イタリアを訪れる前に、観光客向けの 27 の基本的なイタリア語旅行フレーズを学びましょう!

一般的な考えに反して、旅行用のイタリア語を学ぶ最良の方法は、旅行用フレーズ集を最初から最後まで丸暗記することではなく、むしろ滞在中に役立ついくつかのキーフレーズをピックアップすることです。イタリア…そしてそれはあなたも実際に覚えているでしょう！

結局のところ、「Il Terminal A è per i voli internazionali」（ターミナル A は国際線用です）のような複雑な文や、「 il doganiere」（税関職員）のような非常に特殊な用語は、一度しか使用しないのであれば、学習する意味がありません。

この記事では、観光客がイタリアを訪れる前に覚えておくべき重要なイタリア語フレーズを 27 個厳選しました。なぜなら、それらは何度も出てくるからです。これらの一般的なフレーズを覚える努力をすれば、基本的なニーズについてイタリア人とより効果的にコミュニケーションできるようになるだけでなく、イタリアの文化や言語にも敬意を示すことができます。

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ボンジョルノ。
ブオナセラ。
チャオ。
アリーヴェデルチ。

どこからでも始める場合は、最も基本的なイタリア語の挨拶から始めましょう。この記事の内容をすべて忘れたとしても、フレンドリーな「こんにちは!」という言葉がきっと返ってきます。あなたの周りのイタリア人がより快適になり、感謝されていると感じるために大いに役立ちます。

使用できる最も丁寧な挨拶は次のとおりです。

これらの挨拶は、店主、ウェイター、その他サービスを提供する人など、知らない人に対して使用する必要があります。それぞれ「おはよう」「こんばんは」と訳されますが、英語で自然に「こんにちは」と言う場面でよく使われます。

別れを告げるとき、特にフォーマルな場では、arriverciという表現が最も安全なオプションです。

誰かをよく知っている場合は、誰もが好むカジュアルな挨拶ciaoに切り替えることができます。この言葉の興味深い点は、挨拶だけでなく別れの言葉としても使われることです。

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Parla inglese?
Mi scusi, non parlo italiano (molto bene).
Non capisco.
Come si dice ___ in italiano?

Let’s face it: if you are a complete beginner, you are eventually going to want to communicate with someone in English, especially if your needs are more complicated than a simple trip to the bagno (bathroom). The best way to politely ask if someone speaks English in Italian is:

Of course, you may not be the one to initiate the conversation, in which case you can respond to the person by saying:

Or you can simply tell the other person that you don’t understand.

If you’re keen on increasing your Italian vocabulary as you travel and interact with the locals, one phrase you simply cannot do without is:

Your new Italian friend will (hopefully) respond in the following manner:

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Può scriverlo per favore?

Sometimes verbal communication has its limits. This is why it is so important to be able to ask someone to write things down, especially if it’s important information such as an address or a telephone number.

The best way to ask this question in Italian is:

Another version you’ll often hear starts with Me lo, where me is a first-person pronoun (me in English). In this case, lo is no longer found at the end of the verb.

Of course, you can always replace “lo” (it) with the specific thing you’d like written down. For example:

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Dov’è ___?
Dove sono ___?
Come posso arrivare a/in ___?
Sto cercando ___.

One of the most essential Italian phrases every tourist needs to know is “Where is / are…?” After all, what could be more important than getting your bearings in a city that’s completely unfamiliar to you?

The singular version of this question is as follows:

And the plural equivalent is:

Once you’ve memorised this question, it is simply a matter of filling in the blank with the right noun. Here are a few common places people look for while travelling:

• i servizi (igienici) = the washroom (polite)
• il bagno = the washroom (less polite)
• la stazione = the station
• il museo = the museum
• la fermata dell’autobus = the bus stop

If you’re feeling brave, you could also inquire how to reach a certain place using the following phrase:

Admittedly, this phrase requires a little more knowledge of Italian grammar, as it contains two possible prepositions (a and in) and the preposition a (to) changes form depending on the gender or plurality of the noun that follows. For example:

• Come posso arrivare alla stazione? = How can I get to the station?
• Come posso arrivare al museo? = How can I get to the museum?
• Come posso arrivare in centro? = How can I get to the city centre?

That being said, you will be understood even if you mix up a and in, or if you use a on its own.

One final way of discovering the location of a place is by using the relatively simple expression:

If you want to go a step further, you can use the construction with the verb potere (can) and trovare (to find).

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Per favore.
Grazie (mille).
Prego.

Another way to endear yourself to the Italians you meet on your journey is to learn your “pleases” and “thank yous”.

We already encountered the expression per favore (please) in the phrase può scriverlo per favore, but here it is again on its own.

Thank you, on the other hand, is grazie – or grazie mille (thank you very much) if you wish to be more emphatic.

And if someone thanks you for something, the most straightforward way to respond is with the word Prego which means You’re welcome.

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Quanto costa?

Whether you are buying a train ticket or picking out a souvenir for your best friend back home, it’s important to know how much you will end up spending. The easiest way to inquire about the price of something is:

If you are referring to more than one thing however, such as multiple souvenirs, you will need to put the sentence into the plural. Don’t worry if you accidentally use the singular form – Italians will understand you perfectly either way!

If you need or want to add the object of your purchase to the phrase, you can use a noun accompanied by its definite article (il, lo, la etc.) or the demonstrative adjective questo/a (this).

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A che ora arriva / parte …?
Quanto tempo ci vuole per arrivare a …?

If you are planning to make your way around the country using public transport, a very useful question that is worth memorising is:

Some common types of public transport include:

• l’autobus = the bus
• il treno = the train
• il tram = the tram
• il traghetto = the ferry

And once you’re on your way, you may wish to ask how much time it will take to get to your destination. Once again, the preposition a (to) may change form depending on the noun that follows.

• a Roma = to Rome
• alla stazione = to the station
• al museo = to the museum
• all’aeroporto = to the airport

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C’è?
Ci sono?
C’è un/una/un’ ____ qui vicino?

Whenever I start to dabble in a new language, one of the first things I try to master are the constructions “there is” and “there are“. Why? Because they are amongst the most frequently used phrases in any language. The equivalent of “there is” in Italian is c’è whereas “there are” translates as ci sono.

C’è and ci sono can be used to form, not only a statement, but also a question in Italian.

An extremely common question you will hear is C’è un ___ qui vicino? which means “Is there a ___ nearby?“

Keep in mind, however, that un (which is the masculine indefinite article) may change to una if the object is feminine, un’ if the object is feminine and starts with a vowel, or uno if the object is a masculine noun and starts with s + consonant or z. For example:

• C’è un museo qui vicino? = Is there a museum nearby?
• C’è una stazione qui vicino? = Is there a station nearby?
• C’è un’automobile qui vicino? = Is there a car nearby?
• C’è uno zoo qui vicino? = Is there a zoo nearby?

That said, don’t get too hung up on the various forms of the indefinite article. You will be understood even if you make a mistake!

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Posso …
Può …
Vorrei …

Three additional terms I consider absolutely essential for travel around Italy are posso, può and vorrei. Let’s take a look at them one at a time.

Posso translates as either “I can…” as a statement or “Can/May I…?” as a question. It is very easy to use as it is always followed by the infinitive form of the verb (or in other words, the form found in the dictionary).

Può means “he/she/it can” but in a formal context, it also translates as “You can…” or “Can you…?“. We’d recommend using this form whenever you address someone you don’t know, such as a person on the street, a waiter or a shopkeeper.

Finally, we have the extremely useful word vorrei which means “I would like… / I’d like…“. It can be followed by infinitive verbs or nouns.

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Mi sono perso / persa.
Ho perso ___.
Aiuto!

Getting lost is never part of a traveller’s plan, but it happens, and it is important to be able to be able to seek help. The best way to do this is, first and foremost, to state that you are lost.

Adjectives in Italian have masculine, feminine and plural forms. In this case, perso is the masculine singular form of “lost” and persa is the feminine singular form.

The plural equivalent of this phrase would be:

Persi is the masculine plural form and perse is the feminine plural form.

If you lose one of your precious belongings, on the other hand, you can say:

Here are a few other things an unlucky traveller might end up losing:

• il bagaglio = luggage / suitcase
• la carta di credito = credit card
• gli occhiali = glasses
• il passaporto = passport
• il biglietto = ticket

Of course, if you’re in real trouble, you can always call out for help in the following way:

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Travelling around a foreign country like Italy is never easy when you don’t speak the lingo, but if you take a moment to memorise a few key travel phrases, we can guarantee that your trip will be far more relaxing and enjoyable than if you made no effort at all.

Are you about to take a trip to Italy? Which of these phrases have you managed to memorise so far? Let us know in the comments below!