Are you traveling through Italy? Do you need to get to the Colosseum? Are you taking art classes in Florence? If you’re in Italy and you want to enjoy getting around and exploring new places, get ready to ask for directions in Italian with this quick and easy guide. No need for maps or GPS if you can get a little help from locals and practice your Italian in the process. In this article, I’ll be going over direction phrases in Italian, and will teach you words like "right" in Italian and much more! Table of Contents On the Map: Cardinal Directions in Italian On the Road: Street Directions in Italian Directions in Italian Using Landmarks Italian Phrases for Asking (Politely) for Directions Must-know Italian Phrases for... Show more

When learning a new language, vocabulary is—almost—everything. That’s because when speaking with a foreigner in his or her language, people don’t usually mind if that person doesn’t talk with perfect grammar, and will understand them anyway. But if you don’t know an important word, communicating will be a problem. And nouns are the most important words of all. So, what are the Italian nouns you should learn while studying Italian? Check out our list here on ItalianPod101. But first, some information on Italian nouns’ gender! Table of Contents Italian Nouns: Masculine and Feminine The 100 Most Common Italian Nouns Learn Italian at Your Pace with ItalianPod101 1. Italian Nouns: Masculine and Feminine First... Show more

Why is it important to study the most useful Italian compliments? Nothing makes people feel more important, appreciated, and good about themselves than compliments. By complimenting a girl, a friend, or a chef for their very good food, you set out to a good start in any relationship. Not to mention that the occasional compliment is an indispensable part of polite conversations. First of all, let’s remember that the two most basic Italian compliments are bello/a ("beautiful," "nice" ) and bravo/a ("good," "able" ). We’ll see how they can be used in different ways, and how you can fare bella figura, or "make a good impression," using these common Italian compliments and praise words. Table of Contents Ciao bella! Complimenting... Show more

Why is it important to study Italian gender rules? Unlike in English, gender in Italian is the first characteristic of every noun. In Italian, everything has a gender, and you need to know which gender it is to use a noun with the correct article, adjective, or pronoun. When you search for a word in an Italian dictionary, you’ll always find the gender next to it (m/f). You won’t find a neutral gender for Italian names, but from day one of your Italian class, you’ll start hearing that everything has to "agree." This means that all parts of the phrase have to be in accordance with the word gender (and number). So, here we go with a simple grammar guide about the gender of nouns in Italian. Table of Contents What is Word Gender? ... Show more

Italians are known for expressing their emotions and for being passionate, a little loud, and definitely creative. So, it’s no surprise that when Italians get angry—and they do get angry a lot—they will have a passionate, loud, and creative way to express their feelings. We know that angry people tend to express themselves with profanities and insults, but we’ll avoid parolacce ("curse words" ) and will give you instead a totally acceptable list of common Italian angry phrases and expressions useful for any occasion. Let’s start with learning how to say "angry" in the Italian language. Table of Contents Sono arrabbiato! ("I am angry!" ) Angry Orders Angry Warnings in Italian Angry Questions and Blames in Italian Getting... Show more

Italian prepositions are like almost everything else in the Italian language: hard to understand at the beginning, but poetic and lovely to the ear. Well, with this comprehensive guide to prepositions in Italian by ItalianPod101, you’ll learn Italian prepositions in the blink of an eye. We’ll cover the basics of Italian prepositions and when to use them, using charts and examples so that understanding Italian prepositions has never been clearer. It’s Italian prepositions made easy! Table of Contents What is a Preposition? How to Use Italian Prepositions Main Italian Prepositions Main Prepositions + Article Learn Italian with Ease at ItalianPod101 1. What is a Preposition? But first, we must start with the basics: the... Show more

Being part of your family’s, friends’, and colleagues’ life events is important in having a loving and caring relationship with them. That’s why we at ItalianPod101 have listed the most important messages for life events in Italy: In this article, you’ll learn how to say Happy Birthday in Italian, Italian Christmas greetings, messages you can use in case of funerals or marriages, and much more. With our guide to life event messages in Italian culture, you’ll always know what to say. Table of Contents The Best Messages for Life Events in Italy Speak and Behave Like a Real Italian with ItalianPod101 1. The Best Messages for Life Events in Italy 1- How Do You Say Happy Birthday in Italian? Birthdays are very important for... Show more

Adjectives, in any language, are what we use to better describe what we’re talking about. They give color and meaning to our words. So, learning the top 100 Italian adjectives right away will help you quickly improve your conversation skills. If you check an Italian grammar book or website, you’ll find out that there are many types of them: Demonstratives: questo; quello — "this; that" Qualificatives: bello; brutto — "nice; ugly" Possessives: mio; tuo — "my; your" And there are many others! Try and memorize a big list of Italian adjectives and their opposites. Let's have fun with easy grammar lessons and exercises on how to use Italian adjectives with ItalianPod101.com. Andiamo! (Let’s go!) Table of Contents Italian... Show more

Without conjunctions, we would be talking like robots, putting together a sequence of detached sentences. You might not realize this, but conjunctions are a very important part of our language. They have the important job of coordinating and linking phrases. So, let’s discover and practice the most commonly used conjunctions in Italian (including coordinating conjunctions in Italian), because these little bricks in your sentences will help you connect your Italian phrases and make your Italian conversation flow. And this is exactly what you’ll need to speak Italian like a pro! (See how I used conjunctions to link the last three sentences?) :) As you can see, even the most simple Italian conjunctions can make a huge difference. But... Show more

Every culture in the world have their own customs and etiquette regarding the most important aspects of social life: from dining to celebrations, from greetings to traveling, and so on. For someone coming from a different culture, they can be hard to understand and adopt, but they’re indeed an important element in communicating with the local population and learning their culture. In order to help you with this, ItalianPod101 has written a guide to the Italian customs and etiquette. With our Italian etiquette tips under your belt, you have no reason to be nervous when an Italian friend invites you to dinner or when you’re going to travel to Italy for business reasons. Everyone will remember you as the educated, nice foreigner who... Show more