For a description of these phrases & more Italian language learning lessons, go to icebergproject.co Here are 11 Basic Expressions to Master in Italian including: 1.) Ciao bella. Ciao bello! – Hi there! Bye! 2.) Va bene! – Good. Okay. Agreed. Sounds good. 3.) Permesso! – Excuse me! Coming through! 4.) Grazie! – Thanks! Thank you! 5.) Prego! – You’re welcome! Please ( in the sense of ‘please come through’). 6.) Mi Scusi/Mi Scusa! – Excuse me! 7.) Arrivederci/Arrivederla! – Goodbye! 8.) Un pezzo di questo. – A piece of this. (while you point at some food) 9.) Mi sento… – I feel 10.) Mi dispiace. – I’m sorry. 11.) Mi piace…/Mi piacciono – I like

1. 13 HILARIOUS
& USEFUL
ITALIAN
EXPRESSIONS
BY CHER HALE

2. CHE PALLE
What a pity. (literally, ‘that’s balls’.)
Definitely don’t say this in a formal situation as you’ll get
rude and slightly shocked looks back

3. DU PALLE
What a bore. (literally, ‘two balls’.)
This is also pretty impolite.
You can also use ‘che noia’ or ‘che barba’ if you want to be
more polite

4. PREFERISCO
I prefer…
Ex: Preferisco il calcio al tennis.

5. STAI ZITTO
Be quiet

6. MI PIACE/MI
PIACCIONO
I like…
Grammar Note: You’ll use this one a lot. You use ‘mi piace’
when the thing that you like is singular like ‘book’ or a very
like ‘leggere’
• Ex: Mi piace leggere – I like reading
• Ex: Mi piace quel libro – I like that book
You’ll use ‘mi piacciono’ when the thing that you’re referring
to is plural, like ‘strawberries’ or ‘pants.’
• Ex: Mi piacciono le fragole
• Ex: Mi piacciono I tuoi pantaloni

7. CHE HAI/HA DETTO?
What did you say?
This is used when you didn’t hear something, and before that
you can say ‘Non ho sentito’, which means ‘I didn’t hear’.

8. MA CHE DICI?
What are you saying?
This is used to express astonishment at a topic being
discussed
• “Non le voglio piu bene perche la fronte e troppo grande.”
“Me che dici?!”

9. DOVO DEVO
SCENDERE
Where must I get off?
Devi/deve scendere all prossima. – You must get off at the
next stop
Grammar not: Scendere literally means ‘to get off’, but in
this case, it’s never used as a sexual innuendo. Just for
getting off and on transportation and going down steps or a
slope.

10. FA CAGARE (ALSO ‘FA
CAGA’)
That sucks!
This one is fun, too. It literally means ‘makes shit.’ You
should know that it’s pretty impolite

11. VIVO A LAS VEGAS
I live in Las Vegas
Grammar note: If you want to talk about a country or a state,
you would use ‘in’ instead of ‘a’.
• Ex: Vivo in California
• Ex: Vivo negli Stati Uniti. (Negli is the combined form of „in‟
and „gli‟.)

12. NON AVERE PELI
SULLA LINGUA
Don’t keep words back. (This literally means ‘to not have
hair on your tongue.)
It’s used as ‘non hai/ha peli sulla lingua’ to express ‘you
always speak your opinions feely and openly’.

13. ALLORA, COS’HAI
DECISO?
So, what did you decide?

14. FREQUENTO QUALCUNO (OR
STO FREQUENTANDO
QUALCUNO)
I’m seeing someone. (This literally means ‘I’m frequenting
someone’.)
It’s a great phase for all of those Italian men who will surely
be hitting on you the minute you step your gorgeous set of
heels onto the streets of Rome
• “Ciao bella. Come stai? Posso portarti fuori a cena?”
“Sto frequentando qualcuno”
*usually though, the Italian guy will say “Non me importa.
Andiamo fuori a cena. (I don‟t care. Let‟s go out to dinner.)

15. OH & HERE ARE 3 MORE
BECAUSE I LOVE YOU
Che ne pensi? – What do you think of it?
Mi prendi in giro – Are you making fun of me? (Literally
means ‘Are you taking me around?’)
• Another impolite form is „mi prendi per il culo?‟ I suggest you
WordReference „culo‟ before you go saying it all over Italy.
Non verdo l’ora – I can’t wait! (Literally means ‘I don’t see the
hour’.)
• It‟s used to express excitement about a future event.

16. WHERE TO FIND
MORE?
Visit http://icebergproject.co
Other articles you might like:
• 11 More Basic Useful Italian Expressions
• 11 Expressions You’d Never Learn in a Classroom
• 11 More Expressions You’d Never Learn in a Classroom

17. WHO AM I?
Cher Hale is an
instigator of adventure
and romance on her
blog The Iceberg
Project, where she
teaches women how to
charm Italians with their
own language and
chase their wanderlust.