Basic Italian Words & Phrases for Beginners

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Section 1

Greetings & Common Phrases (Frasi Comuni)

When it comes to learning Italian, there are simply some words and phrases you have to know. If you want to visit our Italian Hub page, click here.

Ciao

Hello / Hi

Come stai?

How are you?

Buongiorno

Good morning

Buonasera

Good evening

Buonanotte

Good night

A presto

See you soon

Mi chiamo…

My name is…

Sì, per favore

Yes, please

No, grazie

No, thank you

A volte

Sometimes

Mai

Never

Sempre

Always

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Section 2

Numbers (Numeri)

Learn how to count in Italian from 1 to 20:

1

Uno

One

2

Due

Two

3

Tre

Three

4

Quattro

Four

5

Cinque

Five

6

Sei

Six

7

Sette

Seven

8

Otto

Eight

9

Nove

Nine

10

Dieci

Ten

11

Undici

Eleven

12

Dodici

Twelve

13

Tredici

Thirteen

14

Quattordici

Fourteen

15

Quindici

Fifteen

16

Sedici

Sixteen

17

Diciassette

Seventeen

18

Diciotto

Eighteen

19

Diciannove

Nineteen

20

Venti

Twenty

Ordinal Numbers — In Order (Numeri Ordinali)

1stPrimo/a

2ndSecondo/a

3rdTerzo/a

4thQuarto/a

5thQuinto/a

6thSesto/a

7thSettimo/a

8thOttavo/a

9thNono/a

10thDecimo/a

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Section 3

Common Verbs (Verbi Comuni)

Verbs are the engine of every sentence. Here are 12 essential Italian verbs to get you started:

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Parlare

to speak

🍽

Mangiare

to eat

🥤

Bere

to drink

🔨

Fare

to do / to make

🚶

Camminare

to walk

👀

Vedere

to see / to watch

✨

Essere

to be

✏

Scrivere

to write

🤚

Avere

to have

🛍

Comprare

to buy

😴

Dormire

to sleep

💼

Lavorare

to work

🤔 Italian Verb Endings — Three Groups
Italian verbs fall into three groups based on their infinitive ending: -are (e.g., parlare, mangiare, camminare), -ere (e.g., vedere, scrivere, bere), and -ire (e.g., dormire).
The -are group is by far the largest — master those conjugations first and you’ll unlock the majority of Italian verbs!

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Section 4

Colors (Colori)

Rosso/a

Red

Arancione

Orange

Giallo/a

Yellow

Verde

Green

Blu / Azzurro

Blue

Viola

Purple

Nero/a

Black

Bianco/a

White

Grigio/a

Gray

Marrone

Brown

Chiaro/a

Light

Scuro/a

Dark

🧠 Grammar Note — Gender & Number Agreement:
In Italian, most colors agree with the noun in both gender and number. For example, “rosso” (m. sing.) becomes “rossa” (f. sing.), “rossi” (m. pl.), and “rosse” (f. pl.).
Some colors are invariable and never change: arancione, viola, and marrone stay the same regardless of gender or number.

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Section 5

Days, Weeks & Months (Giorni, Settimane e Mesi)

📆 Days of the Week

Lunedì

Monday

Martedì

Tuesday

Mercoledì

Wednesday

Giovedì

Thursday

Venerdì

Friday

Sabato

Saturday

Domenica

Sunday

⏰ Time Words

Giorno

Day

Settimana

Week

Mese

Month

Anno

Year

Decennio

Decade

📅 Months of the Year

Gennaio

January

Febbraio

February

Marzo

March

Aprile

April

Maggio

May

Giugno

June

Luglio

July

Agosto

August

Settembre

September

Ottobre

October

Novembre

November

Dicembre

December

💡 Spot the Pattern: Italian weekdays Monday–Friday all end in à (Lunedì, Martedì…), which helps them stand out at a glance. The months mirror English almost perfectly — both share Latin roots, so recognising them is nearly instant!

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