Yesterday, I was eavesdropping on a conversation in an Italian bar (as I like to do) and I overheard someone say something that made me smile, including a very useful little word that Italians use all the time: “casino”.
It may not mean what you think it does as it’s quite different in English and Italian.
Learn what “casino” means and eavesdrop on an Italian conversation with us in episode 69 of 5 minute Italian.
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ll governo ci costa un sacco di soldi. E fa sempre casini. = The government costs us loads of money. And they’re always making a mess.
il governo = the government
ci = us
costa = costs
un sacco di = loads of
soldi = money
e = and
fa = makes
sempre = always
casini = messes
ho fatto un casino = I made a mess
non fare casini = don’t make a mess
che casino = what a mess
fare casino/casini = make a mess
casinò
un sacco di = loads of
un sacco di soldi = loads of money
un sacco di rumore = loads of noise
un sacco di cose = loads of things
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Please note, this is not a word for word transcript.
Katie: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti a 5 Minute Italian. I’m Katie
Matteo: And I’m Matteo, ciao!
K: Yesterday morning, I was drinking my usual morning caffè in the bar around the corner, when I overheard an Italian say something that was not only interesting and funny, but also had some mini Italian lessons in it.
M: The sentence was: ll governo ci costa un sacco di soldi. E fa sempre casini.
K: Let’s listen to the sentence again nice and slowly and see how much you can get from it:
M: ll governo ci costa un sacco di soldi. E fa sempre casini.
K: So the guy I was eavesdropping on was complaining about the government, and he said: “The government costs us loads of money. And they’re always making a mess”.
Literally:
M:
il governo = the government
ci = us
costa = costs
un sacco di = loads of
soldi = money
e = and
fa = makes
sempre = always
casini = messes
K: So there are a few interesting things in this sentence that we’ll come back to, but first I wanted to talk about the word “casino” which is a word that you’ll hear all the time in Italian and has a rather interesting history. When you hear the word “casino”, you might think of the English word “casino”. And they are related, but they’re not exactly the same.
M: In modern Italian, “casino” is a slang word for “mess”. It’s important to notice that the pronunciation is different too. In Italian, we say casino, which is pronounced as z.
Here are some examples:
Ho fatto un casino = I made a mess
Or
Non fare casini = don’t make a mess
K: Sometimes you’ll hear it in the singular “casino”, or the plural “casini”, like the guy in the bar. So what’s the relationship to the English “casino”, where people play blackjack? Well once upon a time, a casino was the name for gentlemens club, where men used to go and play cards. Overtime, probably because of the other things they got up to in gentlemen’s clubs, the word casino took on the meaning of “brothel”. And for a long time in Italy, until quite recently, “casino” was considered a swear word or curse word.
M: Nowadays, it’s not a curse word any more. It’s more just like slang and Italians use it all the time in informal situations.
K: You can say:
Che casino = what a mess.
Or you can use it with the word “fare” which means to make and say
Fare casino/casini = make a mess
And the meaning is actually broader than “mess” in English. You could also use it when someone is making lots of noise, or when they cause trouble.
So the next question: how do Italians say “casino” in the sense of the place you can go to play cards and bet money?
M: They say “casinò”, with the stress on the last ò. So to say “a mess”, you say “casino” and for the place where you play cards, you say “casinò”.
K: To finish off, let’s just look quickly at another couple of interesting things in the phrase I overheard. We had:
M: Il governo ci costa un sacco di soldi.
K: Ci costa is interesting, because “ci” means “us” and “costa” means “costs”. So we see here how Italians literally say “us, it costs”. You can find out more about this by going to episode 61.
M: Next, we have this lovely phrase “un sacco di”. It’s another example of Italian slang, that Italians use all the time.
K: It literally means: “a sack of”, but Italians use it to mean “loads”. For example:
M:
Un sacco di soldi = loads of money
Un sacco di rumore = loads of noise
Un sacco di cose = loads of things
And if you’re one of those people who learns best by seeing things written down (like most of us!) remember you can see all the words and phrases from today’s lesson by going to joyoflanguages.com/italianpodcast and scrolling down to episode 69. You’ll also find bonus materials like flashcards and a quiz to help you remember what you learnt. Don’t forget, you can also practice chatting with us in Italian in our Facebook group, by going to facebook.com/groups/5.minute.italian. You’ll also find the links in the show notes.
Ciao for now, see you next time or as we say in Italian,
M: Alla prossima!
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#61: Indirect Object Pronouns in Italian: The Ultimate Guide
What’s the difference between “da” and “per”? In English, they can both translate as “for”, but they’re not interchangeable in Italian. Find out more in episode 68 of 5 minute Italian.
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Da quanto tempo = how long
Da quanto tempo studi l’italiano? = how long have you been studying Italian for?
Da = since
Quanto = how much
Tempo = time
Studi = you study
l’italiano = the italian
Studio l’italiano da due anni = I’ve been studying Italian for two years
Studio = I study
L’italiano = the Italian
Da = since
Due = 2
Anni = years.
Studio l’italiano da due anni = I’ve been studying Italian for two years
Ho studiato l’italiano per due anni = I studied Italian for two years (but I don’t anymore).
Aspetto da 10 minuti = I’ve been waiting for 10 minutes
Ho aspettato per 10 minuti = I waited for 10 minutes (but I’m not waiting anymore).
How much did you learn? Find out in the 5-minute Italian quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: DA vs PER: What’s the difference?
Remember the vocabulary from your 5 Minute Italian lessons by downloading the digital flashcard pack.
Please note, this is not a word for word transcript.
Katie: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti a 5 Minute Italian. I’m Katie
Matteo: And I’m Matteo, ciao!
K: And in today’s lesson, we’re going to continue talking about “how long”. in the sense of “how long you’ve been doing something”, or “how long you did something for”. This week, we’re looking at the difference between “DA” and “PER”.
Let’s start with the question “how long have you been learning Italian?” This is an important phrase to learn, because when you get into conversations with Italians, one thing they’ll likely ask you is “how long have you been learning Italian?”. How would you say that in Italian?
M: If you listened to last week’s lesson, you’ll know that to ask this question, we start with “DA”.
K: Which is like saying “for” or “since”. To ask “how long”, Italians literally say “since how much time”.
M: Da quanto tempo.
Da = since
Quanto = how much
Tempo = time
K: So now we have our “how long” = da quanto tempo. To say “have you been studying”, it’s actually much simpler in Italian than in English.
M: Italians use the present. They say “since – how long – you – study – Italian”.
K: We know that how long is “da quanto tempo”, so how would you say “you study Italian”?
M: Studi l’italiano. Da quanto tempo studi l’italiano.
K: So let’s take that sentence again:
M:
Da = since
Quanto = how much
Tempo = time
Studi = you study
l’italiano = the italian
K: And to answer, how would you say “I’ve been studying Italian for two years”. Remember, in Italian, we just use the present tense, plus DA and the time period. Literally: “I study Italian since two years”.
M: Studio l’italiano da due anni
Studio = I study
L’italiano = the Italian
Da = since
Due = 2
Anni = years.
M: Now, I have a question for you: what’s the difference between these two sentences?
Studio – l’italiano – DA – due anni.
And
Ho – studiato – l’italiano – PER – due – anni.
K: In the first sentence, we’ve got the present tense – studio l’italiano (I study Italian). Then we have DA, followed by the time period, due anni (two years). In the second sentence, we’ve got the past tense – ho studiato l’italiano (I studied Italian). Then PER followed by the same time period, due anni (two years).
I’ll give you a clue. In one of these sentences, you studied Italian for two years at some point in the past, but you don’t anymore. In the other sentence, we’re talking about something that you are still doing, so you started studying Italian two years ago, and you’re still learning now.
M: Can you guess which one is which?
K: In the first sentence, the use of DA, shows us that you are still studying Italian. So this structure: present tense, plus da, plus the time period – studio l’italiano da due anni, shows us that you are still doing it. In the second sentence: past tense, plus per, plus the time period: ho studiato l’italiano per due anni, shows us that you did something for two years in the past, but now it’s finished. Let’s practice with another example. What’s the difference between these two sentences:
M:
Aspetto – DA – 10 – minuti
Ho – aspettato – PER – 10 – minuti
K: So in the first sentence we have:
M:
Aspetto = I wait
DA = since
10 minuti = ten minutes
K: Am I still waiting, or is the waiting finished? The present tense “aspetto” (I wait) plus DA, means that the action is still happening. I’ve been waiting for 10 minutes and I’m still waiting. Aspetto DA 10 minuti.
The other sentence was:
M:
Ho = I have
Aspettato = waited
PER = for
10 minuti = 10 minutes.
K: Here we have the past tense “ho aspettato” (I waited) plus “per”, which means that the action happened in the past. I waited for 10 minutes, but I’m not waiting anymore.
That’s it for today’s episode, remember that you can see all of these words and sentences written down by going to joyoflanguages.com/italianpodcast and scrolling down to episode 68. You’ll also get bonus materials like flashcards and a quiz to help you remember what you learnt. You can also practice chatting with us in Italian in our Facebook group, by going to facebook.com/groups/5.minute.italian. You’ll also find the link in the show notes.
Ciao for now, see you next time or as we say in Italian,
M: Alla prossima!
To get more 5 minute Italian, including lessons delivered to your inbox, access to the private Facebook group and invites to speaking workshops, click here to become a 5 Minute Italian member.
How long have you been learning Italian? How long have you been living where you live now? Questions and answers with “how long” are quite different in Italian compared to in English, but they’re actually quite simple when you know how. All you need is the little word “da”. Find out more in episode 67 of 5 minute Italian.
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Da quanto tempo vivi in Italia? = How long have you been living in Italy?
Da = since
quanto tempo = how much time
Vivi = you live
in Italia = in Italy
Da quanto tempo = how long have you…. (lit. since how much time)
Vivo in Italia da quasi 10 anni = I’ve been living in Italy for almost 10 years.
Vivo = I live
in Italia = in Italy
da = since
quasi = almost
dieci anni = ten years
E tu? = And you?
Ovviamente vivi in Italia da tutta la vita, più o meno = Obviously you’ve been living in Italy for your whole life, more or less.
Ovviamente = obviously
vivi = you live
in Italia = in Italy
da = since
tutta la vita = the whole life
più = more
o = or
meno = less
Ma da quanto tempo vivi a Milano? = But how long have you been living in Milan?
Ma = but
Da = since
Quanto tempo = how much time
Vivi = you live
A Milano = in Milan
Vivo a Milano da 8 anni = I’ve been living in Milan for 8 years.
Vivo = I live
a Milano = in Milan
Da = since
8 anni = eight years
Vivo IN Italia = I live in Italy (for countries)
Vivo A Milano = I live in Milan (a for cities)
How much did you learn? Find out in the 5-minute Italian quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: How long have you…? How to use “da” in Italian
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Please note, this is not a word for word transcript.
Katie: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti a 5 Minute Italian. I’m Katie
Matteo: And I’m Matteo, ciao!
K: And in today’s lesson, we’re going to learn how to talk about how long you’ve been doing something, using the word “da”. The good news is, it’s actually a lot simpler compared to English.
M: Let’s listen to the dialogue.
K: Cominciamo. Let’s start.
M: Da quanto tempo vivi in Italia?
K: Vivo in Italia da quasi 10 anni. E tu? Ovviamente vivi in Italia da tutta la vita, più o meno. Ma da quanto tempo vivi a Milano?
M: Vivo a Milano da 8 anni.
K: So the first question you heard was:
M: Da quanto tempo vivi in Italia?
K: How long have you been living in Italy? Word for word, that’s
Da = since
quanto tempo = how much time
Vivi = you live
in Italia = in Italy
K: So here we can see this structure that Italians use to ask about how long you’ve been doing something. They literally say “since how much time” (da quanto tempo) followed by the verb in the present tense. In this case “vivi”, which means “you live”.
If you need a little fresher on verbs in the present tense, you can go back and listen to episode #39. For now, let’s break down the rest of the conversation. I replied:
M: Vivo in Italia da quasi 10 anni.
K: I’ve been living in Italy for almost 10 years. Literally:
M:
Vivo = I live
in Italia = in Italy
da = since
quasi = almost
dieci anni = ten years
K: And here we can see the reply. To talk about how long you’ve been doing something in Italian, use “da” (since) plus the verb in the present tense. In this case “vivo” which means “I live”. So to say “I’ve been living in Italy for almost 10 years, we literally say “I live in Italy since 10 years”. Vivo in Italia, da 10 anni. Next, I said to Matteo.
M: E tu?
K: And you?
And I followed up my question with:
M: Ovviamente vivi in Italia da tutta la vita, più o meno.
K: Obviously you’ve been living in Italy for your whole life, more or less.
M:
Ovviamente = obviously
vivi = you live
in Italia = in Italy
da = since
tutta la vita = the whole life
più = more
o = or
meno = less
K: And here again, we hear this structure “da” + present tense. Vivi in Italia da tutta la vita. Literally, you live in Italy since your whole life. Next, you heard the question
M: Ma da quanto tempo vivi a Milano?
K: But how long have you been living in Milan?
M:
Ma = but
Da = since
Quanto tempo = how much time
Vivi = you live
A Milano = in Milan
K: And here we have the question again: how long have you…? Which in Italian is literally: “since how much time”. “Da quanto tempo…?” plus the present tense. Da quanto tempo vivi a Milano? And Matteo replied:
M: Vivo a Milano da 8 anni
K: I’ve been living in Milan for 8 years.
M:
Vivo = I live
a Milano = in Milan
Da = since
8 anni = eight years
K: Another nice example of this structure “da” plus the present tense. Vivo a Milano da otto anni. Literally: I live in Milan since 8 years. Vivo a Milano da 8 anni. In a moment, we’ll listen to the conversation again, but before we do, I’ll quickly chat about one more little detail.
Did you notice the difference between “Vivo IN Italia” (I live in Italy) and “vivo A Milano” (I live in Milan)?
M: This is because we use “in” for countries. Vivo in Francia (I live in France), vivo in Inghilterra (I live in England). But we use “A” for cities. Vivo A Parigi (I live in Paris), Vivo A Londra (I live in London.
Let’s listen to the conversation again.
M: Da quanto tempo vivi in Italia?
K: Vivo in Italia da quasi 10 anni. E tu? Ovviamente vivi in Italia da tutta la vita, più o meno. Ma da quanto tempo vivi a Milano?
M: Vivo a Milano da 8 anni.
K: Another example of when you could use this structure is:
M: Da quanto tempo studi l’italiano?
K: How long have you been studying Italian? And how would you answer?
M: Studio l’italiano da….
K: And then say how much time. So for example, to say “I’ve been studying Italian for 2 years”, you could say….”
M: Studio l’italiano da due anni.
K: Perfetto.
Before we go, we have some news. If you’ve been studying Italian for a little while now, but you still struggle with speaking, we have something for you. You’re invited to join our mini Italian conversation course. It’s completely free, and we’ll send you the first lesson as soon as you sign up. You’ll find the link in the show notes. We’d love to see you in there!
That’s it for today’s episode, ciao for now, see you next time or as we say in Italian,
M: Alla prossima!
To get more 5 minute Italian, including lessons delivered to your inbox, access to the private Facebook group and invites to speaking workshops, click here to become a 5 Minute Italian member.
Today we’re talking about two important words that people tend to forget about in Italian – lo and gli. Learn how to use them in this episode of 5 Minute Italian.
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Che cosa ti piace fare nel tuo tempo libero? = What do you like doing in your free time?
Che cosa = what
ti piace = you like
fare = to do
nel tuo tempo libero = in your free time?
Cucinare = Cooking
Spesso faccio gli spaghetti alla carbonara = Often I make “Spaghetti alla carbonara”, which is sometimes just called “Carbonara”.
Spesso = often
faccio = I make
gli spaghetti = the spaghetti
alla carbonara = carbonara style
E recentemente ho imparato come fare gli gnocchi a mano = And recently, I learned how to make gnocchi by hand, which is a type of pasta with potato in the dough.
E = and
recentemente = recently
ho = I have
imparato = learnt
come = how
fare = to make
gli gnocchi = the gnocchi
a mano = by hand
E mi piace viaggiare, prendere lo zaino e partire = And I like travelling, taking my backpack and setting off.
E = and
Mi piace = I like
Viaggiare = travelling
Prendere = taking
lo zaino = the backpack
e = and
partire = leaving
E tu? = And you? (What about you?)
Mi piace fare sport, soprattutto lo yoga = I like doing sport, especially yoga
Mi piace = I like
fare = doing
sport = sport
soprattutto = especially
lo yoga = the yoga
E imparare le lingue = And learning languages
In questo momento sto imparando lo spagnolo = At the moment, I’m learning Spanish.
E = and
Imparare = learning
le lingue = the languages
in = in
questo = this
momento = moment
sto imparando = I’m learning
lo spagnolo = the Spanish
Gli spaghetti = (the) spaghetti
Gli gnocchi = (the) gnocchi
Lo yoga = (the) yoga
Lo spagnolo = (the) Spanish
Lo stato = the state
Lo spazio = the space
Lo studente = the student
gli studenti = the students
Lo stomaco = the stomach
Lo sport = the sport
Gli stati = the states
Gli spazi = the spaces
Gli studenti = the students
Lo zaino = the backpack
Lo zucchero = the sugar
Lo zio = the uncle
Lo zoo = the zoo
Lo zenzero = the ginger
Gli zaini = the backpacks
Gli zii = the uncles
Gli zuccheri = the sugars
Lo gnomo = the gnome
Gli gnocchi = gnocchi
Lo yoga = the yoga
Lo yogurt = the yogurt
Gli yogurt = the yogurts
Gli ingredienti = the ingredients
Lo studente = the student
Gli studenti = the students
Lo zucchero = the sugar
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Please note, this is not a word for word transcript.
Katie: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti a 5 Minute Italian, I’m Katie.
M: And I’m Matteo. Ciao!
K: And today we’re going to get into how to say “the” in Italian. This week, with the ones that everyone forgets: “lo” and “gli”. Let’s listen to the dialogue.
M: Cominciamo.
K: Matteo, che cosa ti piace fare nel tuo tempo libero?
M: Cucinare. Spesso faccio gli spaghetti alla carbonara. E recentemente ho imparato come fare gli gnocchi a mano. E mi piace viaggiare, prendere lo zaino e partire.
E tu?
K: Mi piace fare sport, soprattutto lo yoga. E imparare le lingue. In questo momento sto imparando lo spagnolo.
K: So I first asked Matteo:
M: Che cosa ti piace fare nel tuo tempo libero?
K: What do you like doing in your free time?
M:
Che cosa = what
ti piace = you like
fare = to do
nel tuo tempo libero = in your free time?
K: And Matteo replied
M: Cucinare.
K: Cooking. Then you heard:
M: Spesso faccio gli spaghetti alla carbonara.
K: Often I make “Spaghetti alla carbonara”, which is sometimes just called “Carbonara”.
M: A dish which comes from Rome with eggs, pancetta, pepper and pecorino, which is a hard, salty Italian cheese.
K: And I can confirm that Matteo’s Carbonara is molto buona!
Word for word, that sentence was:
M:
Spesso = often
faccio = I make
gli spaghetti = the spaghetti
alla carbonara = carbonara style
Next, you heard:
M: E recentemente ho imparato come fare gli gnocchi a mano
K: And recently, I learned how to make gnocchi by hand, which is a type of pasta with potato in the dough.
Word for word:
E = and
recentemente = recently
ho = I have
imparato = learnt
come = how
fare = to make
gli gnocchi = the gnocchi
a mano = by hand
K: Next, Matteo said:
M: E mi piace viaggiare, prendere lo zaino e partire.
K: And I like travelling, taking my backpack and setting off.
M:
E = and
Mi piace = I like
Viaggiare = travelling
Prendere = taking
lo zaino = the backpack
e = and
partire = leaving
K: Then, Matteo asked:
M: E tu?
K: And you? What about you? And I said:
M: Mi piace fare sport, soprattutto lo yoga.
K: I like doing sport, especially yoga
M:
Mi piace = I like
fare = doing
sport = sport
soprattutto = especially
lo yoga = the yoga
K: Finally, I said:
M: E imparare le lingue.
K: And learning languages
M: In questo momento sto imparando lo spagnolo.
K: At the moment, I’m learning Spanish.
M:
E = and
Imparare = learning
Le lingue = the languages
In = in
questo = this
momento = moment
sto imparando = I’m learning
lo spagnolo = the Spanish
In this dialogue, we had lots of examples of “lo” and “gli”, which are ways to say “the” in Italian. Firstly, we can see that Italians use “the” more often than in English. For example, we heard “gli spaghetti” (spaghetti), “gli gnocchi” (gnocchi), “lo yoga” (yoga) and “lo spagnolo” (Spanish).
K: When do we use “lo”? And when do we use “gli”?
M: We know that with most masculine singular words, we use “il”, for example “il libro”. But there are some exceptions, when we use “lo”. For example:
We say “lo spagnolo”.
K: And it’s all because of the first sound of the word. We use “lo” when a masculine word starts with an “impure sound”. Italian has lots of vowels, which is why people say that it sounds so nice and musical. This means that they don’t like to smush too many consonants together. So if a word starts with s + consonant, we can’t say “il spagnolo”, because we’d have 3 consonants, l + s + p, which doesn’t sound right in Italian. So when we have words which start with “s + consonant”, like “p or t” we use “lo”. For example:
M:
Lo stato = the state
Lo spazio = the space
Lo studente = gli studenti
Lo stomaco = the stomach
Lo sport = the sport
K: And we use “gli” for these words in the plural form. For example:
M:
Gli stati = the states
Gli spazi = the spaces
Gli studenti = the students
Related episode: how to pronounce “gli” in Italian
K: We also use “lo” before masculine words which start with “z”, for the same reason. Let’s take the word “backpack” in Italian. Lo zaino. If we used “il zaino”, we’d have ilz, which sounds awkward in Italian. We need a vowel in there to make it smoother. So we say:
M: Lo zaino.
K: Other examples are:
M:
Lo zucchero = the sugar
Lo zio = the uncle
Lo zoo = the zoo
Lo zenzero = the ginger
K: And we use “gli” for these words in the plural.
M:
Gli zaini = the backpacks
Gli zii = the uncles
Gli zuccheri = the sugars
K: For the same reason, we use this for words that start with “gn” in Italian, and have the “gn” sound. Now these are not very common, so don’t worry too much about this one, but an example is.
M: Lo gnomo = the gnome.
K: And in the plural we have a word that’s more common:
M: Gli gnocchi = gnocchi.
K: Finally, we also follow this rule for words which start with “y”. Now the letter “y” doesn’t really exist in Italian, so this only happens for a couple of foreign import words. For example,
M:
Lo yoga = the yoga
Lo yogurt = the yogurt
K: In the plural, we’d have “gli” yogurt.
Finally, picking up from last week, remember that we also use “gli” for masculine plurals which start with a vowel, for example:
M: Gli ingredienti = the ingredients.
K: How can you learn all of these complex details? My advice for this is the same as last week – don’t stress too much about the logic, as it’s really hard to remember all this stuff while you’re speaking! The best way to learn them is by memorising the most common ones as phrases:
Lo studente, gli studenti, lo zucchero….
The more you listen to and practise speaking Italian, the more you’ll be able to generalise the rule to the less common ones.
Remember you can practise chatting in Italian with us in our 5 Minute Italian facebook group, follow the link in the show notes and we’ll let you in as soon as we see your request. We’d love to see you in there and chat in Italian with you. You can also get bonus materials, like a quiz, flashcards, and see all the phrases for today’s lesson written down by going to joyoflanguages.com/italianpodcast and scrolling down to episode 66. Or just follow the link in the show notes.
Ciao for now, see you next time or as we say in Italian,
M: Alla prossima!
To get more 5 minute Italian, including lessons delivered to your inbox, access to the private Facebook group and invites to speaking workshops, click here to become a 5 Minute Italian member.
How to pronounce “gli” in Italian
How to pronounce “gn” in Italian
Why is Italian food so tasty? In this lesson, Matteo reveals the very simple secret. You’ll also learn how to say “the” in Italian, before words which start with a vowel. Find out more in episode 65 of 5 minute Italian.
To remember what you learnt in today’s lesson, below you’ll find bonus materials including word lists, quizzes and flashcards. But first…
Learn to speak and understand Italian faster by joining the 5 minute Italian club! When you sign up, you’ll get:
If you’d like to join us, click here to become a member of 5 Minute Italian.
Gli italiani cucinano molto bene = Italians cook really well.
Qual è il vostro segreto? = What’s your secret?
Gli = the
italiani = Italians
cucinano = they cook
molto bene = very well
Qual è = which is
il vostro segreto = your secret
Gli ingredienti sono la chiave = Ingredients are the key.
Gli = the
ingredienti = ingredients
sono = are
la chiave = the key
Con ingredienti freschi, tutto è buono = With fresh ingredients, everything is tasty.
Con = with
ingredienti = ingredients
freschi = fresh
tutto = everything
è = is
buono = good or tasty
In Italia abbiamo molto sole = In Italy, we have lots of sun
In Italia = in Italy,
abbiamo = we have
molto sole = lots of sun
Quindi è facile trovare prodotti buoni come le olive, le arance ecc. = So it’s easy to find good produce like olives, oranges, etc.
quindi = so
è facile = it’s easy
trovare = to find
prodotti = produce
buoni = good
come = like
le olive = the olives
le arance = the oranges
ecc = etc
Poi, la presentazione è molto importante = Then, presentation is very important.
Poi = then
La presentazione = the presentation
è = is
molto importante = very important
Mangi prima con gli occhi = You eat first with the eyes.
Mangi = you eat
Prima = first
Con = with
Gli = the
Occhi = eyes
Poi con lo stomaco = Then with the stomach
poi = then
con = with
lo stomaco = the stomach
L’oliva = the olive
L’arancia = the orange
L’olio = the oil
Le olive = the olives
Le arance = the oranges
Gli italiani = the Italians
Gli ingredienti = the ingredients
Gli americani = the Americans
How much did you learn? Find out in the 5-minute Italian quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: How to say “the” in Italian: before a vowel
Remember the vocabulary from your 5 Minute Italian lessons by downloading the digital flashcard pack.
Please note, this is not a word for word transcript.
Katie: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti a 5 Minute Italian, I’m Katie.
M: And I’m Matteo. Ciao!
K: And today we’re going to continue learning how to say “the” in Italian. In this episode, we’re going to look at words which start with vowels. Let’s listen to the dialogue first.
M: Cominciamo. Let’s start.
K: Gli italiani cucinano molto bene. Qual è il vostro segreto?
M: Gli ingredienti sono la chiave. Con ingredienti freschi, tutto è buono. In Italia abbiamo molto sole, quindi è facile trovare prodotti buoni come le olive, le arance ecc.
K: Giusto.
M: Poi, la presentazione è molto importante. Mangi prima con gli occhi, poi con lo stomaco.
K: So I first asked Matteo:
M: Gli italiani cucinano molto bene. Qual è il vostro segreto?
K: Italians cook really well. What’s your secret? Word for word, that’s:
M:
Gli = the
italiani = Italians
cucinano = they cook
molto bene = very well
Qual è = which is
il vostro segreto = your secret
K: And Matteo’s answer was:
M: Gli ingredienti sono la chiave.
K: Ingredients are the key. Word for word, that’s
M:
Gli = the
ingredienti = ingredients
sono = are
la chiave = the key
K: Next, you heard:
M: Con ingredienti freschi, tutto è buono.
K: With fresh ingredients, everything is tasty. So that’s
M:
Con = with
ingredienti = ingredients
freschi = fresh
tutto = everything
è = is
buono = good or tasty
K: Next…
M: In Italia abbiamo molto sole
K: In Italy, we have lots of sun
M:
In Italia = in Italy,
abbiamo = we have
molto sole = lots of sun
K: next…
M: quindi è facile trovare prodotti buoni come le olive, le arance ecc.
K: so it’s easy to find good produce like olives, oranges, etc.
quindi = so
è facile = it’s easy
trovare = to find
prodotti = produce
buoni = good
come = like
le olive = the olives
le arance = the oranges
ecc = etc
K: Then, Matteo said:
M: Poi, la presentazione è molto importante.
K: Then, presentation is very important.
M:
Poi = then
La presentazione = the presentation
è = is
molto importante = very important
K: Finally, you heard Matteo say
M: Mangi prima con gli occhi
K: You eat first with the eyes. Word for word…
M:
Mangi = you eat
Prima = first
Con = with
Gli = the
Occhi = eyes
K: and….
M: poi con lo stomaco.
K: then with the stomach
M:
poi = then
con = with
lo stomaco = the stomach
K: In this conversation, we had lots of examples of words starting with vowels. For example: gli italiani, le olive and le arance. So what happens to the word “the” when it’s before a vowel? If the word is singular, it’s simple, just add “l”. For example, if “olive” is oliva in the singular, how would you say “the olive”?
M: L’oliva
K: And orange is “arancia”. So how would you say “the orange”?
M: l’arancia
K: Oliva and arancia are feminine words, but it’s the same for masculine words. For example, olio (oil). How would you say “the oil”?
M: L’olio
K: Next, let’s look at plurals. For feminine nouns, it’s simple, you just use the same word as we talked about in the last lesson “le”. So if I wanted to say “the olives”, what would I say?
M: Le olive
K: What about “the oranges”?
M: Le arance.
K: So far so good. There is just one part of this which is a bit tricky. It’s worth paying a lot of attention to because it feels irregular, which can cause people trouble right up to advanced levels. When you have a masculine plural that starts with a vowel, we don’t say “i”, as we do with other masculine plurals in Italian. Instead, we say “gli”. For example, in the conversation, we heard “the Italians”. Just a little reminder that in Italian, when we have a mixed group of men and women together, we still use the masculine plural = italiani. So how would you say “the Italians?”
M: Gli italiani
K: Ottimo. And we also heard “the ingredients” can you remember how Matteo said it?
M: Gli ingredienti
K: So now, I can hear you thinking – OK Katie, I get that for masculine plurals with vowels, you’re supposed to use “gli”. But how on earth am I supposed to remember all that information when I’m speaking? And you’re absolutely right, I remember thinking the same thing, and this is why it’s normal to make mistakes with this even at advanced levels. My tip is to start by memorising the most important ones that you’ll probably say quite often. For example:
M:
Gli italiani
Gli americani
Gli occhi
Once you get used to these, you’ll find it easier to generalise to less common words.
K: Finally, why did we say “lo stomaco” for the stomach? We’ll talk about that in the next episode!
So that’s it for today, remember you can practise chatting in Italian with us in our 5 Minute Italian facebook group, follow the link in the show notes and we’ll let you in as soon as we see your request. We’d love to see you in there and chat in Italian with you. You can also get bonus materials, like a quiz, flashcards, and see all the phrases for today’s lesson written down by going to joyoflanguages.com/italianpodcast and scrolling down to episode 65. Or just follow the link in the show notes.
Ciao for now, see you next time or as we say in Italian,
M: Alla prossima!
To get more 5 minute Italian, including lessons delivered to your inbox, access to the private Facebook group and invites to speaking workshops, click here to become a 5 Minute Italian member.
Do you know how to say “the” in Italian?
It’s a simple question, with a complicated answer.
There are actually 7 different ways to say “the” in Italian! One of the reasons people find them so tricky is that they try to learn them all together, which isn’t usually a good idea as it could make your brain explode.
Today, let’s start by reviewing the basics: il, la, i and le. We’ll show you using examples of the food we ate in Milan recently when we met up with one of our Italian teachers, Stefano. Find out more in episode 64 of 5 Minute Italian.
In our Facebook group, you’ll find the original conversation with Italian nibbles. You can watch the video here – click on join and we’ll let you in 🙂
To remember what you learnt in today’s lesson, below you’ll find bonus materials including word lists, quizzes and flashcards. But first…
Learn to speak and understand Italian faster by joining the 5 minute Italian club! When you sign up, you’ll get:
If you’d like to join us, click here to become a member of 5 Minute Italian.
il formaggio = (the) cheese
Mi piace il formaggio = I like (the) cheese
il prosciutto crudo = (the) Parma ham (a cured meat)
prosciutto = ham
crudo = raw
i pomodorini = (the) cherry tomatoes
il pomodorino = the cherry tomato
il grissino = the breadstick
i grissini = (the) breadsticks
La pancetta = (the) bacon
La mortadella = a type of Italian cold cut from Bologna.
La carota = (the) carrot.
Le carote = (the) carrots.
La mela = (the) apple.
Le mele = (the) apples.
How much did you learn? Find out in the 5-minute Italian quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: How to say “the” in Italian: il, i, la, le
Remember the vocabulary from your 5 Minute Italian lessons by downloading the digital flashcard pack.
Please note, this is not a word for word transcript.
Katie: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti a 5 Minute Italian, I’m Katie.
M: And I’m Matteo. Ciao!
K: And today, we’re going to talk about something that feels like it should be simple, but it’s actually not… all of the different ways to say “the” in Italian. But don’t worry, we’re going to break it down over the next few episodes so by the end it will be much clearer.
M: And we’re going to give you the examples by talking about some Italian food we ate recently when we met our friend Stefano.
K: Yes, I hope you’re not hungry! If you like, you can watch a video of the Italian conversation we had, with transcripts in our Facebook group, you’ll find the link in the show notes.
M: In the video, I’m explaining all the Italian food that we have on the table in front of us.
K: Sì. What was on the table? Let’s listen in Italian first.
M:
K: Alright, so we started with:
M: il formaggio
K: The cheese. One of the first things to notice here, is that Italians use the word “the” much more often than we would in English. In the video, Matteo sometimes omits “il” and “la”, because it’s a list, but generally, Italian words are sociable, they don’t like to hang around alone, so you almost never say a word like “formaggio” on its own. It’s usually “il formaggio”.
M: Per esempio: Mi piace il formaggio.
K: For example, I like cheese. In Italian, we say “il formaggio”. I like the cheese. And we see our first “the”, which is “il”. We use “il” to say “the” for masculine words. We know that Italian assigns gender to words – a word can either be masculine or feminine. And for this, I would say, don’t worry too much about logic – why a word is masculine or feminine – just remember that Italian has two groups of words. With the masculine group of words, you should use “il”. What else did we have on the table?
M: il prosciutto crudo.
K: Parma ham. Which is cured ham, that’s not cooked. In fact, prosciutto means ham, and crudo means raw, so Italians literally say “ham raw”. And it’s buonissimo.
M: Sì.
K: Poi, what else?
M: We also had “i pomodorini”
K: i pomodorini. Pomodorini literally means “little tomatoes”. We’d call them “cherry tomatoes” in the UK. And here, we have our first plural. The singular “il pomodorino” is masculine. And as a plural it becomes “i”. i pomodorini. You may also notice that the “o” at the end of the word becomes i: pomodorini.
M: We had another word like this on the table too.
K: Yes, I’ll tell you the singular word and we’ll see if you can guess the plural. So the word was breadsticks. For one breadstick, we say “il grissino”. So how would you turn this into a plural?
M: “i grissini”
K: Perfect. What else did we eat?
M: La pancetta.
K: Bacon. La pancetta. And here, we have our first example of a feminine word, which takes the word “la”. La pancetta.
K: This means that when you learn a new word, you should always learn its word for “the” too, so you know whether to say “il” or “la”. What else is on the table?
M: La mortadella
K: Another feminine word, la mortadella. What’s mortadella, Matteo?
M: It’s another type of Italian cold cut from Bologna. It’s cooked, made from pork, and sometimes comes with bits of pistacchios in it, which is my favourite.
K: Finally, what about feminine plurals? Well, we didn’t have any on the table, unfortunately, but we can give you a few examples: How about “la carota” (the carrot) which is feminine. What’s the plural?
M: Le carote.
K: With feminine plurals, we use “le”: Le carote. And the “a” at the end of the word becomes “e”. So carota becomes “carote”. Let’s try with “la mela” (the apple). How would you make it plural?
M: Le mele.
K: Perfetto. So that was a nice review of the basics, next week, we’ll explain a couple more ways. You can watch the video from today’s lesson and practise chatting in Italian with us in our 5 Minute Italian facebook group, follow the link in the show notes and we’ll let you in as soon as we see your request. We’d love to see you in there. You can also get bonus materials, like a quiz, flashcards, and see all the phrases for today’s lesson written down by going to joyoflanguages.com/italianpodcast and scrolling down to episode 64, or by following the link in the show notes.
Ciao for now, see you next time or as we say in Italian,
M: Alla prossima!
To get more 5 minute Italian, including lessons delivered to your inbox, access to the private Facebook group and invites to speaking workshops, click here to become a 5 Minute Italian member.
Do you know how to say “time” in Italian?
The word “time” can be translated in two different ways in Italian: tempo and volta.
But be careful – these can’t be used interchangeably. Learn the difference between tempo and volta in episode 63 of 5 Minute Italian.
To remember what you learnt in today’s lesson, below you’ll find bonus materials including word lists, quizzes and flashcards. But first…
Learn to speak and understand Italian faster by joining the 5 minute Italian club! When you sign up, you’ll get:
If you’d like to join us, click here to become a member of 5 Minute Italian.
il tempo vola = time flies
il tempo = time (literally: the time)
vola = flies
Non ho tempo = I don’t have time
Non ho = I don’t have (literally: not, I have)
tempo = time
Tutto il tempo
Tutto = all
il = the
tempo = time
Tempo è denaro = time is money
il tempo = time (“the” time)
è = is
denaro = money
il tempo è un’illusione = time is an illusion
il tempo = time (literally “the time”)
è = is
un’illusione = an illusion.
Una volta = one time/once
Una = one
Volta = time
Due volte = two times/twice
Due = two
Volte = times
La prossima volta = next time
La prossima = next (literally “the next”)
Volta = time
La scorsa volta = last time
La scorsa = the last
Volta = time
Ogni volta = every time
Ogni = every
Volta = time
Molte volte = many times
Molte = Many
Volte = times
How much did you learn? Find out in the 5-minute Italian quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: Tempo vs. Volta: How to say “time” in Italian
Remember the vocabulary from your 5 Minute Italian lessons by downloading the digital flashcard pack.
Please note, this is not a word for word transcript.
Katie: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti a 5 Minute Italian, I’m Katie.
M: And I’m Matteo. Ciao!
K: And today we’re going to talk about the words “tempo” and “volta” in Italian. Now, these can both be translated with the word “time” in English, but in Italian, they represent quite different concepts.
So what’s the difference between “tempo” and “volta”? Before we give you the answer, let’s listen to some example sentences to see if you can figure it out.
M: Yes, here’s a phrase with “tempo”. Il tempo vola.
il tempo = time (literally: the time)
vola = flies
K: Time flies. Any more?
M: Non ho tempo
Non ho = I don’t have
tempo = time
K: I don’t have time. Any more?
M: Tutto il tempo
Tutto = all
il = the
tempo = time
K: All the time
M: il tempo è denaro
il tempo = time (literally “the” time)
è = is
denaro = money
M: il tempo è un’illusione
il tempo = time (literally “the” time)
è = is
un’illusione = an illusion.
K: Time is an illusion.
K: Now let’s listen to phrases with “volta” and see if you can figure out the difference.
M: Una volta
Una = one
Volta = time
K: One time, or once
M: Due volte
Due = two
Volte = times
K: Two times, or twice. And here we see “volte”, which finishes with an “e”. This is the plural of “volta”, because we’re talking about “times”, something that happened more than once.
M: La prossima volta
La prossima = next (literally “the next”)
Volta = time
K: Next time. Any more?
M: La scorsa volta
La scorsa = the last
volta = time
K: Last time
M: Ogni volta
Ogni = every
Volta = time.
M: Molte volte
Molte = Many
Volte = times
K: Many times. And here we see “volte” again, because we’re using “volta” in the plural.
K: So can you guess the difference? Tempo refers to clock time, in the sense of a period of time. Or even in the scientific/philosophical sense of the word, as in “time” is an illusion.
Volta is “time” in the sense of a singular occasion, one time, two times, three times, every time, next time.
One good way to tell them apart, is that “tempo” as in “clock time” is almost always singular. There is only one “clock time”. It’s time in the sense of “time is on my side” in the Rolling Stones song.
K: Time is on my side
“Volta” as in occasion, can often be plural – we can have one time, two times: una volta, due volte etc. Like the “time” in the Cindy Lauper song “time after time”.
So that’s it for today, remember you can practise chatting in Italian with us in our 5 Minute Italian facebook group, follow the link in the show notes and we’ll let you in as soon as we see your request. We’d love to see you in there and chat in Italian with you. You can also get bonus materials, like a quiz, flashcards, and see all the phrases for today’s lesson written down by going to joyoflanguages.com/italianpodcast and scrolling down to episode 63. Or just follow the link in the show notes.
Ciao for now, see you next time or as we say in Italian,
M: Alla prossima!
To get more 5 minute Italian, including lessons delivered to your inbox, access to the private Facebook group and invites to speaking workshops, click here to become a 5 Minute Italian member.
Give it to me. I’ll buy it for you.
To say these sentences in Italian, you need a “double object pronoun”. Find out what they are and how to use them in episode 62 of 5 Minute Italian.
To remember what you learnt in today’s lesson, below you’ll find bonus materials including word lists, quizzes and flashcards. But first…
Learn to speak and understand Italian faster by joining the 5 minute Italian club! When you sign up, you’ll get:
If you’d like to join us, click here to become a member of 5 Minute Italian.
| Double Object Pronouns for masculine words
it = lo | Example |
| Me lo
(for me, it) | Me lo compri
You buy it for me (literally: for me, it, you buy) |
| Te lo
(for you, it) | Te lo compro
I buy it for you (literally: for you, it, I buy) |
| Glielo
(for him, it) (for her, it) (for them, it) (for you formal*, it) | Glielo compro
I buy it for him (literally: for him, it, I buy) I buy it for her (literally: for her, it, I buy) I buy it for them (literally: for them, it, I buy) I buy it for you* (literally: for you*, it, I buy) *The formal you, when speaking to people over 40-ish you don’t know very well or in formal situations like work, hotels and restaurants. |
| Ve lo
(for you plural*, it) | Ve lo compro
I buy it for you* (literally, for you plural, it, I buy) * the plural “you”, when speaking to two or more people. |
| Ce lo
(for us, it) | Ce lo compro
I buy it for us (literally, for us, it, I buy) |
| Double Object Pronouns
for feminine words it = la | Example |
| Me la
(for me, it) | Me la compri
You buy it for me (literally: for me, it, you buy) |
| Te la
(for you, it) | Te la compro
I buy it for you (literally: for you, it, I buy) |
| Gliela
(for him, it) (for her, it) (for them, it) (for you formal*, it) | Gliela compro
I buy it for him (literally: for him, it, I buy) I buy it for her (literally: for her, it, I buy) I buy it for them (literally: for them, it, I buy) I buy it for you* (literally: for you*, it, I buy) *The formal you, when speaking to people over 40-ish you don’t know very well or in formal situations like work, hotels and restaurants. |
| Ve la
(for you plural*, it) | Ve la compro
I buy it for you* (literally, for you all, it, I buy) * the plural “you”, when speaking to more than one person. |
| Ce la
(for us, it) | Ce la compro
I buy it for us (literally, for us, it, I buy) |
Quel libro, me lo compri? = That book, can you buy it for me? (literally: that book, for me, it, you buy?)
Quel =that
Libro = book
Me = for me
Lo = it
Compri = you buy
Compro = I buy
Lo compro = I buy it. Literally: it, I buy (For masculine things, like “il libro”)
La compro = I buy it. (la = for feminine things, like “la torta”)
Ti compro un libro = I buy a book for you (literally: for you, a buy a book)
Te lo compro = I buy it for you (literally: for you, it, I buy)
Me lo compri = You buy it for me (literally: for me, it, you buy)
Me la compri = You buy it for me (la = for feminine things, like “la torta”)
Me lo dai = You give it to me (literally: to me, it, you give)
Me la dai = You give it to me (la = for feminine things, like “la torta”)
Te lo compro = I buy it for you (literally: for you, it, I buy)
Te la compro = I buy it for you (la = for feminine things, like “la torta”)
Te lo do = I give it to you (literally: to you, it, I give)
Te la do = I give it to you (la = for feminine things, like “la torta”)
Glielo compro = I buy it for him/her/them/you formal (literally, for him/her/them/you formal, it, I buy)
Gliela compro = I buy it for him/her/them/you formal (la = for feminine things, like “la torta”)
Glielo do = I give it to him/her/them/you formal (literally, to him/her/them/you formal, it, I give)
Gliela do = I give it to him/her/them/you formal (la = for feminine things, like “la torta”)
Ce lo compro = I buy it for us (literally, for us, it, I buy)
Ce la compro = I buy it for us (for feminine things, like “la torta”)
Ve lo compro = I buy it for you all/both (literally: for you all/both, it, I buy)
Ve la compro = I buy it for you all/both (la = for feminine things, like “la torta”)
Ve lo do = I give it to you all/both (literally: to you all/both, it, I give)
Ve la do = I give it to you all/both (la = for feminine things, like “la torta”)
How much did you learn? Find out in the 5-minute Italian quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: Give it to me! Double Object Pronouns in Italian
Remember the vocabulary from your 5 Minute Italian lessons by downloading the digital flashcard pack.
Please note, this is not a word for word transcript.
Katie: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti a 5 Minute Italian, I’m Katie.
M: And I’m Matteo. Ciao!
K: Matteo, quel libro. Me lo compri?
M: OK
K: This is an example of a real sentence that I said to Matteo last week. That book, can you buy it for me?
M:
Quel =that
Libro = book
Me = for me
lo = it
compri = you buy
I wanted to buy a Chinese book for my trip, but it wouldn’t arrive in time, so I asked Matteo if he could get it for me because he has a subscription where he gets stuff delivered faster. And this sentence is the perfect example of what we’re going to learn about today. The “me lo” part.
The official name for these things is “double object pronouns”, but all you need to know is that it’s a combination of words that we use when we want to talk about buying something for someone (buy it for me), doing something for someone (do it for me), or giving something to someone (give it to me). Basically, if you’ve got something and someone in the sentence, you can use these double object pronouns. This will all become clear in this lesson, which is a little bit longer than usual, so that we can explain all the combinations. And you can see everything from this lesson written down by going to joyoflanguages.com/italianpodcast and scrolling down to episode 62.
So let’s start with “it” in Italian. If we’re talking about a masculine thing, with “il”, for example, “il libro”, then we use “lo”. I buy in Italian is…
M: Compro
K: In Italian, we say things backwards: “it, I buy”. So to say I buy it, when talking about a masculine word like book, we’d say:
M: Lo compro
K: If it was a feminine word, like “la torta”, it becomes “la”. So how would you say “I buy it” if you’re talking about something feminine, like a cake?
M: La compro
K: So far, so good. But what if you want to say “I buy it for you”? The “for you” part is what we call an indirect pronoun in Italian. If you feel a bit unsure about these, I’d recommend you go back and listen to the last episode 61 – Indirect Pronouns in Italian, the Ultimate Guide, because this will give you a really good foundation for the rest of this lesson. For now, let’s say that in Italian, to say “for you”, we say “ti”. And this goes at the beginning of the sentence. So for example, to say I buy a book for you, we say “for you, I buy a book”
M: Ti compro un libro.
K: But we don’t want to say “a book”. We want to say “it”. This means, instead of a book, we can say “lo”. And this is where things get a bit crazy in Italian. Because when we have “for you” (ti) and “it” (lo), in Italian, we combine them and we get:
M: Te lo compro.
K: Literally, for you, it, I buy. Or in plain English, I buy it for you. When we combine these indirect object pronouns like “ti” or “mi” with “lo”, the “i” becomes “e”. So it becomes “te lo”. “me lo” etc. To complicate matters further, if the “it” is feminine, like “la torta”, the cake, we say “te la”, “me la” etc.
Let’s practise. We’ll go through the main combinations with the words “comprare” (to buy) and “dare” (to give).
To say “you buy” we say “compri”.
K: If we want to say “you buy it for me”, we literally say: for me, it you buy. And we change “mi” to “me”.
M: Me lo compri
K: And if we’re talking about a feminine noun, like “la torta”?
M: Me la compri
K: You give is “dai”, spelt d-a-i. So how would you say “you give it to me?” (to me, it you give)
M: Me lo dai.
K: And if the thing is feminine, like “la torta”
M: Me la dai.
K: I buy is “compro”. For you is “ti”. Can you remember how to say “I buy it for you”? Literally, for you, I buy. Remember to change “ti” to “te”.
M: Te lo compro
K: For feminine words, like “la torta”?
M: Te la compro
K: I give is “do”. So how would you say “I give it to you” (to you, it I give)
M: Te lo do.
K: For feminine nouns?
M: Te la do.
K: Perfect. Now, I’ve got some bad news and some good news. The next one is a little complicated, but you can use it in loads of different situations, so once you learn it, you can use it all the time. To say “for him”, we say “gli”, spelt “g-l-i”. Pronounced by making a big smile and squashing the top of your tongue flat against the roof of your mouth, gli. Now, when we combine “for him” (gli) with “it” (lo) we add an e on the end of gli, so we get “g-l-i” = gli plus e. glie. Then we attach “lo” to the end.
M: glie lo
K: So to say “I buy it for him” (for him, it I buy”) we say:
M: Glielo compro.
K: If it’s feminine?
M: Gliela compro
K: And I give it to him?
M: Glielo do
K: If it’s feminine?
M: Gliela do.
K: I think this is probably one of the hardest words to pronounce and understand grammatically in the Italian language, so don’t worry if you find it tricky at first! With practice it will come. Now, that’s the complicated bit done. It’s about to get a lot simpler. Because in Italian, “glielo”, can be used for “him”, “her”, “them” and “you” in the formal address. You get 4-in-one. So to say “I buy it for her”, we say:
M: Glielo compro
K: I buy it for them?
M: Glielo compro
K: I buy it for you, if you’re talking to someone using formal address?
M: Glielo compro.
K: Now the feminine version, for words like “la torta”. I buy it for her
M: Gliela compro
K: I buy it for them?
M: Gliela compro.
K: I buy it for you (formal address?)
M: Gliela compro.
K: Let’s try now with I give (do). Talking about masculine things, like “il libro”.
K: I give it to her?
M: Glielo do
K: I give it to them?
M: Glielo do
K: I give it to you (formal)?
M: Glielo do.
K: And with feminine things, like “la torta”? I give it to her.
M: Gliela do
K: I give it to them?
M: Gliela do.
K: I give it to you formal?
M: Gliela do.
K: So we’re nearly there, just a couple more combos to go. To say “for us”, we say “ci”. In a double object pronoun, ci becomes “ce”. So how would you say “I buy it for us”?
M: Ce lo compro.
K: And if we’re talking about a feminine word, like “torta”?
M: Ce la compro
K: Finally, in Italian, we have a plural word for you, when we’re speaking to two or more people, a bit like saying “you both” or “you all”. To say, for you all or you both, we say “vi”. In a double object pronoun, this becomes “ve”. So how would you say “I buy it for you” to a group of two or more people?
M: Ve lo compro.
K: And if the thing is feminine, like “la torta”?
M: Ve la compro.
K: And what about “I give it to you”. Literally “to you plural, it, I give.
M: Ve lo do
K: And if it’s feminine, like “la torta”, we say:
K: Ve la do
Phew! We sweated today! Well done for getting to the end, and do bear in mind that this is one of the trickiest parts of Italian grammar, that causes people problems right up to advanced levels. So don’t worry at all if it feels confusing at first, it is complicated, it’s not you, it’s the grammar! Try to notice these combinations being used as much as you can, keep practising and over time it will come.
Remember, if you want to see these written down in a table, which I think is especially useful for today’s lesson, you can find these and get bonus materials by heading over to joyoflanguages.com/italianpodcast and scrolling down to episode 62. Or just follow the link in the show notes for this episode. You can also practice chatting in Italian with us in our 5 Minute Italian Facebook group – click on join and we’ll let you in as soon as we see your request. Ciao for now, see you next time or as we say in Italian,
M: Alla prossima!
To get more 5 minute Italian, including lessons delivered to your inbox, access to the private Facebook group and invites to speaking workshops, click here to become a 5 Minute Italian member.
#61: Indirect Object Pronouns in Italian: The Ultimate Guide
Gli, le, mi, ti….
These little words are everywhere in Italian and they can be a bit tricky – it’s not always easy to know what they mean and how to use them. Today’s lesson will clear up the mystery so that you can understand and use them yourself in conversation. Find out more in episode 61 of 5 Minute Italian.
To remember what you learnt in today’s lesson, below you’ll find bonus materials including word lists, quizzes and flashcards. But first…
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If you’d like to join us, click here to become a member of 5 Minute Italian.
| Object Pronoun | Example |
| Mi (to/for me) | Mi dai questo
You give this to me (literally: to me, you give this) Mi compri questo You buy this for me (literally: for me, you buy this) |
| Ti (to/for you) | Ti do questo
I give this to you (literally: to you, I give this) Ti compro questo I buy this for you (literally: for you, I buy this) |
| Vi (to/for you – plural)
Use “vi” when you speak to two or more people. | Vi do questo
I give this to you – plural (literally: to you, I give this) Vi compro questo I buy this for you – plural (literally: for you, I buy this) |
| Gli (to/for him)
Gli (to/for them) | Gli do questo
I give this to him/them (literally: to him/them, I give this) Gli compro questo I buy this for him/them (literally: for him/them, I buy this) |
| Le (to/for her) | Le do questo
I give this to her (literally: to her, I give this) Le compro questo I buy this for her (literally: for her, I buy this) |
| Ci (to/for us) | Ci dai questo
You give this to us (literally: to us, you give this) Ci compri questo You buy this for us (literally: for us, you buy this) |
Mi = to me/for me
Ti = to you/for you
Gli = to him/for him
Le = to her/for her
Ci = to us/for us
Vi = to you/for you (plural “you”, when speaking to two or more people)
Gli = to them/for them
Do = I give
Questo = this
Ti = to you/for you
Ti do questo = I give this to you
Compro questo = I buy this
Ti compro questo = I buy this for you
Vi = To you/for you (plural – when speaking to two or more people)
Vi do questo = I give this to you (plural)
Vi compro questo = I buy this for you (plural)
Gli = to him/for him
Gli do questo = I give this to him
Gli compro questo = I buy this for him
Gli = to them/for them
Gli do questo = I give this to them
Gli compro questo = I buy this for them
Le = to her/for her
Le do questo = I give this to her
Le compro questo = I buy this for her
Mi = to me/for me
Mi fai questo = you do this to me
Perché mi fai questo?! = Why are you doing this to me?
Perché = why
Mi = to me
Fai = you do
Questo = this
Ci = to us/for us
Ci fai questo = you do this to us
Perché ci fai questo? = Why are you doing this to us?
How much did you learn? Find out in the 5-minute Italian quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: Italian Object Pronouns – The Ultimate Guide (Quiz)
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Please note, this is not a word for word transcript.
Katie: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti a 5 Minute Italian, I’m Katie.
M: And I’m Matteo. Ciao!
K: Today, we’re going to reopen a big can of worms and talk about indirect object pronouns in Italian. If you’re thinking “a what now”, “indirect object pronoun” is just the name of those little words like “mi” “ti”, “gli” and “le” that you may see floating around. They can cause lots of problems when you’re learning Italian because it’s sometimes tricky to know where they come from and how to use them.
In today’s lesson, we’re going to go through them really clearly, step by step, so by the end, you’ll be able to recognise them and use them yourself in conversation. Remember, if you want to see these words written down and get bonus materials like quizzes, you can get the notes for this episode at joyoflanguages.com/italianpodcast and scroll to episode 61.
M: Comminciamo! Let’s start.
K: An indirect object pronoun in Italian is just a fancy way of saying “to someone” or “for someone”. So for example, if I say “I give this to you”. The “to you” bit would be the indirect object pronoun in Italian. Similarly, if we say “I buy this for you”, the “for you” bit would be the indirect object in Italian. The indirect object pronouns in Italian are:
Matteo:
Mi – to me/for me
Ti – to you/for you
Gli – to him/for him
Le – to her/for her
Ci – to us/for us
Vi – to you/for you (plural “you”, when speaking to two or more people)
Gli – to them/for them
K: You’ll find a table of these over on our website joyoflanguages.com/italianpodcast episode 61. For now, let’s practise using these in some sentences. How would you say “I give this to you” in Italian?
M: “I give” is “do”. “This” is “questo”. I give this is “do questo”.
K: Now, we need the “to you” bit. Can you remember how to say “to you” or “for you” in Italian?
M: Ti.
K: In Italian, we put this at the beginning of the sentence, so we literally say “to you” I give this. How would you say that?
M: Ti do questo.
K: Great. I buy this is “compro questo”. So how would you say “I buy this for you”? Literally “for you, I buy this”
M: Ti compro questo.
K: Next, in Italian we have the “you plural”, for when we speak to two or more people. It’s a bit like saying “to you both” or “to you all”. So to say “to you” or “for you” to two or more people, we say:
M: Vi.
K: So how would you say “I give you this” to two or more people? Literally, “to you, I give this”
M: Vi do questo
K: And how would you say “I buy this for you” to two or more people? Literally, “for you, I buy this”
M: Vi compro questo.
K: Now let’s try with “to him” can you remember how to say “to or for him” in Italian?
M: Gli.
K: So how would you say “I give him this”? Literally “to him, I give this”.
M: Gli do questo
K: I buy this we know is “compro questo”. So how would you say “I buy this for him” literally “for him, I buy this”
M: Gli compro questo.
K: Now let’s try with “them”. Can you remember how to say “to them” or “for them” in Italian? It’s actually the same as “to him” or “for him”
M: Gli
K: So how would you say “I give this to them”? (To them, I give this)
M: Gli do questo.
K: What about “I buy this for them”? (For them, I buy this)
M: Gli compro questo.
K: And how do you say “to her/for her”?
M: Le
K: So how would you say “I give her this”? Literally “to her, I give this”
M: Le do questo.
K: And what about “I buy this for her” (for her, I buy this)
M: Le compro questo.
K: And if you’d like more practise with “gli” and “le”, you can also go back and listen to episodes 56 – 58.
K: Next, we know that “to me” or “for me” is:
M: Mi
K: Same as in English, but spelt mi. You do is “fai”. So how would you say “you do this to me” in Italian? Literally “to me, you do this”.
M: Mi fai questo.
K: Great, and in Italian, a sentence you hear quite often is “perché mi fai questo?!” Which is “why are you doing this to me?” Literally:
M:
Perché = why
Mi = to me
Fai = you do
Questo = this
K: Finally, can you remember how to say “to us” or “for us” in Italian?
M: Ci
K: So how would you say “you do this to us?” (to us, you do this).
M: Ci fai questo.
K: And how would you say “Why are you doing this to us?” (why, to us, you do this)
M: Perché ci fai questo?
That’s it from us for now, to practise using what you learnt today, you can get bonus materials including transcripts, quizzes and flashcards by going to joyoflanguages.com/italianpodcast and scrolling down to episode 61. Or just follow the link in the show notes for this episode. You can also practice chatting in Italian with us in our 5 Minute Italian Facebook group – click on join and we’ll let you in as soon as we see your request. Ciao for now, see you next time or as we say in Italian,
M: Alla prossima!
To get more 5 minute Italian, including lessons delivered to your inbox, access to the private Facebook group and invites to speaking workshops, click here to become a 5 Minute Italian member.
#56: How to use gli in Italian (to him, for him)
Buon Anno! Happy New Year!
Are you feeling ready to learn Italian this year?
If so, this episode is for you. We’ve got a special extended interview with Italian teacher and language expert Stefano, who will give you tips on how to learn Italian, including how to:
Our conversation is in Italian too, so you can learn some in Italian and get some tips at the same time. If you’d like to read the conversation as you listen, below, you’ll find the transcript (+ other bonus materials).
To remember what you learnt in today’s lesson, below you’ll find bonus materials including word lists, quizzes and flashcards. But first…
Learn to speak and understand Italian faster by joining the 5 minute Italian club! When you sign up, you’ll get:
If you’d like to join us, click here to become a member of 5 Minute Italian.
See below for translations and a breakdown of each sentence/word
Buon 2019 a tutti! Oggi parliamo di cosa ci vuole per imparare bene l’italiano in questo nuovo anno appena iniziato. Innanzitutto, bisogna sapere ascoltare, per poi ripetere e imitare. Inoltre, ci vuole pazienza: meglio progredire piano e bene, che non rapidamente ma male. Infine, serve una forte motivazione: la nostra passione è il motore che può portarci lontano!
English Translation
Buon 2019 a tutti! Oggi parliamo di cosa ci vuole per imparare bene l’italiano in questo nuovo anno appena iniziato.
Happy 2019 to everyone! Today, we’re talking about what’s needed to learn Italian well in this new year (that’s) just begun.
Innanzitutto, bisogna sapere ascoltare, per poi ripetere e imitare.
First of all, it’s necessary to know how to listen in order to then repeat and imitate.
Inoltre, ci vuole pazienza: meglio progredire piano e bene, che non rapidamente ma male.
Furthermore, you need (it’s needed) patience. (It’s) better to progress slowly and well, rather than quickly but badly
Infine, serve una forte motivazione: la nostra passione è il motore che può portarci lontano!
In the end, you need (it’s needed) a strong motivation: our passion is the engine that can take us far!
Buon 2019 a tutti! = Happy 2019 everyone
Buon = good
A = to
Tutti = everyone
Oggi parliamo di cosa ci vuole per imparare bene l’italiano = Today, we’re talking about what’s needed to learn Italian well.
Oggi = today
Parliamo = we speak
Di = about
Cosa = what
Ci vuole = is needed
Per = in order to
Imparare = learn
Bene = well
l’italiano = Italian (literally “the Italian”)
In questo nuovo anno appena iniziato = In this new year (that’s) just begun.
In = in
Questo = this
Nuovo = new
Anno = Year
Appena = just
Iniziato = started
Innanzitutto, bisogna sapere ascoltare = First of all, it’s necessary to know how to listen
Innanzitutto = first of all
Bisogna = it’s needed/necessary
Sapere = know how to
Ascoltare = listen
Per poi ripetere e imitare = in order to then repeat and imitate.
Per = in order to
Poi = then
Ripetere = repeat
e = and
Imitare = imitate
Inoltre, ci vuole pazienza = Furthermore, you need patience
Inoltre = furthermore
Ci vuole = it’s needed
Pazienza = patience
Meglio progredire piano e bene, che non rapidamente ma male = It’s better to progress slowly and well, rather than quickly but badly.
Meglio = better
Progredire = progress
Piano = slowly
e = and
Bene = well
Che non = rather than
Rapidamente = quickly
Ma = but
Male = badly
Infine = in the end
Serve = it’s needed
Una forte = a strong
Motivazione = motivation
La nostra passione è il motore che può portarci lontano = our passion is the engine that can take us far
La = the
Nostra = our
Passione = passion
è = is
Il motore = the engine
Che = that
Può = can
Portare = take
Ci = us
Lontano = far
How much did you learn? Find out in the 5-minute Italian quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: How to learn Italian (tips from a polyglot)
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