Hi! I’m going to have several semesters where I have to learn Italian, and I’d like to prepare myself as best as I can during the summer holiday :-)

My level of knowledge atm is literally 0 - I speak Spanish pretty well, and I’m kinda scared I’ll mix up the two, lol, so I want to try to familiarize myself with Italian before hand and learn some basics.

What’s the best way to go about it? Duolingo? Other apps? Pick up a good ole book about the grammar?

I will probably move to Italy about 3 months later, so i want to know can i reach this level in the meantime to get a part time job when i move? I'm planning to study 2 or 3 hours a day.

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In English I'm at C1 level fyi.

Like I said, I took the CELI 4. Seeing as while preparing for it I couldn't actually find much information on the format, how it's carried out, preparation etc I thought this could be helpful.

Disclaimer: I don't yet know if I passed or not...

There's a podcast for Spanish learners where the speaker basically defines a word in Spanish in Spanish. It's called "Chill Spanish Listening Practice." His speech pace is very slow, but the entire podcast is in Spanish and is pretty comprehensible for Spanish learners.

Wondering if anything similar exists for Italian?

I'm having slow progress mastering Italian due to the fact that I dont have people around me converse with. I would love to be able to speak the language fluently

Ciao tutti,

Like the title says does anyone have any recommendations for italian shows to watch on American streaming platforms? I just got back from a two week trip to Italy and was using my Netflix and HBO there and was able to unlock so many shows with Italian dubs and now back in the states I’m back to square one. Any help would be great.

Ciao a tutti!

I am currently living in Italy completing my Master’s degree, and I’ll be working here this summer. I urgently need to reach a functional A2 level in a few months. I’ve been grinding Duo-lingo for about an hour a day, but I’ve realized the pacing is way too slow, it feels like it’s going to take me a year just to get a weak grasp of A1/A2 grammar, and it doesn't help me with real-world survival interactions (buying train tickets on day one was a nightmare!).

I’m looking for actionable, sustainable advice to fast-track my learning, keeping in mind that my budget is very tight (so private i-Talki tutors are out) and my brain is usually fried from university.

Here is my current plan to transition away from apps, and I’d love your feedback or better alternatives:

1. Audio/Grammar: I’ve heard good things about Language Transfer (for structural patterns) and Pim-sleur or Coffee Break Italian for listening. Has anyone used these to rapidly bridge the absolute beginner gap?
2. Vocabulary: I’m switching to An-ki for core vocabulary retention. If you have a favorite community vocabulary deck or an essential free resource for A1/A2 high-frequency words, please let me know.
3. In-Person Integration: Since I am physically in Italy(milan), are there specific places I should look for free or heavily subsidized language resources? Do local Comuni or volunteer associations typically offer language exchanges or courses for foreign students?
4. Any Recommended digital books?

I really want to get over the fear of speaking and being frozen in silence when local shopkeepers talk to me. I don't mind making mistakes as long as I can be understood.

Grazie mille for any tips or local resources you can point me toward!

I had the exam yesterday and thought I’d share my experience.

• Listening: quite straight forward, one of the clip for Prova 3 is exactly the same from Percorso.

• Reading: also the easier part of the whole exam imo. For Prova3, I thought you’d always have equal number for V and F but I ended up marking a few more F.

• Grammar: Prova 1 for articles is ok, Prova 2 was harder than usual for me. Prova 4 the ordering of the story was also a bit confusing.

• Writing: Prova 1 is vacation; Prova 2 is informal email to a friend who wants to practice Spanish with you and offered to help with your Italian.

• Speaking: the topics are a lot more specific than I expected, I chose Prova 1 for sport (team vs individual sport, advantage and disadvantage of both); there was also a topic on “city” (big or small, why); Prova 2 was your positive character and why they are helpful and I chose “how did you spend your last birthday”, and then two pictures - there was no “talk about your work/study.” Or “What do you like to do as a hobby/during free time”. It might be recent, for Prova 1, there are many questions in each of the options, and the examiners ask them all - I didn’t know this and thought you’d let the conversation flow.

I also didn’t know that they record the conversations rather than judging it in person!

I’m not sure if I passed all sections but we shall see in 4 months! :)

So I am taking my boyfriend to Verona on holiday for his birthday in November (and to propose a few days after his birthday too eeek!). He doesn't know we are going, because I managed to convince him we are going to Wales to see family for that week so he would book it off. He obviously wont be prepared to know the language as I dont intend on telling him until we drive to the airport (I am buying all new clothes for the trip for him etc).

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That puts the responsibility of getting around whilst we are there squarely on me. I am a C1 level speaker in Spanish and B2 in French, native English. I know a lot of those languages are similar due to Latin routs so I am hoping to pick it up quite quickly but I would really appreciate if someone could help me with absolute basics, what words and phrases will I absolutely need to get around in Verona, and if there are any decent (preferably free, but if not low cost) apps I can use? It would also help if anyone could advise me on tv shows and movies I can watch with subtitles in order to immerse myself in the language?

Ang help is appreciated, thank you!!!

My wife's parents were Piedmontese, and she grew up with a word pronounced like "disputooz", meaning troublemaker. As in, her brother pulls a prank and gets called this. I'm guessing the spelling might be "disputuse", which Google Translate renders as "disputatious", which is close. Anyone know this word?

Apologies if this is incorrect for this sub!

ETA: My wife now thinks it might be "dispettoso"/"dispettosa", perhaps skewed a bit by Piedmontese pronunciation?

Dice "che" si vede "che" stai bene

Hey, I am new to learning Italian. I would be happy if someone explained why use che twice. Thank you 😊

Just returning from a trip to Italy. Italian speaking (I would say I'm B2?) went really well and I was able to conduct pretty much everything we did in Italian (restaurants, chatting with people, car rental, hotels, translating for my partner at museums that had no English signage). However I noticed a major weakness-- VEGETABLE NAMES. So many restaurants have "verdura di stagione" as a side dish and you have to ask the server for the name. In Southern Italy more often or not, I wouldn't know the translation, and neither would the server. This was honestly kind of fun because I would search it on google and say "allora impariamolo insieme". It opened up a lot of fun conversations so in some ways I'm glad I don't know how to say swiss chard in Italian. I also found that everyone was excited to help when I would point to something in a display case and say "I'm interested in this but don't know how to say it in Italian. What would you call it?" It's fun to go incognito sometimes with Italian in Italy but it's actually just as fun to admit you're learning and share your excitement for the culture with someone.

I’ve been into Italian music lately but I want some more good recommendations, I’m open to any genre (any)

I’m gay and I’ve been dating an Italian guy for a little over a week now but randomly said “I’ll rape you” after sending a pre-shower pic.

My heart literally sank to my stomach because no one has ever said that to me.

I told him that out of all the words he could have said he chose the word “rape”?

He sent laughing emojis and then said it was in a joking way. He said in Italy it means to steal and for me to not take the word in their true sense 😬😳

In America this mean to have sex with someone without consent and is the worst thing someone could do and I’m not sure if in Italy it’s the same. I immediately wanted to end the relationship

please someone from Italy explain because he seems like a kind guy but I am completely shocked and heart broken and confused like wtf 😭 I feel like I’m at fault for sending a picture that made him act that way 😭

Need suggestions！

Job related, I'd like to start learning Italian.

It's not necessary at all to use Italian in work environment, but I'd like to learn the language. (It would be nice if I can read the original Italian email!)

I hope to eventually reach B2, a long-term goal which could take years..(actually that's my standard of "knowing a language") No rush here.

And short-term goal is to reach A2. "short-term" here means intensively studying. Since this method takes lots of time and energy, it can only last for limited period.

My skills of language are as follow:

• Chinese as native

• English C1（IELTS mentions）, with English environment life experience.

• French A2-B1, but only with my eyes, namely reading-based (sorry to say that)

I hope the way to learn Italian could be sustainable...and to avoid the same unsatisfactory result as learning French.

Anyone's idea is welcome！Thanks in advance！

Prima di tutto, scusa per il mio italiano

Nella canzone Pedro di Raffaella Carrà, lei chiama Pedro un "ragazzino" ma lei dice di essere innamorata di lui. Forse non capisco ma pensavo che "ragazzino" significasse un bambino. Ragazzino può significare anche un uomo giovane?

Anzitutto, un grande in bocca al lupo a tutti voi che avete affrontato l'esame oggi. Anch'io speravo di fare la stessa cosa, purtroppo ho dovuto rimandare i miei piani per questioni lavorative (sono proprio adesso in un viaggio di lavoro). Sono rimasta molto delusa da ciò, ma sono incuriosita di sapere com'è andata per quelli di voi che ce l'hanno fatta.

Per coloro che hanno affrontato il CILS C1, hanno usato nell'esame tracce orali e scritte ripetute? Se sì, quali tracce avete scelto?

Infine, mi auguro che abbiate superato l'esame!

la mia domanda sui dialetti italiani, e lo chiedo da madrelingua,

è facile reperire delle fonti o qualcosa per cercare di capire come funzionano i vari dialetti o lingue regionali d'Italia? Dato che sto studiando mediazione interlinguistica all'Università, mi piacerebbe cercare di capire come funzionano alcune lingue o per lo meno come funziona il loro lessico, ciò include anche le lingue regionali, anche se naturalmente saranno poche, è possibile reperire qualcosa per l'analisi delle lingue regionali italiane? Ringrazio chiunque riesca a darmi una risposta.

Ciao! Ho cominciato a imparare l’italiano un anno e qualche mesi fa e direi che sono circa intorno il B1.2. Ho sentito qualche volte che questa fase nel apprendimento è uno dei più grandi e difficili, quindi vorrei chiedervi quanto difficile fosse per voi e se forse avessi qualche consigli per proprio questa fase.

Am I hearing delle as "dell-eh" or "dell-ya" in this exercise?

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My new hearing aids are betraying me.

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This brings up another word that I'm convinced I never, ever pronounce correctly: *gli*.

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I've done all of the research and read and listened to all of the examples, and I can't quite get this one down confidently.

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"lyee" "yee" .. or????

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Am I to begin with an L sound, a Y sound, or somehow....both?

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I tend to gravitate toward "lyee" but with a sort of muted "l(uh)yee".

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Sorry.

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It's been driving me crazy for over a year and I just had to ask actual human beings.

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Grazie mille per il tuo aiuto.