Handy Italian words for speaking at dinner in restaurants, and reading menus

Flag of Italy.

The three colours of the Italian flag, green white and orange, are used in a starter in restaurants, called the tricolore meaning the three colours. Green could be vegeble or salad. White could be cheese. Red could be tomato.

 Italian - English

a noi non piace

anatra - duck

bianco - white

carote - carrots

dieta - diet

dopo - after

e - and

ecco - see / look / here you are (giving or showing something)

felici - happy

frutti - fruit

frutti

funghi - mushroom(s) (think of fungus. In English we say mushroom omelette, but you receive more than one mushroom. The Italian uses the plural, ending in i). 

grazie - thank you (think of grateful)

ho bisogno di - I need

incidente - accident

insalata - salad

lei - she

lui vuole - he wants

mi scusi - excuse me

molto - much / very

molto gentili - very kind

nero - black

opzioni - options

pepe - pepper

pesce - fish

(il) petto - breast (eg of chicken, or chest in hospital)

pollo - chicken

prego - (in answer to grazie) you're welcome / not at all

rosso - red

salmone - salmon

segno - sign

(in) segreto - a secret

signore - sir

sono - I am

sono a dieta - I am on a diet

subito - straight away

troppo - too much

tonno - tuna

verde - green

vino - wine

vino bianco - white wine (For wine to drink, or white wine sauce on food. The adjective goes after the noun in Italian, as in casa mia meaning my house)

vitello - veal

vogliamo - we want

vuoi - do you want

English - Italian

accident - incidente

after - dopo

and - e

black - nero

carrots - carote

do you want - vuoi

duck - anatra

excuse me - mi scusi

fish - pesce

green - verde

he wants - lui vuole

I am - sono

I am on a diet - sono a dieta

I need (I have need of) - ho bisogno di 

many - molto

mushroom(s) - funghi

options - opzionni

pepper - pepe

red - rosso

salad - insalata

salmon - salmone

she - lei

sign - segno

sir - signore

straight awa y/ immediately - subito

too much - troppo

tuna - tonno

thank you - grazie

veal - vitello

we want - vogliamo

white - bianco

white wine - vino bianco

wine - vino

You're welcome - prego

Useful Websites

Duolingo

Wikipedia - Italian language

Wiivoyage Italian phrasebook

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