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Language in use

Italian with friends and family

Making plans, inviting, congratulating, talking about your family: Italian for friendship, relationships and family life.

36 sentences · 3 dialogues · 18 words

Why this field

Many people learn Italian because of the people in their lives: friends from a holiday or an exchange, a partner, a family you get to know over Sunday lunch. What counts there is not perfect grammar but being able to join in.

The language among friends is faster and warmer than in a textbook. If you know the usual phrases — making plans, cancelling, congratulating, apologising — you can get into any conversation.

What you will be able to do

Goals by level. Tick what you can already do — the tick stays in this browser only.

Core vocabulary

18 words from the word lists, ordered by level. A coloured edge shows what you have already practised.

  • la famigliathe familyA1
  • i genitorithe parentsA1
  • il fratellothe brotherA1
  • la sorellathe sisterA1
  • il nonnothe grandfatherA1
  • la nonnathe grandmotherA1
  • l’amicothe friend (male)A1
  • l’amicathe friend (female)A1
  • il vicinothe neighbourA1
  • sposatomarriedA1
  • la festathe public holiday, the partyA1
  • avvisareto let somebody knowA2
  • rimandareto put offA2
  • il compleannothe birthdayB1
  • il regalothe presentB1
  • fidanzatoengagedB1
  • andare d’accordoto get on wellB1
  • litigare conto fall out withB1

Typical situations

Short dialogues to read along and repeat. Say one part first, then the other.

Family photos

A1

A friend is showing you photos of her family.

  1. Tim

    Chi è questo ragazzo?Who’s this boy?

  2. Sofia

    È mio fratello. Ha quindici anni.He’s my brother. He’s fifteen.

  3. Tim

    E la signora anziana?And the older lady?

  4. Sofia

    È mia nonna. Abita con i miei genitori.That’s my grandmother. She lives with my parents.

  5. Tim

    Che bella famiglia!What a lovely family!

  6. Sofia

    Grazie. Siamo in tanti, ma stiamo bene insieme.Thanks. There are lots of us, but we get on well.

Making plans

A2

You want to do something with a friend on Saturday.

  1. Laura

    Che fai sabato?What are you doing on Saturday?

  2. Ben

    Niente di speciale. Perché?Nothing special. Why?

  3. Laura

    C’è un concerto al parco. Ti va di andarci?There’s a concert in the park. Do you fancy going?

  4. Ben

    Certo! A che ora ci vediamo?Of course! What time shall we meet?

  5. Laura

    Alle sette davanti all’entrata del parco.At seven in front of the park entrance.

  6. Ben

    Perfetto. Se faccio tardi, ti scrivo.Perfect. If I’m running late, I’ll text you.

An apology

B1

You missed a dinner at a friend’s.

  1. Jonas

    Marta, mi dispiace tanto di non essere venuto alla tua cena.Marta, I’m really sorry I didn’t come to your dinner.

  2. Marta

    Non fa niente, ma ti abbiamo aspettato un bel po’.Never mind, but we waited for you for quite a while.

  3. Jonas

    Lo so. Ho avuto un problema al lavoro e non sono riuscito ad avvisarti.I know. I had a problem at work and couldn’t let you know.

  4. Marta

    La prossima volta mandami almeno un messaggio.Next time at least send me a message.

  5. Jonas

    Hai ragione. Ti offro un caffè per farmi perdonare?You’re right. Can I buy you a coffee to make it up to you?

  6. Marta

    Va bene, accetto. Ma anche il dolce lo paghi tu.All right, I accept. But you’re paying for dessert too.

Sentences to say aloud

The label says where a sentence belongs. The speaker next to it reads it aloud.

  1. Questa è mia sorella, Chiara.This is my sister, Chiara.

    A1neutral

  2. Ho due fratelli e una sorella.I have two brothers and a sister.

    A1neutral

  3. I miei genitori abitano a Monaco.My parents live in Munich.

    A1neutral

  4. Mia nonna ha novant’anni.My grandmother is ninety.

    A1neutral

  5. Sei sposato?Are you married?

    A1casual

  6. Ciao! Come stai?Hi! How are you?

    A1casual

  7. Bene, grazie, e tu?Fine, thanks, and you?

    A1casual

  8. Questo è Marco, un amico di Berlino.This is Marco, a friend from Berlin.

    A1neutral

  9. A domani, un bacio.See you tomorrow, love.

    A1close friends only Among friends and family a conversation or a message often ends with un bacio or baci — literally “a kiss”, “kisses”.

  10. Ci vediamo sabato per un aperitivo?Shall we meet on Saturday for an aperitivo?

    A2casual The early-evening aperitivo is a typical way of meeting up.

  11. Buon compleanno!Happy birthday!

    A2neutral

  12. Meglio alle nove, prima non posso.Better at nine, I can’t make it any earlier.

    A2casual

  13. Mi dispiace, devo rimandare la cena di domani.Sorry, I have to postpone tomorrow’s dinner.

    A2neutral

  14. Ti va di venire al cinema con noi?Do you fancy coming to the cinema with us?

    A2casual

  15. Il fine settimana siamo andati al mare con degli amici.At the weekend we went to the seaside with some friends.

    A2neutral

  16. Mio fratello ha avuto un bambino.My brother has had a baby.

    A2neutral

  17. Da piccola passavo l’estate dai nonni.As a child I used to spend the summer at my grandparents’.

    A2neutral Habits in the past take the imperfetto: passavo.

  18. Sabato c’è la festa di mia cugina.On Saturday it’s my cousin’s party.

    A2neutral

  19. Ieri abbiamo cenato tutti insieme dai miei genitori.Yesterday we all had dinner together at my parents’.

    A2neutral

  20. Com’è andato l’esame?How did the exam go?

    A2casual

  21. Il mio vicino mi ha innaffiato le piante.My neighbour has watered my plants.

    A2neutral

  22. Se arrivo tardi, ti avviso.If I’m late, I’ll let you know.

    A2neutral

  23. Mio fratello si sposa a giugno.My brother is getting married in June.

    B1neutral

  24. Fammi sapere quando arrivi.Let me know when you get there.

    B1close friends only

  25. Grazie mille per l’invito, mi sono divertita tantissimo.Thank you so much for inviting me, I had a wonderful time.

    B1neutral

  26. Mi manchi tanto.I miss you so much.

    B1close friends only mancare turns the perspective round: literally “you are missing to me”.

  27. Mi dispiace tanto di non essere potuto venire al tuo matrimonio.I’m so sorry I couldn’t come to your wedding.

    B1neutral

  28. Stiamo insieme da tre anni e andiamo molto d’accordo.We’ve been together for three years and we get on really well.

    B1neutral

  29. Sono contenta che il nuovo lavoro ti piaccia.I’m so glad you like your new job.

    B1neutral

  30. Speriamo di vederci presto.I hope we see each other soon.

    B1neutral

  31. Il compleanno di Luca è giovedì: gli facciamo un regalo insieme?Luca’s birthday is on Thursday: shall we get him a present together?

    B1neutral

  32. Abbiamo litigato per una sciocchezza, ma abbiamo già fatto pace.We argued about something silly, but we’ve already made up.

    B1neutral

  33. Se mi avessi avvisato, ti sarei venuto a prendere alla stazione.If you’d told me, I’d have come to pick you up from the station.

    B2neutral

  34. Non è che non voglia venire, è che sono distrutta.It’s not that I don’t want to come, it’s that I’m shattered.

    B2neutral

  35. Anche se a volte litighiamo, posso sempre contare su di lei.Even though we argue sometimes, I can always count on her.

    B2neutral

  36. Mi ha fatto molto piacere che ti fossi ricordato del mio compleanno.It meant a lot to me that you remembered my birthday.

    B2neutral

What matters here

Quick quiz

6 questions on the words and sentences of this field. The word questions count in your progress like any other exercise.

Try it yourself

Read the meaning, say the sentence aloud in Italian, then open it to compare.

  1. This is my sister, Chiara.

    Questa è mia sorella, Chiara.

  2. Shall we meet on Saturday for an aperitivo?

    Ci vediamo sabato per un aperitivo?

  3. Yesterday we all had dinner together at my parents’.

    Ieri abbiamo cenato tutti insieme dai miei genitori.

  4. We’ve been together for three years and we get on really well.

    Stiamo insieme da tre anni e andiamo molto d’accordo.

Keep learning

More fields

Every sentence on this page was written for EveryLingua. There are no quotations from films, series, books or songs here, and no titles or names of artists — the page shows how people talk in this field, not what somebody once said.