Italian - Basic Phrases and Meanings

Italian Survival Phrases
Greetings
This is the first category in the essential phrases for travelers. Here are the greetings.
Salve! - Hello!
Pronto! - Hello! When you answer the phone
Ciao! - Hi! or bye, bye!
Buon giorno! -Good morning!
Buon pomeriggio - Good afternoon!
Buona sera! - Good evening!
Come sta? - How are you?
Come va? - How're you doing?
Ci sentiamo bene - We're feeling fine.
Grazie, va bene cosi - Thanks, just fine
Introductions
Another part of the essential phrases for travelers is the introduction. Here is a list of introductions in Italian along with the English counterpart.
Mi chiamo Michele - My name is Michael
Placere di conosceria - Pleased to meet you
Questa e mia moglie - This is my wife
Questo e mio marito - This is my husband
Come si chiama? - What is your name?
Di dov'e? - Where are you from?
Dove lavora? - Where do you work?
Che cosa studia? - What are you studying?
Lei abita qui? - Do you live here?
Siamo qui da una settimana - We've been here for a week
How to Ask Questions in Italian
Who is Carlo? Where is the bathroom? What time is it? Why do you run? How do you make pesto? This is a quick how to instruction on how to ask the right questions in Italian.
1. Questions asked beginning with a questioning word, the subject is usually placed at the end of the sentence. Example: Quando guarda la TV Michele? - When does Michael watch TV?
2. Chi? Means Who? Or Whom?
3. To ask Which (one) or Which (ones) use Quale? Or Quali? Plural
4. Che: means What? Or What kind of?
5. If you are asking about How much? Or How many? Use Quantro/a/i/e?
6. Come? Indicates How?
7. To ask Why? Us Perchae?
8. Quandro? (Che cosa e, cos'e) says in English What is...? In a request for a definition or an explanation.
9. Dove? means Where?
Here are a few tips when forming a question in Italian:
1. Che and cosa are abbreviated forms of che cosa. The forms are interchangeable.
2. As with all adjective, the questioning adjectives agrees in gender and number with the nouns they modify, except for che, which stays the same.
3. Prepositions such as a, di, con, and per always precede the questioning che. In Italian, a question will never end with a preposition.