How to Ask for a Word in Italian

Learn how to ask for a word in Italian

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Italian by ItalianPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask how to say something in Italian.

For example, "How do you say "book" in Italian?" is

Come si dice "book" in italiano?

Isabella Russo is at a cafe doing a language exchange with her classmate, Federica Fontana.

It’s the Italian portion of the exchange, and she points at a book and asks what it's called in Italian.

Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

italiano

"Italian"

italiano

Italiano

Come si dice "book" in italiano?

Si dice "libro."

Once more with the English translation.

Come si dice "book" in italiano?

"How do you say "book" in Italian?"

Si dice "libro."

"You say "book."”

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Isabella asks,

"How do you say "book" in Italian?"

Come si dice "book" in italiano?

The standard way to ask for the meaning of a word in Italian follows a simple pattern.

First is come, translating as "How" in this context. Come. Come.

Next is si dice, “One says.” Si dice.

Si, roughly translating as "one,” as in "one says.” Si. si.

Next is the word, dice, "says," as in "one says." dice.

Dice is from the verb, dire, meaning "to say." Dire.

Together, Come si dice, “How one says,” but translates as, “how does one say.” Come si dice.

After this is the English word, "book."

Last is the phrase, in italiano, meaning "in Italian." In italiano.

First is, in, "in." In. In.

After this is, italiano, "Italian," as in "the Italian language." Italiano. Italiano.

Note, when the context is clear, you may omit in italiano.

All together, Come si dice "book" in italiano? means something like, "How one says "book" in Italian?" but translates as, "How does one say "book" in Italian?" and in more natural English, "How do you say "book" in Italian?"

Note the rising intonation of the sentence to mark that it's a question.

Come si dice "book" in italiano?

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Federica says,

“You say ‘book.’”

Si dice "libro."

First is the phrase, si dice, "one says," but translates here as "you say." Si dice.

After this is the answer to the question, libro, "Book." Libro. Libro.

All together Si dice "libro," means something like, "One says "book," but it translates as "You say ‘book.’”

Si dice "libro."

The pattern is:

Come si dice "ENGLISH WORD" in italiano?

How do you say "ENGLISH WORD" in Italian?

Come si dice "ENGLISH WORD" in italiano?

To use this pattern, simply replace the ENGLISH WORD placeholder with the word you want to know.

Imagine you want to know the Italian word for "pen."

Ask

"How do you say "pen" in Italian?"

Ready?

Come si dice "pen" in italiano?

“How do you say ‘pen’ in Italian?"

Come si dice "pen" in italiano?

This lesson introduces a grammatically complex, but commonly used, pattern: the impersonal form with si. Si is a gender-neutral, indefinite pronoun. The si-construction is used to express what people do in general, rather than point to a specific person.

The pattern is si plus a verb in the third person. The example used in the lesson was si dice, “one says.” Let’s quickly look at a few more examples.

Si chiama, “one calls,” as in “one calls it ‘a book.’”

Si mangia, “one eats,” as in “one eats a lot at Christmas.”

Si dorme, “one sleeps,” as in “one sleeps late on Saturday.”

Again, the pattern is

Come si dice "ENGLISH WORD" in italiano?

How do you say "ENGLISH WORD" in Italian?

Come si dice "ENGLISH WORD" in italiano?

Let’s look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Come si dice "book" in italiano?

"How do you say 'book’ in Italian?"

Si dice "libro."

Come si dice "book" in italiano?

Come si dice "pen" in italiano?

"How do you say 'pen’ in Italian?"

Si dice "penna."

Come si dice "pen" in italiano?

Come si dice "bag?"

"How do you say 'bag’?"

Si dice "borsa."

Come si dice "bag?"

Come si dice "pencil" in italiano?

"How do you say 'pencil’ in Italian?"

Si dice "matita."

Come si dice "pencil" in italiano?

Come si chiama questo?

"What do you call this?"

Si chiama “libro.”

Come si chiama questo?

Did you notice a different sentence pattern?

Come si chiama questo?

What do you call this? Come si chiama questo?

This means, "What does one call this?" but it translates as “What do you call this?”

To create this pattern,

Simply replace dice, "says," with chiama, "calls." Chiama. Chiama.

After this replace the English word “this” with questo. Questo. Questo.

Recall, in Italiano, in Italian, may be omitted if understood from context.

Come si chiama questo?

“What do you call this?”

Come si chiama questo?

This is a very useful pattern for using Italian to learn Italian.

Do you remember the response,

“You call it a book.”

Si chiama “libro.”

Again, simply replace dice, "says," with chiama, "calls." Chiama.

Si chiama “libro.” “You call book.” Si chiama “libro.”

Let’s review the key vocabulary.

Borsa.

"Bag."

Borsa. Borsa.

Penna, "pen."

Penna. Penna.

Matita, "pencil."

Matita. Matita.

Questo, "this."

Questo.Questo.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speakers, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "Italian?"

Italiano.

And how to say

"in Italian."

In italiano.

Do you remember how to say "how?"

Come.

Do you remember how to say "book?"

Libro.

Do you remember how Isabella asks,

"How do you say "book" in Italian?"

Come si dice "book" in italiano?

And do you remember how Federica says,

"You say "book."

Si dice "libro."

Do you remember how to say "this?"

Questo.

And how to say

“What do you call this?”

Come si chiama questo?

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Emily Erba, and you’re having a language-exchange lunch with Alessia Marino.

Now point to the pen and ask, "How do you say "pen" in Italian?"

Ready?

Come si dice "pen" in italiano?

Si dice "penna.

Listen again and repeat.

Come si dice "pen" in italiano?

Now you want to know the word for “bag.” Omit “in italian.”

Ready?

Come si dice "bag?"

Si dice "borsa."

Listen again and repeat.

Come si dice "bag?"

Let's try one more.

Imagine you’re Adam Russo, and you’re studying with your classmate. Point at a pencil and say “What do you call this?”

Ready?

Come si chiama questo?

Si chiama "matita”.

Listen again and repeat.

Come si chiama questo?

In this lesson, you learned how to ask how to say something in Italian. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of asking for clarification. Let’s review.

Do you remember the informal way to say,

“Excuse me.”

Scusa.

And how to say "repeat?"

Ripetere.

Do you remember how Isabella asks,

"Excuse me, can you repeat that?"

Remember she uses informal Italian.

Scusa, puoi ripetere?

Do you remember how to say, "slowly?"

Lentamente.

And how to say,

“Can you speak more slowly?”

Puoi parlare più lentamente?

Imagine You're Jack Jones , and you're meeting your fellow student Federica Fontana for the first time. She introduces herself, but you can't catch her name.

Respond to her introduction, and ask her to repeat it one more time.

Ready?

Piacere, sono Federica.

Scusi, può ripetere?

Listen again, and repeat.

Scusi, può ripetere?

On a different occasion you're doing a language exchange. In the Italian portion of it you want to know how to say pencil in Italian.

Ask Frederica Fontana how to say "pencil" in Italian.

Come si dice “pencil” in italiano?

Si dice “matita”.

Listen again, and repeat.

Come si dice “pencil” in italiano?

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Ask for Clarification unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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