Vorrei provare in italiano, va bene?
K: Remember, the goal is communication. Italians really won’t be worrying about every little mistake you might be making. And mistakes are necessary! They’re how you learn.
M: And if you’re in a restaurant ordering something, the waiter is only going to care about understanding what pasta dish you want. They’re not going to care about whether your grammar was perfect.
Or if you’re chatting with some new Italians that you’ve met and you’re trying to get to know them better. They’ll probably want to try and answer your questions, without caring about whether you’ve used the right tense or not.
K: But if you do want a bit of help with your Italian, you can just ask an Italian! As long as they’re not too busy, for example, a waiter rushed off their feet in the middle of tourist season, a lot of Italians like the fact that you’re interested in their language and are happy to be involved in your learning.
M: You can ask:
M: Mi aiuta - can you help me? Literally:
Mi - me
Aiuta - you (formal) help
Mi aiuta?
K: Italians often omit “can” in questions like this, and they talk a bit like yoda! Instead of “can you help”, it’s literally “me, you help”?
M: Mi aiuta?
Mi aiuta is using the formal you, but if you’re speaking to someone younger or that you know well, you could say:
M: Mi aiuti - can you help me? Literally:
Mi - me
Aiuti - you help, the informal this time ending in -i.
M: Mi aiuti?
K: So “mi aiutA” ending in A is the formal and “mi aiutI” ending in -i is the informal.
You can combine these with a phrase you’ve already learned. Remember how to say “I’d like to try in Italian”?
M: Vorrei provare in italiano (x2)
K: Now try: I’d like to try in Italian, can you help me? Use the formal:
M: Vorrei provare in italiano, mi aiuta? (x2)
K: Now try the informal:
M: Vorrei provare in italiano, mi aiuti ? (x2)
K: If you come across someone nice and friendly, which is a lot of people in Italy, and you want to thank them for their help, you can say:
M: Grazie per la pazienza - Thank you for the patience
Grazie - thank you
Per - for
La - the
Pazienza - patience
Grazie per la pazienza
K: This is a good one to use if they’ve been listening very patiently to your food or drink order in Italian, for example.
So when you finally get the conversation flowing in Italian, what happens if you get stuck because you forget or don’t know a word?
M: You can try asking: Come si dice - how do you say… Literally:
Come – how
Si – one
Dice – says
Come si dice
M: For example, you could say come si dice “ticket” in italiano? - how do you say ticket in Italian. Literally:
Come - how
Si - one
Dice - says
Ticket
In - in
Italiano - Italian
come si dice “ticket” in italiano?
K: In case you’re wondering, it’s biglietto.
M: Biglietto (x2)
K: Another useful word is questo (x2) , which means “this”. For example, if you’re at the market and you want something, but you’re not sure what it’s called, you can point and say:
M: Vorrei questo, per favore - I’d like this, please.
Vorrei - I’d like
Questo - this
Per favore - please
Vorrei questo, per favore
M: Or if you want to ask, “what is this” because you want to learn the word for it, you could say:
Cos’è questo? - what is this? Literally:
Cosa - what
È - is
Questo - this
Cos’è questo?
K: Asking these kinds of questions can be really fun – they’re a great way to learn new words and interact with Italians as you go about your day.
Next, what happens if an Italian says a word and you’re not sure what it means?
M: You can ask: Cosa significa ? - What does it mean? Literally:
Cosa - what
Signfica - it means
Cosa significa ?
K: Like if an Italian said the word albergo , and you didn’t know what it meant, you could say:
M: Cosa significa albergo ? - What does “albergo ” mean?
If someone asked me this, I’d reply, significa hotel - it means a hotel.
Significa - it means
Hotel
K: Don’t feel like you need to know every single possible word in Italian before you can start. With these phrases, you can already start to have conversations even if you get mind blanks.
M: Ok. So let’s see if you can remember the different phrases to help you keep the conversation in Italian.
How would you say “in Italian please!”
[...]
M: In italiano per favore! (x2)
K: If you want to say “I’m a beginner” [...]
M: Sono principiante (x2)
K: I’d like to learn:
[...]
M: vorrei imparare (x2)
K: I’m a beginner, I’d like to learn:
[...]
M: Sono principiante, vorrei imparare (x2)
K: Can you remember how to say “I’d like to try in Italian”
[...]
M: Vorrei provare in italiano (x2)
K: If you wanted to thank an Italian for being patient with you, what could you say?
[...]
M: Grazie per la pazienza
K: If you can’t remember a word and want to ask how to say it, what can you say?
[...]
M: Come si dice… For example, come si dice “ticket” in italiano?
K: Or if you were pointing at something and wanted to say “what is this?”
M: Cos’è questo?
K: Speaking Italian is worth it. It makes your trip more memorable because it gives you the chance to interact with the locals in their language.
To see the phrases from today’s lesson written down, and learn more ways to help you keep the conversation in Italian, like what to do if Italians reply too speedily, head over to our website by clicking on the link in the description. Or you can go to italian.joyoflanguages.com/podcast and search for episode 175.
M: See you next time.
K: Or as we say in Italian.
Alla prossima!
Time to check your understanding and remember everything you just learned! Below you’ll find a mini-quiz and some vocabulary cards to help it all go in.
Quiz: Advice for Speaking Italian
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode
Vocabulary
In italiano, per favore! = In Italian, please!
Va bene se parliamo in italiano? = Is it ok if we speak in Italian?
Sono principiante = I’m a beginner
Vorrei provare in italiano, mi aiuta? = I’d like to try in Italian, can you help me? (formal)
Vorrei provare in italiano, mi aiuti? = I’d like to try in Italian, can you help me? (informal)
Più piano per favore = More slowly please
Può ripetere per favore? = Can you repeat please? (formal)
Puoi ripetere per favore? = Can you repeat please? (informal)
Grazie per la pazienza = Thank you for the patience
Cos’è questo? = What is this?
Flashcards: Advice for Speaking Italian
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
