“With”, or con in Italian, is one of those little words that comes up all the time when you’re traveling around Italy.
Here, you’ll see how to use it in lots of everyday situations, like how to make sure your apartment comes with air conditioning (you might find you need it to survive the Italian summer!) or ordering your pizza with the toppings you like the most.
With for Eating Out
When you’re eating out in Italy, you might want to ask for changes to your order, like asking for certain pizza toppings, or asking to have a certain type of milk in your cappuccino.
Pizza Toppings
| Con funghi | With mushrooms | Kohn FOON-ghee |
| Con prosciutto | With ham | Kohn proh-SHOOT-toh |
| Con carciofi | With artichokes | Kohn kar-CHOH-fee |
| Con mozzarella di bufala | With buffalo mozzarella | Kohn mot-sa-REHL-lah dee BOO-fah-lah |
| Con rucola | With arugula / rocket | Kohn ROO-koh-lah |
| Con olive | With olives | Kohn oh-LEE-veh |
| Con peperoni | With bell peppers | Kohn peh-peh-ROH-nee |
| Con melanzane | With eggplants / aubergines | Kohn meh-lan-ZAH-neh |
| Con pomodorini | With cherry tomatoes | Kohn poh-moh-doh-REE-nee |
For example:
Vorrei una margherita con rucola. -I’d like a margherita with
rocket.
Per me una marinara con funghi. -I’d like a marinara with mushrooms.
If you want to learn more about different pizza types and useful phrases for ordering pizza in Italy, you can read our blogpost on order your favorite pizza in Italian .
Things to Ask for at the Bar or Café
| Con limone | With lemon | Kohn lee-MOH-neh |
| Con latte di soia | With soy milk | Kohn LAHT-teh dee SOY-ah |
| Con latte di avena | With oat milk | Kohn LAHT-teh dee AH-veh-nah |
| Con ghiaccio | With ice | Kohn GYAH-choh |
| Con schiuma | With (milk) foam | Kohn SKYOO-mah |
For example:
Per me una Coca cola con ghiaccio e limone. -For me a coke with ice and lemon.
È possibile avere un cappuccino con latte di avena? -Is it possible to have a cappuccino with oat milk?
In this video, you'll learn including the most common types coffee in Italy and the phrases you can use to order them.
With for Accommodation
You can use the word “with” in Italian to check that your B&B or albergo (hotel) have everything you need.
| Con cassaforte | With a safe | Kohn KAHS-sah-FOR-teh |
| Con balcone | With a balcony | Kohn bal-KOH-neh |
| Con vista mare | With a sea view | Kohn VEE-stah MAH-reh |
| Con ascensore | With an elevator | Kohn ah-shen-SOH-reh |
| Con centro benessere / spa | With a wellness center / spa | Kohn CHEN-troh beh-NEHS-seh-reh / spah |
| Con colazione inclusa | With breakfast included | Kohn koh-lah-TSYOH-neh een-KLOO-zah |
| Con palestra | With a gym | Kohn pah-LEH-strah |
| Con parcheggio | With parking | Kohn par-KEJ-joh |
| Con piscina | With a pool | Kohn pee-SHEE-nah |
| Con reception 24 ore | With 24-hour reception | Kohn reh-SEP-shon ven-tee-KWAHT-troh OH-reh |
| Con spiaggia privata | With a private beach | Kohn SPYAJ-jah pree-VAH-tah |
For example:
C’è una stanza con vista mare? -Is there a room with a sea view?
Cerco un appartamento con balcone -I’m looking for an apartment with a balcony.
C’è un hotel in centro con piscina. -There’s a hotel in the center with a pool.
How to Use “Con” With People
You can use con to talk about the people you're spending time with, like who you’re going out to dinner with, or who’s coming with you on your trip to Italy.
For example:
Vado in spiaggia con mia moglie. -I’m going to the beach with my wife.
Andiamo in Italia con alcuni amici. -We’re going to Italy with some friends.
Vai a cena con Katie? -Are you going to dinner with Katie?
Andate in pizzeria? Veniamo con voi! -Are you (plural) going to the pizzeria? We’ll come with you!
Or, if you want to say “with me” or “with you” you’d say:
Vuoi visitare Verona con me? -Do you want to visit Verona with me?
Vorrei andare in Sicilia con te. -I’d like to go to Sicily with you.
💡 Good to know: A common mistake is for students to think that saying “with you” should be con tu in Italian, but the correct way to say it is con te.
With in Italian: Everyday Examples You’ll Hear in Italy: Review
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With for Eating Out
You can use con + ingredient to order food and drink exactly as you like it.
For example:
Vorrei una margherita con rucola. = I’d like a margherita with rocket.
È possibile avere un cappuccino con latte di avena? -Is it possible to have a cappuccino with oat milk?
-
With for Accommodation
You can use con to check what your hotel or apartment includes.
For example:
C’è una stanza con vista mare? -Is there a room with a sea view?
Cerco un appartamento con balcone. -I’m looking for an apartment with a balcony.
-
You can use con to talk about the people you're spending time with.
For example:
Vado in spiaggia con mia moglie. -I’m going to the beach with my wife.
Vai a cena con Katie? -Are you going to dinner with Katie?
Or, if you want to say “with me” or “with you” you’d say:
Vuoi visitare Verona con me? -Do you want to visit Verona with me?
Vorrei andare in Sicilia con te. -I’d like to go to Sicily with you.
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to Learn Italian with Joy of Languages.
In today’s episode, you’ll learn ready-to-use phrases with con to help you order food, get around and book places to stay.
M: But before we get started, can we ask you a quick favore ? If you’re listening to this on your podcast app, could you click 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 we can keep making free lessons like this. Grazie !
K: So, starting with the first situation, you might be ordering a pizza in Italy and you want to ask for certain toppings.
M: For example, you might ask for una margherita con funghi. A margherita or (simple mozzarella pizza) with mushrooms. Una margherita con funghi.
K: So to say which topping you want, you can say con and then just add the Italian word for the food straight after.
M: And of course you can use con to ask for changes for other types of food, not just pizza. Like asking for un toast con prosciutto . A toasted sandwich with ham.
K: With ham, con prosciutto. And just as a fun little aside, Italians call a toasted sandwich, un toast. Spelt like toast, t-o-a-s-t, but pronounced “tost”. A toasted sandwich with ham:
M: Un toast con prosciutto (x2).
K: When you’re booking accommodation in Italy, you might also want to check that it has what you need. For example, if you’re planning a road trip around Italy, you’ll want to know if you can park your car at the hotel rather than trying to find space on a narrow side street.
M: You’d need the phrase: con parcheggio . With parking. Con parcheggio.
K: A hotel with parking:
M: Un hotel con parcheggio (x2)
K: Or if you go somewhere like Rome in the middle of summer, you might want to check that the room or apartment comes with air conditioning. With air conditioning is:
M: Con aria condizionata (x2)
K: An apartment with air conditioning
M: Un appartamento con aria condizionata (x2).
K: Lastly, if you’re traveling by train around Italy, you might want to check if it’s direct or with a change. To say with a change, we literally say “with change”:
M: Con cambio (x2)
K: A train with a change:
M: Un treno con cambio ( x2) .
K: A train with a change in Bologna. In Italian we say “a Bologna”
M: un treno con cambio a Bologna
M: Now that you’ve heard a few different phrases with the word con that you can use on your next trip to Italy, let’s see what you can remember.
K: How would you ask for a margherita with mushrooms?
[...]
M: Una margherita con funghi (x2)
K: And if you’re driving around Italy, how would you check your hotel has parking? “A hotel with parking”?
[...]
M: Un hotel con parcheggio (x2)
K: Lastly, if you’re getting the train in Italy, what would be the phrase for “a train with a change”?
[...]
M: Un treno con cambio (x2) . For example, un treno con cambio a Bologna, a train with a change in Bologna.
K: These were just a few of the phrases with con that you can use in Italy, but there are a lot more you might use on your trip.
M: Like phrases for getting your coffee order exactly how you want it, or checking if your apartment comes with a pool or balcony.
K: To find these phrases, just click the link in the description to head over to our website, or go to italian.joyoflanguages.com/podcast and search for episode 223.
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: With in Italian
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: With in Italian
Vocabulary
È possibile avere un cappuccino con latte di avena? = Is it possible to have a cappuccino with oat milk?
C’è una stanza con vista mare? = Is there a room with a sea view?
Andiamo in Italia con alcuni amici = We’re going to Italy with some friends
Andate in pizzeria? Veniamo con voi! = Are you (plural) going to the pizzeria? We’ll come with you!
Vuoi visitare Verona con me? = Do you want to visit Verona with me?
Una margherita con funghi = A margherita with mushrooms
Un toast con prosciutto = A toasted sandwich with ham
Un hotel con parcheggio = A hotel with parking
Un appartamento con aria condizionata = An apartment with air conditioning
Un treno con cambio a Bologna = A train with a change in Bologna
