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{{pagebanner|WV banner Italian phrasebook Venice Canal Grande.jpg|ftt=yes}}
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'''Italian''' (''italiano'') is the official language of [[Italy]] and [[San Marino]], and one of the four official languages of [[Switzerland]], spoken mainly in the cantons of [[Ticino]] and [[Grigioni]]. It is a co-official language in [[Istria]], a coastal region of [[Slovenia]] and [[Croatia]]. Furthermore, it is the
In most of the touristy resorts along Italy's coasts, English and German are widely spoken, but in any part of Italy, it will hold you in good stead to know at least basic phrases of polite Italian and not to assume that whoever you are speaking with will know your language.
Italian is the most important language in [[European classical music|classical music]], with most operas being written in Italian, and musical notation on scores being primarily in Italian. All musicians who play Western music are required to be familiar with Italian musical terminology, and it was ''de rigeur'' for European composers from the Renaissance to the first half of the 20th century to have at least some basic knowledge of Italian.
If you speak Spanish or even Portuguese, be careful as there are a lot of words that look and sound almost the same in these languages but convey very different meanings: for example, Spanish ''guardar'' ("to store, shelve") vs. Italian ''guardare'' ("to see, watch"), Spanish ''salir'' ("to get out") vs. Italian ''salire'' ("to go up") and Spanish ''caldo'' ("soup") vs. Italian ''caldo'' ("hot")▼
▲If you speak Spanish or even Portuguese, be careful as there are a lot of words that look and sound almost the same in these languages but convey very different meanings: for example, Spanish ''guardar'' ("to store, shelve") vs. Italian ''guardare'' ("to see, watch"), Spanish ''salir'' ("to get out") vs. Italian ''salire'' ("to go up"),
==Grammar==
===Nouns===
All Italian nouns are assigned one of two genders: masculine or feminine. Unlike in English, even inanimate objects are assigned a gender (e.g. ''tavolo'' [table] is masculine, ''casa'' [house] is feminine). The article before a noun depends on its gender:
===Adjectives===
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===Formal and familiar pronouns===
In Italian, you use the polite form of you ("lei") with all the people you don't know; it doesn't matter whether they are older or younger than you, unless they are children. You'll use the familiar form ("tu") with the people you know and with children. The two forms differ in that 2nd person singular verb forms are used for "tu" and 3rd person singular verb forms are used for "lei" (which can also mean "she").
===Addressing people===
The formal way to address a man you meet for the first time is ''signore'', while the equivalent when addressing a woman is ''signora''. ''Signorina'' may sometimes be used to address a very young, unmarried woman, but unless you are absolutely sure, it is best to default to ''signora''. The corresponding plurals are ''signori'' (all-male and mixed male and female groups) and, somewhat confusingly, ''signore'' (all-female groups). The Italian equivalent for the salutation "ladies and gentlemen" is thus "''signore e signori''". In informal situations, these terms are frequently dispensed with.
===Possessives===
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; b : like 'b' in "bed"
; c : like '
; d : like 'd' in "dog"
; f : like 'f' in "fear"
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; p : like 'p' in "spray"
; q : like 'q' in "quest" (always with "u" except in some Arabic loanwords)
; r : trill with the tip of the tongue just as in Spanish. A double r (rr) requires a stronger trill.
; s : like 's' in "gas", like 'z' in "lizard" when between vowels only in the North of Italy.
; t : like 't' in "stop"
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; ie : similar to "yeah"
; ii : identical vowels [stress on the first vowel "addii" (ahd-DEE-ee)]
; io : "EE-oh" like the 'eo' in "Leo"
; iu : like 'ew' in "few"
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; Hello. (''formal'') : Salve. (''SAHL-veh'')
; Hello. (''informal'') : Ciao. (''chow'')
; How are you? : Come stai? (''informal'')(''koh-meh
; Fine, thank you. : Bene, grazie. (''BEH-neh, GRAHT-tsyeh'')
; What is your name? : Come ti chiami? (''informal'')(''KOH-meh tee kee-AH-mee?''), Come si chiama? (''formal'')(''KOH-meh see kee-AH-mah?'')
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; Good night. : Buona notte. (''bwoh-nah NOHT-teh'')
; I don't understand. : Non capisco. (''nohn kah-PEES-koh'')
; Where are the restrooms? (public place) :
; Where is the bathroom? (someone's home) : Dov'è il bagno? (''doh-VEH eel BAHN-yoh'')
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===Numbers===
[[File:Milano metropolitana Garibaldi M2 indicazioni linee S.JPG|thumb|300px|Signage in the [[Milan]] Metro, showing local train lines passing Garibaldi station]]
Unlike English, Italian uses the long scale, so ''un bilione'' and ''un trilione'' are not the same as the English "one billion" and "one trillion".
; 1 : uno (''OO-noh'')
; 2 : due (''DOO-eh'')
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===Time===
; now : adesso (''ah-DEHSS-oh'') / ora (''OH-rah'')
; later : più tardi (''PYOO TAR-dee'') - dopo ("DOH-poh")
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====Clock time====
[[File:Piadena staz.jpg|thumb|
; one o'clock AM : l'una or l'una del mattino (''LOO-nah'')
; two o'clock AM : le due or le due del mattino (''leh DOO-eh'')
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; gray : grigio (''GREE-joh'')
; red : rosso (''ROHS-soh'')
; blue : blu (''bloo'') / azzurro (''ahd-DZOOHR-roh'')
; yellow : giallo (''JAHL-loh'')
; green : verde (''VEHR-deh'')
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; fish : il pesce (''eel PEH-sheh'')
; ham : il prosciutto (''eel proh-SHOOT-toh'')
; cured ham: il prosciutto crudo (''eel proh-SHOOT-toh CREW-doo'')
; sausage : salsiccia (''sahl-SEE-chah'')
; cheese : formaggio (''fohr-MAHD-joh'')
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; bread : pane (''PAH-neh'')
; toast : toast (''tohst'')
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; noodles : pasta (''PAHS-tah''), or there are a number of different kinds of noodles, such as linguine (''leen-GWEE-neh''), spaghetti (''spah-GET-tee''), tagliatelle (''tah-lyah-TEHL-leh''), fettuccine (''feht-too-CHEE-neh''), etc.
; rice : riso (''REE-zoh'')
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; May I have a cup of _____? : Posso avere una tazza di _____? (''POHS-soh ah-VEH-reh OO-nah TAHT-tsah dee...?'')
; May I have a bottle of _____? : Posso avere una bottiglia di _____? (''POHS-soh ah-VEH-reh OO-nah boht-TEE-lyah dee...?'')
; coffee : caffè (''kahf-FEH''). If you want coffee with milk, you need to say ''caffè latte''.
; tea (''drink'') : tè (''TEH'')
; juice : succo (''SOOK-koh'')
; water : acqua (''AHK-kwah'')
; bubbly water : acqua frizzante (''AHK-kwah free-DZAHN-teh'')
; milk : latte
; beer : birra (''beer-RAH'')
; red/white wine : vino rosso/bianco (''VEE-noh ROHS-soh/ BYAHN-koh'')
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; ...cold medicine. : ...medicina per il raffreddore. (''meh-dee-CHEE-nah pehr eel rahf-frehd-DOH-reh'')
; ...stomach medicine. : ...una medicina per lo stomaco. (''meh-dee-CHEE-nah pehr loh STOH-mah-koh'')
[[File:Corso Buenos Aires in Milan.jpg|thumb|300px|Corso Buenos Aires, one of the busiest shopping streets in Milan]]
; ...a razor. : ...un rasoio. (''oon rah-ZOH-yo'')
; ...an umbrella. : ...un ombrello. (''oon ohm-BREHL-loh'')
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