Basic Italian vocabulary words
[with Audio]

Welcome to this thematically-organized list of basic Italian vocabulary words.

To help your pronunciation, you can click on any of the Italian vocabulary words throughout this list to hear an audio recording.

I. Elementi Essenziali e Quotidiani (Core & Everyday Essentials)

1. Saluti e Frasi di Base (Greetings & Basic Phrases):

While "Ciao" is a friendly and common greeting, remember it's informal, suitable for friends, family, and younger people. In more formal situations, or when addressing strangers or elders, it's better to use "Buongiorno" (Good morning/day), "Buonasera" (Good afternoon/evening), and "Arrivederci" (Goodbye) to show respect.

2. Informazioni Personali e Presentazioni (Personal Information & Introductions):

In Italian, nouns are almost always preceded by an article (like 'the' or 'a' in English), such as 'il', 'la', 'un', or 'una'. These small words are very important as they indicate the gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) of the noun. Learning which article to use with each noun is a key part of mastering Italian vocabulary.

Pronomi (Pronouns)

The distinction between 'tu' (informal you) and 'Lei' (formal you) is crucial in Italian. Use 'tu' with friends, family, children, and people you know well. 'Lei' (always capitalized when referring to 'you' formally) is used to show respect when addressing strangers, older individuals, or in professional settings, and verbs are conjugated accordingly.

3. Numeri e Contare (Numbers & Counting):

Numeri Cardinali (Cardinal numbers)

Numeri Ordinali (Ordinal numbers)

Quantità (Quantities & Amounts)

Operazioni Matematiche di Base (Basic math operations)

4. Tempo e Calendario (Time & Calendar):

You'll notice that days of the week ("lunedì," "martedì," etc.) and months of the year ("gennaio," "febbraio," etc.) are listed in lowercase. In Italian, unlike English, these are generally not capitalized unless they appear at the very beginning of a sentence. This is a common convention to remember for writing.

Dire l'Ora (Telling time)

When telling time, note the verb agreement: "È l'una" (It's one o'clock) uses the singular "è" because "l'una (ora)" (the one hour) is singular. For all other hours, use the plural "sono": "Sono le due" (It's two o'clock), "Sono le tre" (It's three o'clock), because you're referring to multiple "ore" (hours).

Espressioni di Tempo (Time expressions)

5. Colori e Forme (Colors & Shapes):

Colori di Base (Basic colors)

Sfumature (Shades)

Forme di Base (Basic shapes)

II. Persone e Relazioni (People & Relationships)

6. Famiglia e Relazioni (Family & Relationships):

Famiglia Ristretta (Immediate family)

Famiglia Allargata (Extended family)

Stato Civile (Relationship status)

Termini di Amicizia (Friendship terms)

Pluralization of nouns: Italian nouns change their endings to form plurals, typically based on their gender and singular ending. Masculine nouns ending in -o usually change to -i (e.g., "figlio" to "figli"). Feminine nouns ending in -a typically change to -e (e.g., "figlia" to "figlie"). Nouns ending in -e often change to -i for both genders (e.g., "padre" to "padri").

7. Descrivere le Persone (Describing People):

Aspetto Fisico (Physical appearance)

Tratti della Personalità (Personality traits)

Fasce d'Età (Age groups)

8. Emozioni e Sentimenti (Emotions & Feelings):

Emozioni di Base (Basic emotions)

Stati d'Essere (States of being)

"Essere" vs. "Avere" for states of being: Unlike English, which often uses the verb 'to be' for physical states, Italian frequently uses 'avere' (to have). For instance, to say 'I am hungry,' you'd say 'Ho fame' (I have hunger), and for 'I am thirsty,' it's 'Ho sete' (I have thirst). Similarly, 'avere sonno' (to be sleepy) follows this pattern.

III. Intorno a Te: Luoghi e Cose (Around You: Places & Things)

9. Casa e Faccende Domestiche (Home & Household):

Tipi di Abitazione (Types of dwellings)

Stanze (Rooms)

Mobili (Furniture)

Oggetti ed Elettrodomestici (Household items & Appliances)

Faccende Domestiche (Household chores)

10. Città e Vita Urbana (City & Urban Life):

Luoghi in Città (Places in the city)

Edifici e Strutture (Buildings & Structures)

Servizi Pubblici (Public services)

11. Natura e Ambiente (Nature & Environment):

Forme del Territorio (Landforms)

Piante (Plants)

Elementi Naturali (Natural elements)

Termini Ambientali (Environmental terms)

12. Meteo e Clima (Weather & Climate):

Condizioni (Conditions)

Fenomeni Naturali (Natural phenomena)

Termini di Previsione (Forecasting terms)

13. Animali (Animals):

Animali Domestici (Pets)

Animali da Fattoria (Farm animals)

Animali Selvatici (Wild animals)

Insetti (Insects & Bugs)

Parti di Animali (Animal parts)

IV. Attività Quotidiane e Bisogni (Daily Activities & Needs)

14. Cibo e Bevande (Food & Drink):

Frutta (Fruits)

Verdura (Vegetables)

Carne e Pollame (Meats & Poultry)

Latticini e Cereali (Dairy & Grains)

Bevande (Beverages)

Pasti (Meals)

Termini di Cucina (Cooking terms)

Stoviglie e Posate (Tableware & Utensils)

Mangiare Fuori (Eating out)

15. Abbigliamento e Accessori (Clothing & Accessories):

Indumenti (Garments)

Calzature (Footwear)

Accessori (Accessories)

Descrivere l'Abbigliamento (Describing clothes)

16. Parti del Corpo e Salute (Body Parts & Health):

Parti Esterne del Corpo (External body parts)

Organi Interni (Internal organs)

Sensi (Senses)

Disturbi Comuni (Common ailments)

Termini Medici (Medical terms)

Igiene (Hygiene)

17. Shopping e Denaro (Shopping & Money):

Tipi di Negozi (Types of shops)

Azioni di Shopping (Shopping actions)

Denaro e Valuta (Money & Currency)

18. Trasporti e Viaggi (Transportation & Travel):

Mezzi di Trasporto (Modes of transport)

Terminologia di Viaggio (Travel terminology)

Indicazioni Stradali (Directions)

V. Lavoro, Studio e Tempo Libero (Work, Study & Leisure)

19. Lavoro e Professioni (Work & Professions):

Professioni (Job titles)

Vocabolario dell'Ufficio (Workplace vocabulary)

Strumenti e Attrezzature (Tools & Equipment)

20. Istruzione (Education):

Luoghi di Apprendimento (Places of learning)

Persone nell'Istruzione (People in education)

Materie Scolastiche (School subjects)

Termini Accademici (Academic terms)

Oggetti dell'Aula (Classroom objects)

21. Sport, Hobby e Tempo Libero (Sports, Hobbies & Leisure):

Sport Comuni (Common sports)

Hobby e Attività (Hobbies & Activities)

Attrezzatura (Equipment)

Luoghi per il Tempo Libero (Places for leisure)

22. Arte e Cultura (Arts & Culture):

Musica (Music)

Arti Visive (Visual Arts)

Arti Sceniche (Performing Arts)

Letteratura (Literature)

VI. Elementi Costitutivi della Lingua (Cruciali per Formare Frasi) (Language Building Blocks)

23. Verbi Comuni (Azioni e Stati) (Common Verbs - Actions & States):

Essere (Being)

Avere (Having)

Fare (Doing/Making)

Movimento (Movement)

Sensi (Senses)

Comunicazione (Communication)

Pensare/Sentire (Thinking/Feeling)

The verb "piacere" (to like) works differently than its English counterpart; it literally means "to be pleasing to." So, "Mi piace il gelato" translates to "Ice cream is pleasing to me." The item being liked is the subject of the verb, and the person who likes it is the indirect object (e.g., "mi" for "to me," "ti" for "to you").

Azioni Generali (General actions)

24. Aggettivi Comuni (Parole Descrittive) (Common Adjectives - Describing Words):

Gender and number agreement for adjectives: Many Italian adjectives change their endings because they must "agree" in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun they describe. For example, "un libro rosso" (a red book) becomes "una penna rossa" (a red pen), and "libri rossi" (red books) or "penne rosse" (red pens) in the plural.

Qualità (Qualities)

Dimensioni (Size/Dimension)

Condizione (Condition)

Velocità/Intensità (Speed/Intensity)

Opinione/Importanza (Opinion/Importance)

25. Avverbi Comuni (Modificano Verbi/Aggettivi) (Common Adverbs - Modifying Verbs/Adjectives):

Understanding Adverbs: Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, providing more information about how, when, where, or to what extent an action is performed or a quality exists. Many Italian adverbs are formed by adding "-mente" to the feminine singular form of an adjective (e.g., "lenta" (slow) becomes "lentamente" (slowly)).

Modo (Manner)

Frequenza (Frequency)

Grado (Degree)

Luogo (Place)

Tempo (Time)

26. Preposizioni e Congiunzioni (Parole di Collegamento) (Prepositions & Conjunctions - Connecting Words):

The importance of prepositions: Prepositions like "in," "a," "di," "su," and "per" are small words with a big impact, connecting words and showing relationships between them in a sentence. Their usage in Italian can be quite different from English, and they often don't have direct one-to-one translations. Mastering them is key to fluency and often requires memorizing their use in specific contexts.

Preposizioni di Luogo (Prepositions of place)

Preposizioni di Tempo (Prepositions of time)

Preposizioni di Moto (Prepositions of movement)

Congiunzioni (Conjunctions)

27. Parole Interrogative (Question Words):

Using "Cosa/Che cosa/Che" for "What": For "what," Italian offers "Cosa," "Che cosa," and "Che." While often interchangeable, "Che cosa" is perhaps the most complete form, and "Cosa" is a common shortening. "Che" can also mean "what" (e.g., "Che fai?" - What are you doing?), especially in informal speech or when it precedes a noun (e.g., "Che libro leggi?" - What book are you reading?).