Transcription
Hi, and welcome to my channel! As you can read from the title, this video is for very beginners. In this video, I'm going to tell you 12 phrases or sentences that will surely kickstart your Italian learning journey, okay? So let's start. I'm going to pronounce these sentences, and you will have the text right here, along with the translation in English.
"Ciao" is the most common way to greet someone, and you can say it both when you arrive and when you leave. So it's very different from English, for example. "Buongiorno" is one word; you have to write it as one word because it is one word: "buongiorno!" It means "Good morning," and you say "Buongiorno" when you wake up in the morning or when you have to greet someone you don't know very well, someone you're not very acquainted with.
"Arrivederci" is the formal greeting that you should use when you leave. It means "thank you." You can also say "grazie mille," which means "thank you very much." "Grazie mille." "Per favore" means "please." It's composed of two words: "per" and "favore."
Then we have: If you are, for example, visiting Italy and you need to ask for directions, you can approach someone and tell them: "Scusi, posso chiederle qualcosa?" In this context, it means "Excuse me, can I ask you something?" or "Can I ask you for directions?"
Next, we have "Come stai?" It means "How are you?" You ask "Come stai?" to your family and friends. If you want to be more formal, you say: "Come sta (Lei)?" That way, you're using the polite form in Italian. How do you answer this question? You say: "Bene, grazie." It means "I'm fine, thank you." It is polite not to answer "I am terrible," for example. You don't say that; you just say "Bene, grazie," even if it's not true [in a formal context].
In English, you say "I love you." In Italian, "I love you" can mean two different things. "Ti voglio bene" is used among family and friends, while "Ti amo" has a more passionate feel to it. So you would say that to your girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, or wife.
"Mi dispiace" means "I'm sorry." You could also say: "Scusa," which means "I'm sorry" as well. "Piacere" means "nice to meet you." If you want to use the formal/polite form, you have to say: "Piacere di conoscerLa," and therefore use the polite form in Italian.
So that was it! That was easy and painless, I hope! Thank you so much for watching this video! If you want more beginner videos, I have a playlist for you, which you can find in the info box below. So go ahead and have a look, and I'll see you in my next videos. Ciao!