So, you’re enjoying your trip out in Italy when suddenly your phone dies… or you can’t connect to the internet.
How frustrating!
In these situations, wouldn’t it be great to know a few Italian phrases to find your way, and connect with Italians on the streets?
And speaking of connecting with Italians, you can do that in your hotel, too! It’s true that the receptionist usually speaks English, but…
Why not try using a few Italian phrases?
When Italians see you making the effort to speak their language, they’ll appreciate it. You don’t need to say it perfectly - just giving it a go will help you stand out from the typical tourists.
So here, you’ll learn useful phrases for transport and accommodation. Like how to get from A to B and the most important thing of all… finding out what time breakfast is served!
But… do tourists still need Italian to get around?
Italian for Tourists: How to Find Your Way
Think back (if you remember) to the year 2005…
The internet was still mostly confined to your “personal computer” and finding your way around meant using a paper map.
Back then, learning how to ask your way was essential for any guide to Italian for tourists - but is it still necessary today?
Yes! (Sort of).
Even if your phone is functioning perfectly on holiday (and let’s be honest, between wifi and battery problems, they often aren’t!) just asking someone can help you find your way more efficiently.
Asking “Where…?”
The key phrase to learn is “where is…?” followed by the thing you’re looking for:
Dov’è…?
This expression is made up of two words:
Dove - Where
è - is
Italians smush these two words together, so we end up with:
Dove + è → dov’è
When you say this word aloud, remember to put the emphasis on the last bit: dov’È.
Let’s use it to find our way. To ask for the centre, say:
Dov’è il centro? - Where’s the centre?
For the market, which is il mercato, it’s:
Dov’è il mercato? - Where’s the market?
And for Garibaldi Square?
Dov’è piazza Garibaldi? - Where’s Garibaldi Square?
On Italian city maps you’ll see words like piazza (square) and via (street) all the time.
Dov’è via Roma? - Where’s Rome street?
And finally, if you’re stopping someone on the street, you can always add “scusi” to sound a bit more polite:
Scusi, dov’è la stazione? - Excuse me, where is the station?
Psst: If the word scusi is new to you, don’t miss our in depth guide on how to be polite in Italian!
Help! I’m lost
If you want to ask for help in general from Italians, you can explain that you are lost:
Mi sono persa/o - I’m lost
Persa or perso? Well, Katie would say persa, as she’s female, while Matteo would say perso, as he’s male.
Italians are sure to help you out once you let them know you’re stuck. But you might be worried about not understanding exactly what they tell you afterwards…
It’s true it can be tough! Don’t worry though - Italians are also famous for their amazing gestures. Even if you can’t grasp their exact directions, they’ll at least point you in the right direction.
While they’re pointing, they might also be using these phrases:
Dritto - Straight on
A sinistra - To the left
A destra - To the right
Di là - Over there
So far so good - if you’re on foot. But what about public transport in Italy?
Italian for Tourists: Transport
When you arrive in an Italian city, the public transport system can seem bewildering.
To make sense of it all when you’re getting around, it’s essential to know the names of the main forms of public transport:
La metro - The metro
L’autobus - The bus
Il treno - The train
Il tram - The tram
Un taxi - A taxi
Seem familiar right? Luckily, most of them are quite similar to their English versions.
Here are a few more useful words that we commonly use with them:
La fermata - The stop
La fermata della metro - The subway stop
La fermata dell’autobus - The bus stop
La stazione - The station
La stazione dei treni - The train station
La stazione degli autobus - The bus station
So, how would you ask someone where the train station is?
Scusi, dov’è la stazione dei treni? - Excuse me, where’s the train station?
Now, just imagine, you’ve found your train and are just about to board. But wait a minute… you’ve forgotten to buy a ticket!
Italian for Tourists: Buying a Ticket
Biglietti per favore! - Tickets please!
To take most forms of public transport you need un biglietto - “a ticket”, of course!
A lot of people make the mistake of saying biglietto with the English word “big”. The GLI in Italian is a bit like a cross between an L and a Y sound. Think of it like: BI-YL-EH-TO. Biglietto.
To learn more about how to pronounce this sound, check out this episode on how to pronounce GLI in Italian.
You can buy tickets from:
la biglietteria - the ticket office
la biglietteria automatica - the ticket machine
il tabaccaio - the newsagents
How would you ask someone where to buy a ticket?
Dov’è la biglietteria? - Where’s the ticket office?
Dov’è la biglietteria automatica? - Where’s the ticket machine?
Dov’è il tabaccaio? - Where’s the newsagents?
To explain that you want to buy a ticket, you can say:
Vorrei comprare un biglietto. - I’d like to buy a ticket.
Once you’re buying your ticket, you’ll need to know what kind of ticket you want.
Is it a one way ticket or a return?
Andata - One way (ticket)
Sola andata - Just one way
Andata e ritorno - Return (ticket)
And where was it you were going?
Un biglietto per… - A ticket for…
Un biglietto per Roma - A ticket for Rome
Un biglietto per il centro - A ticket for the centre
So how would you ask for a one-way ticket to the city centre?
Vorrei un biglietto, sola andata, per il centro
Putting together the vocabulary slowly, you’ll quickly make impressive phrases!
Now you’ve found your way to your hotel, it's time to check in. Or, as they say in Italian…
Italian Phrases for Accommodation: Il check in
That’s right! To say “check-in” or “check-out” in Italian it’s exactly the same phrase. Just remember to make it sound a bit more “Italian” when you say it.
That’s not to say that you should speak English all the time.
It’s true that hotel staff usually speak great English. But because they see so many tourists who don’t bother with the language, your interest will stand out. It comes across really well if you make an effort to use some Italian.
So, what will the concierge or receptionist probably say to you when you arrive?
Benvenuti! - Welcome!
Benvenuti ends in -i if they’re addressing more than one person. If you’re alone they’ll say benvenuta/o, depending on whether you’re female or male.
Then you usually have to sign something. That’s:
Firmi qui - Sign here
Finally, and most importantly, they’ll tell you when breakfast is:
La colazione - Breakfast
La colazione è dalle sette alle undici - Breakfast is from seven to eleven.
If you need to brush up on your Italian time telling skills, make sure you “check out” this post on how to tell the time in Italian.
After that, they’ll probably talk about your room:
La camera - The room
Which might be ready or not:
La camera è pronta - The room is ready
La camera non è pronta - The room isn’t ready
If it’s ready, they’ll give you the key:
La sua chiave - Your key
Which you can leave at reception when you check out:
Lasci la chiave alla reception - Leave the key at reception
And what time was the check out again?
A che ora è il checkout? - What time is the check-out?
Alle dieci - At 10:00am
So far, so good. But there’s one thing they might have forgotten…
What about the internet?
A funny thing about travelling in the modern era is how dependent we are on internet access. Knowing how to ask for the wifi in your hotel is therefore a must in Italian.
To simply ask if they have wifi say:
C’è il wifi? - Is there wifi?
And the key phrase, quite literally, that you’ll need next:
Qual è la password? - What’s the password?
You might notice that Italians are rather fond of borrowing English words. This is great news for Italian learners. You can add wifi and la password to il check in, to boost your hotel vocab instantly. Just remember to say them with an Italian accent.
If you have a problem connecting to the internet, you can say this:
Non si connette… - It doesn’t connect…
If that’s tricky to remember, there’s always the more direct:
Non funziona… - It doesn’t work…
This is a really useful way to explain if something’s not working in your hotel room, and in other travel situations:
Il wifi non funziona - The wifi doesn’t work
La macchinetta non funziona - The machine doesn’t work
Il mio telefono non funziona - My telephone doesn’t work
Now how many of these phrases for travel and accommodation do you think you can remember? Before attempting our mini quiz, here is a lightning fast review.
Italian for Tourists: Review
When you can’t find your way, you need to ask “where” something is:
Dov’è…? - Where is…?
Dov’è il centro? - Where’s the centre?
Dov’è il mercato? - Where’s the market?
Dov’è piazza Garibaldi? - Where’s Garibaldi Square?
Scusi, dov’è la stazione? - Excuse me, where’s the station?
And to say you’re lost it’s:
Mi sono persa/o - I’m lost (f/m)
But don’t worry, here are the words for some basic directions:
Dritto - Straight on
A sinistra - To the left
A destra - To the right
Di là - Over there
The main forms of public transport you’ll use are:
La metro - The metro
L’autobus - The bus
Il treno - The train
Il tram - The tram
Un taxi - A taxi
And remember these key places where you might find some of them:
La fermata della metro - The metro stop
La stazione degli autobus - The bus station
La stazione dei treni - The train station
Then, to buy tickets you’ll need these words:
Il biglietto - The ticket
La biglietteria - The ticket office
La biglietteria automatica - the ticket machine
Il tabaccaio - The newsagents (where you can also buy tickets)
Un biglietto per… - A ticket for…
Andata / Sola andata - One way (ticket)
Andata e ritorno - Return (ticket)
When you check in to your hotel you might hear these things:
Benvenuti - Welcome!
Firmi qui - Sign here
La colazione - Breakfast
La colazione è dalle sette alle undici - Breakfast is from 7 to 11
La camera - The room
Non è pronta - It’s not ready
La sua chiave - Your key
Lasci la chiave alla reception - Leave the key at reception
And finally to ask for the internet, you can use these phrases:
C’è il wi-fi? - Is there wifi?
Qual è la password? - What’s the password?
Non si connette… - It doesn’t connect…
Non funziona - It doesn’t work
All set? Now it’s time to head over to our quiz to test your knowledge!
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Vocabulary: 31 Phrases for Travel and Accommodation
Dov’è…? = where is…?
Il centro = the centre
La stazione = the station
Il treno = the train
L’autobus = the bus
La metro = the metro
La fermata = the stop
Il biglietto = the ticket
La biglietteria = the ticket office
Il tabaccaio = the newsagents
Andata/sola andata = one way (ticket)
Andata e ritorno = return (ticket)
Benvenuti! = welcome!
Firmi qui = sign here
La colazione = the breakfast
La camera = the room
La sua chiave = your key
C’è il wifi? = is there wifi?
Qual è la password? = what’s the password?
Non si connette = it doesn’t connect
Non funziona = it doesn’t work
Quiz: 31 Phrases for Travel and Accommodation
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: 31 Phrases for Travel and Accommodation
Flashcards: 31 Phrases for Travel and Accommodation
Remember the vocabulary from this lesson by downloading the digital flashcards
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
Transcript: Italian for Tourists: 31 Phrases for Travel and Accommodation
Please note, this is not a word for word transcript.
K: When I first went to Rome back in 2009, there were no smartphones. So I used an actual paper map to find my way around the city.
M: Yes, it’s very weird to think back to those times now!
K: I think in some ways, it was better for learning Italian, because you couldn’t just look stuff up online. If you got stuck you had to try and talk to the people around you.
M: But even now with google maps, you still have to ask sometimes. We live in Milan and tourists stop us sometimes with their smartphone in their hand, asking us for directions.
K: Yeah, that’s true actually. What questions do they ask?
M: Well they always start with the most important phrase: Dov’è…?
K: Where is…? Dove means “where” and è means “is”. Then we smush them together: dove plus è becomes dov’è. Remember to put the stress on the last bit. dov’È.
…
M: Dov’è (x3)
K: Let’s learn some more words. As you’re listening at home, if you already know these words, try to say them in the pause, and if you don’t, no worries! Say them with Matteo, trying to get your pronunciation as close to his as possible.
M: So you know how to say “where is”. Dov’è.
K: Then you can add whatever you want to find. For example, the centre, il centro. How would you ask “where’s the centre?”
…
M: Dov’è il centro? (x3)
K: You might be looking for the market, il mercato.
…
M: Dov’è il mercato? (x3)
K: Or a square, which we call piazza, for example Piazza Garibaldi is a common name for a square, named after Garibaldi, the general who unified Italy. Where’s Garibaldi square?
…
M: Dov’è Piazza Garibaldi?
K: Or you might be looking for a street. Streets are often called Via, so you might have Via Roma, literally “Rome Street”.
…
M: Dov’è via Roma?
K: Those words are particularly useful if you’re one to get lost. How would you say “I’m lost”?
…
M: Mi sono perso
K: That’s perso because Matteo is male, but I would say mi sono persa - as I’m female.
M: Mi sono perso
K: Mi sono persa
When you’re travelling in Italy you might take the metro:
…
M: La metro (x3)
K: Or the bus:
…
M: L’autobus (x3)
K: The train:
…
M: Il treno (x3)
K: The tram:
…
M: Il tram (x3)
K: Or a taxi:
…
M: Un taxi (x3)
K: Before you get a bus, train or take the metro, remember to buy your ticket!
…
M: Il biglietto (x3)
K: A lot of people make the mistake of saying biglietto with the English word “big”. The GL in Italian is a bit like a cross between Y and L. YL, YL. Think of it like: BI-YLEH-TO. BI - GLEH - TO. BI-YLEH-TO.
M: Biglietto
K: If you want to learn more about how to pronounce this sound, check out episode 5, how to pronounce gli, like in famiglia.
M: But for now, let’s keep talking about our biglietto.
K: On a train for example you might hear the conductor calling “tickets please”. That sounds like this:
…
M: Biglietti, per favore! (x3)
K: A quick cultural point to bear in mind here is that travelling in Italy can be quite different compared to other places, so here are a couple of tips to make sure everything goes smoothly.
M: In most places, you can’t buy bus or tram tickets onboard. You’ll need to buy them in a little shop called: il tabaccaio (x3)
K: These shops are often closed on Sundays, so it’s good to plan ahead! And if you’re taking a train, remember to stamp your ticket before you get onboard. You’ll usually see little machines for this in the main station, and close to the platform.
M: So then hopefully, you’ll find your way to the place where you’re staying.
K: Yes! There are a couple of useful phrases that are great to have to hand when you’re checking into a hotel or airbnb for example. Not only that, but trying to use some Italian will make the staff warm to you.
In a hotel they’ll often start by welcoming you.
M: Benvenuti (x3)
K: If they were welcoming Matteo, alone, they’d say
…
M: Benvenuto
K: If they were welcoming me, a female, they’d say
…
M: Benvenuta
K: They might then say: sign here
…
M: Firmi qui (x3)
K: Breakfast is:
…
M: La colazione (x3)
K: Breakfast is from 7 to 11 would be:
…
M: La colazione è dalle sette alle undici (x3)
K: And if you need to brush up on your Italian time telling skills, make sure you check out episode 31 on how to tell the time in Italian.
Next, the question we all need to ask these days: is there wifi?
…
M: C’è il wifi? (x3)
K: What’s the password?
…
M: Qual è la password? (x3)
K: For the room, we say:
…
M: La camera (x3)
K: That could be confusing because it sounds like something you’d take photos with… it’s related to the English word “chamber” - if that helps you remember!
M: La camera
K: Remember to put the stress on the first part CAmera
M: La camera
K: But if la camera isn’t ready, the concierge might say:
M: Non è pronta…
K: With luck though, they should have a room pronta, and then you’ll get your key:
…
M: La chiave (x3)
K: And if you heard this phrase, what do you think it could mean?
M: Lasci la chiave alla reception (x3)
K: Leave the key at the reception. That’s
M: Lasci - leave
la chiave - the key
alla - at the
reception - reception
K: So, now you know the Italian essentials of getting around and checking into your accommodation. Stay tuned for the next part of this series about Italian phrases for travel, where you’ll learn how to buy stuff in Italy.
Remember, if you want to see everything written down from this episode, and get bonus materials, like vocabulary cards and a quiz, head over to our website, italian.joyoflanguages.com/podcast and search for episode 98.
M - See you next time.
K - Or as we say in Italian.
Alla prossima!
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