A lighthearted language guide filled with slang, swear words, and useful phrases for real-life conversations in Italy!
Whether you’re sipping espresso at a sidewalk café, toasting a pint of birra in the piazza, or cheering for Azzurri at lo Stadio Olimpico, sometimes you need to drop the textbook formality and chat with the locals in Italy’s everyday language. This guide helps you out with hundreds of translations including:
• What’s up? Che c’è?
• I’m so plastered. Sono demolito/a.
• Do you wanna cuddle? Vuoi coccolarci?
• Nice body! Che corpo!
• I’m friggin’ starving. Ho una fame da morti.
• Hey ref, you’re a moron! Arbitro cretino!
Also included are tips for travelers to help you pronounce words correctly, know your –ino from your –issimo, avoid looking like a tourist when you’re ordering food, and more.
Gabrielle Euvino is an adjunct professor at SUNY Empire and instructor at SUNY Ulster, where she teaches Italian Language and Culture. She has authored several books on learning Italian and is a professional translator and interpreter.