Words and Phrases in Italian

Italian words and phrases.

Welcome to your lifesaver in all languages, ready-made phrases.

Italian is very similar to Spanish, but this doesn’t mean that you will be able to speak fluently about a thousand things right from the start, and, above all forget about expressing yourself as you would do in Spanish, some things change.

1. Ci sta.

¿Do you know the famous "Va bene"? This would be its Italianised copy. Va bene resembles Spanish too much, this is its substitute "ci sta". You can use it on thousands of occasions and it ends up meaning the same thing: I agree, it’s good for me.

2. Minchia, davvero?

They use the word minchia in thousands of contexts, it would be something like p*ssy but it’s not used in the same situations as in Spain, so be careful. They’re telling you a hell of a story, you’re loving it, you’re left speechless and you reply MINCHIA, DAVVERO? " Really?. Si fratello, te lo giuro (yes bro, I swear)

3. Dove si trova...

I think this will be the most important little phrase in your beginnings as an Erasmus or a traveller. Normally, you’ll be lost without knowing where to go, you need to ask, but relax, you’ve got your lines ready! "Dove si trova il supermercato"? Where is... the supermarket, the club, the university, the residences, you can use it for everything.

• Dove si trova Carlos?
• Mi ha detto che si è svegliato a Parigi (He told me that he woke up in Paris).
• Minchia, davvero?

4. Sei un bomber.

Here is my favourite, and the favourite of all Spanish people ¡Tu sei un bomber! The literal translation would be like “you’re a top scorer”. But they use this word to refer to you’re a legend, a machine, a phenomenon, SEI UN BOMBER.

5. È uno scherzo.

Literal translation "It’s a joke". You’ll use it when laughing with your friends, and it can also save you when somebody doesn’t understand what you’re saying and takes it badly.

• Dove si trova la lezione di italiano?
• Perché vai a lezioni di italiano? Vieni con noi e prendiamo una café insieme (Why are you going to Italian classes? Come with us and we’ll have a coffee together
• Non posso, devo andare a lezione. (I can’t, I’ve got to go to class)
• Va dai (Come on)
• Hahahaha scherzo, prendiamoci una birra (Joke, but I’d rather go for a beer)
• Tu sei un bomber.

6. Se vuoi possiamo andare a ballare.

Andare a ballareis a phrase that you need to learn, dead or alive. All of the Spaniards, absolutely all of them get it wrong at the beginning of their stay. This is the danger of literally translating from Italian: sometimes it’s not what it seems. Andare a ballare does not mean go to dance, although it looks like this is what it means. The first time I heard it I thought that they wanted to go to a salsa class or something like that, but no.

Andare a ballare means go out partying, which the Spanish always go wrong on and invent a phrase like "Andare di festa" which doesn’t exist. Are you bored reading this? Se vuoi possiamo andare a ballare (If you want, we can go out partying)

7. Mi piace/Non mi piace

If anyone ever asks you do you like my blog you just need to answer "Mi piace". What does it mean? Hang on, hang on, I’m going to tell you, bit by bit.

One of the advantages of having you’re phone in another language that isn’t your own is that you come across new words on a daily basis. This is the best example that I can find. Scrolling through instagram you always see a little heart below the photos with "like". If you have it in Italian it will be "Mi piace".

Have you guessed what it means yet? Correct, mi piace means fridge. No, I’m joking, mi piace means I like. Therefore, since I know that everybody reading this has higher than average deduction skills, you will guess that "Non mi piace" means:

1. Freezer
2. I don’t like
3. None of the two.

If the response is number 2 mi piace, this means that you’re improving your language.

8. Ho bisogno di aiuto.

You’re Reading my blog, "hai bisogno di aiuto? ". If you don’t know what it means then the answer is yes, you need help to learn a language and that’s why I’m here. This phrase is important for emergencies, it literally means “I need help”. When you learn the language, as I said before, it’s important that you forget about the literal translation, because this would be “I have a need of help” which doesn’t make sense. Therefore, if one day you’re in a very complicated situation and you need to ask for help, you should shout “AIUTO! ”.

I’ll give you an example:

Imagine you’re having drinks with only Italians and you’re left without ice. What do you do? Exactly, it’s the perfect occasion to use the phrase that I taught you, which will just help you in these situations.

È un scherzo but I hope you understand it better like that.

9. Andiamo in palestra?

To start explaining this phrase it’s very important that you know something. During your Erasmus you will gain weight!

I’m sorry, that’s how it is. I’ve always been very careful when it comes to feeding myself, but when it’s time to cook for yourself and you’ve got thousands of things to do… it’s more difficult. But relax, this phrase will help you to get fit whilst you’re there. It literally means "Shall we go to the gym?

If you ask an English person and they say yes, you can tell them "That's the spirit". If you ask an italian speaker and they say yes, you can say "Sei un bomber". If you ask someone who only speaks Polish and they say yes, well... hai bisogno di aiuto.

10. Secondo me...

In my opinion, your blog is worthless Luis. If you want to express this in Italian, how would you say it?

Ah, sorry, I can’t help you. Joke! Here we support freedom of expression, so, if you want to give your point of view on any topic, this will be your phrase. From my point of view… In my opinion… "Secondo me"

You’ll use it in many circumstances: In class, in the street… It’s very important to know how to properly express yourself in another language, because many things can be misunderstood and a simple phrase with no negative intention could be taken as something offensive

11. Vuoi prendere una birra?

Firstly, as a method of vigilance for any friends or family members that may be reading at this momento, I must say that I never put this phrase into practice. It’s typical of what you learn in theory, but never end up using. Theoretically is means "Do you want to do for a beer? "

È un scherzo, having a beer helps to reduce stress, I saw it on the internet. Moreover, remember that beer also helps to increase memory retention when it comes to learning a language. Vuoi prendere una birra? If your answer is yes, mi piace.

12. Raga cosa possiamo fare?

You’re bored in your residence, flat or wherever, Guys, what shall we do? Would be the literal translation. Raga comes from ragazzi (guys). Colloquially they reduce it a lot, so it’s good to get used to this form too.

• Raga cosa possiamo fare? (Guys, what shall we do? )
• Vuoi prendere una birra? (Do you want to go for a beer? )
• Non mi piace (No, I don’t like it)
• Se vuoi possiamo andare a ballare (If you want, we could go out partying)
• Ci sta (Yes that’s good, “I agree")
• Minchia davvero? (Really? )
• Non, scherzo (No, I’m joking)

A conversation carried out using only 7 phrases that appear in this blog. Shall we continue?

13. Preferisco fare un'altra cosa.

• Right guys, shall we continue?
• Preferisco fare un'altra cosa

Can you deduce the meaning of this phrase? I know that you’re very intelligent, so you’ll understand what it means. Exactly! I am loving learning languages with you! What? You don’t agree? Ok, it means "I’d rather do something else" but I don’t believe that nobody knew this phrase before, just that they didn’t know how to relate it to the context.

As with all of the previous phrases, we can use it in lots of situations. For example, as part of the previous dialogue we could continue:

• Se vuoi possiamo andare a ballare
• Non, preferisco fare un'altra cosa.

I just hope you use it with caution, because… You need to get involved with all of the possible plans!

14. Oggi non posso.

I would love to explain to you what this means, but today I can’t. Sorry, I’m really busy right now, I don’t have time.

Have you guessed yet? No? Well, I’ll give you a clue. It’s found in the sentence above that I’ve just written. Exactly, it means I can’t today. On numerous occasions I’ve told you the number of plans that can pop up in a day. I’ve also advised that you try to reject as few as possible, but time is what it is, you can’t make more. If you’ve already got plans and you can’t meet up at that time: "Oggi non posso"

15. Mi dispiace.

Don’t confuse mi dispiace with non mi piace – they’re different things! Non mi piace, as we saw earlier means fridge, this... "mi dispiace" I was wrong, means I don’t like. On the other hand, if you manage to swap my previous example, mi dispiace means "I’m sorry" and you can use it all the time. You can also add it to many of the previous phrases, for example:

• Vuoi prendere una birra? (Do you wan’t to go for a beer? )
• Mi dispiace, oggi non posso (Sorry, I can’t today)

16. Forse un altro giorno.

This phrase will give you the incredible and necessary ability to fill up your diary until the end of your Erasmus. There are many stories of what I did during my 6 month Erasmus, and I had plans in my diary until 2028. The microchip that was inserted into me to say yes to everything I was asked was working quite well, therefore, if they proposed something and I couldn’t on that day "Forse un altro giorno"

• Vuoi prendere una birra? (Do you want to do for a beer? )
• Mi dispiace, oggi non posso. Forse un altro giorno (Sorry, I can’t today. Maybe another day.

Just like in college, when you go on Erasmus you must buy yourself a diary. It’s impossible to mentally remember all of the plans that you’ll be making throughout the week. Occasionally, I had to get ready in 5 minutes when they told me they were waiting for me in such a place and I hadn’t remembered.

17. Ancora non ci credo.

It can’t be true, this can’t be happenening "Ancora non ci credo". What a night last night! Really? It was shocking what Maria said about Julia "Ancora non ci credo".

The literal translation would be something like… "I still don’t believe it". I’m aware that I’ve finished my Eramus, and that I’m writing this blog to help you as much as possible ma ancora non ci credo "But I still don’t believe it" If you’re reading this and you’re going on Erasmus… Take me with you!

18. Non è possibile

Are you having doubts about whether to go on Erasmus or not? "Non ci credo" Are you telling me the truth? "Non è possibile". I'm hoping that you'll say "è un scherzo" because "non mi piace" that you tell me these things. "Raga, cosa possiamo fare? " We need to resolve this, "non è possibile" that you don't want to go on Erasmus.

Exactly, non è possibile means it's not possible. How could you not want to go on Erasmus? Are you crazy? Right well keep reading because you're driving me crazy.

19. Ma tu sei pazzo.

I hope that the idea of going on Erasmus doesn’t even cross your mind. You’re going to learn millions of things.

• Hello Luis, I’m your reader. I’m being completely serious, I don’t think I’ll go on Erasmus because the idea of leaving my country alone scares me a little.
• Ma tu sei pazzo

Basically, tu sei pazzo. You need to go on Erasmus. And also, please, take me with you, I beg you. What does tu sei pazzo mean? You don’t deserve to be told, but it means "YOU’RE CRAZY! " Enjoy this unique opportunity, remove these thoughts from your mind now.

20. Devo dimenticarlo.

Yes, obviously! That’s how I like it. When the idea of not going on Erasmus crosses your mind, you must repeat after me "Devo dimenticarlo" or so we all understand each other "I need to forget about it". Dimenticare is the verb to forget, thus, devi dimenticare the idea of not wanting to go on Erasmus, as well as non devi dimenticare all of the Eramsus who have fallen in battle and take us with you.

21. Hai ragione.

If you tell me that my blog is really cool and that you really like it, I would tell you that hai ragione. Learning languages like this is cool. Isn’t it?

• No, it’s not cool Luis, this is ****, teach me gramar or something. (Reader)
• Tu sei pazzo (Luis)
• No, no, honestly. Can’t we learn verbs and listen to an audio like how it’s always been done? (Reader)
• Non è possibile (Luis)
• Mate, stop replying in Italian, I don’t understand anything. (Reader)
• Of course you understand me, revise everything we’ve done so far. (Luis)
• Hai ragione, ma preferisco fare un'altra cosa (Reader)
• Ancora non ci credo, tu sei pazzo. (Luis)
• È uno scherzo (Reader)

Wow, it’s great learning like this, isn’t it? I’m going to end up charging you for the classes. If you carry on reading this text… You owe me a trip to your city!

22. Sono stanco.

Sorry, but I’m very tired and I’m going to stop writing for this blog. I’ve alrady been writing for months and sono stanco. No, è un scherzo relax, but... What do you think sono stanco means?

Personally, I find this phrase really funny because when I first heard it I confused it with soy un estanco (I’m a newsagents, in Spanish). I was trying to think the situation through to understand what the phrase meant, and finally I had to ask. I’m tired, so I’ll leave you to guess what sono stanco means.

Ok, I know I’m annoying, I’ll say it myself. Really I’ve already told you, I’m tired, it what sono stanco means.

23. Prego.

This word is the word of all words. I’ve put it as a set phrase because you’ll use it one billion and three hundred times. It’s very difficult to explain the real meaning of prego, but I’ll tell you about various cases so that you have a general idea in mind.

• Thank you so much for lending me a pencil
• Prego (You’re welcome)

Prego works as you’re welcome, although you can also use di niente (which is used much less)

• Is this seat taken?
• Prego (Go for it)

When they ask you if a space is free, or when you’re in a doorway and you want to let the other person pass, you should say prego.

• Are you here on a visit?
• No, vado a pregare (No, I’m going to pray)

I used this word as a key to let me slip inside the Duomo without paying. Prego comes from the verb pregare, which means to pray.

24. Me ne vado.

Surely you’ll get this one, go on, try it for yourself, I’ll give you a minute. Ready? Try a bit harder, it’s very easy. Nothing? Me ne vado, is when you’re full of snow, me nevado... ok, I know that’s not funny, let’s continue with the blog.

Me ne vado is what you’ve just said upon reading terrible attempt at a joke. I’m going! It’s difficult to explain why the ne in the middle is there, I was wrongly using "me vado" for a long time.

If you don’t like my bad jokes, me ne vado is the phrase you need to use, but I know that’s not the case.

25. Aspetto y spero.

It’s very important to distinguish between the verb aspettare and the verb sperare because they’re different, and this difference doesn’t exist in Spanish.

The verb aspettare is used when you are waiting for something. For example, we would use it when we’re waiting for the (Sto aspettando l'autobus) or when we’re waiting for somebody ti aspetto alle due e mezza (I’ll wait for you at half past two).

The verb sperare is used for hoping for something. For example, we would use it to tell somebody that you hope everything is going well (Spero che tutto ti vada bene) or when you hope that something will happen.

• I’m sure you’ll pass the exam, mate
• Spero di si (I hope so)

I know, the di sounds really strange, but that’s how it is. I’m sure that you’ll soon get used to this type of difference between the languages.

26. Scusa, puoi dirmi che ora è?

Dear diary, today is day 254 of my writing this blog. I have lost concept of time, I’m becoming delirious and making bad jokes. Wait, I think somebody is reading... Scusa, puoi dirmi che ora è?

Excuse me, can you tell me what time it is? Is the real meaning of this phrase. You’ll use it when you wake up not knowing where you are, not what day it is or simply to know the time at any moment.

27. Ci pentiamo di averlo fatto

If one day you wake up in the pólice station, I would advise that before asking for the time you say "Ci pentiamo di averlo fatto". Since I know that you’re all good boys and girls and this isn’t going to happen, I’ll give you another example.

If at any point you stopped reading my blog because you thought it was boring, you must repeat in unison "Ci pentiamo di farlo". It means we regret doing something, and well... Maybe one day if could help you during your Erasmus, spero di no.

28. Tutto apposto.

How are you doing? Are you tired of learning? Surely not, surely it’s tutto apposto.

You’ll use this phrase a lot, I can assure you. You’ll also hear it said countless times by other people and it means "all is well". If we do a literal translation if would be something like “everything is in its place”.

29. In bocca al lupo.

Remember the famous English phrase "Break a leg”? In Italy they have their own way of wishing good luck and it’s "In bocca al lupo". Literally translated, it means in the wolf’s mouth, but really it means good luck.

To respond to this, you don’t say "Grazie" (Thank you). What you need to say is Crepi o crepi il lupo. If you’re going on Erasmus, in bocca al lupo, spero che vada tutto apposto.

30. Dove posso prelevare i soldi.

Imagine that you’re alone in Milan and you’ve got no cash. Sometimes it’s important to know where to draw money out from a cash machine, in Italian the way to express this is "Prelevare il soldi".

31. Salire (A false friend to Spanish)

I learned this phrase in a funny way. I was in the lift at university and I was going up to the fourth floor. The lift stopped on the second floor. There was a girl waiting there and she asked me something simple but also complicated "Sali? "

To start with, the very salire is conjugated as Io salgo, tu sali, lui sale etc, which is why it’s understandable that we find it similar to the Spanish verb ‘salir’, but NO. This was my error, hence, I replied to the girl: “No, no salgo”.

She got into the lift, looked at the buttons that I had pressed and got out again immediately, looking at me oddly. What happened there?

1. I frightened her with my ugliness and she left.
2. She was scared of lifts and couldn’t stand it.
3. Salire means to go up (“subir” in Spanish). She needed to go down, and when she asked me if I was going up and I said no, she thought that I too was going down.

If anybody who is currently reading this thought at any moment that the correct answer was number 1, please turn around and go back to where you came from. No, I’m joking, but… Of course it wasn’t number 1! The correct answer was number 3, and despite the girl not leaving because she thought I was too ugly, surely she thought I was a little stupid.

32. Fa un tempo da cani.

My speciality is colloquial education, however it’s important that you also learn the odd proverb. I learned this one whilst waiting for the joyous number 53 bus. My Chinese friend was waiting with me. Why am I telling you he’s Chinese if you don’t care? Because I never managed to learn his name and thus, knowing that he would find it funny, I christened him Chino (that’s why it’s got a capital letter, it’s a proper noun! )

Going back to the actual explanation, I’ll tell you that the weather was awful and basically this was the conversation with my friend Chino.

• Wow, the weather is awful
• Sì, fà un tempo da cani.

At this point I was laughing my head off (Something you should learn to be able to progress with the language) to this day, I have guessed that it’s an expression that means "The weather is awful" but if you translate it literally it would be something life "It’s dogs’ weather"

33. Mi dispiace, ho fretta.

I don’t know which city you’ll do your Eramus in, but what I do know is that Milan was full of people giving out things or trying to sell you something. This is the line that you need to help you get around them and save some money without a problem.

Mi dispiace, ho fretta means "Sorry, I’m in a hurry" and it’s important that you use it or you’ll end up wasting all of your grant money on little bracelets and decorations that you’ll never use.

34. Ho mal di testa.

Imagine that you wake up after a tremendous night of partying. You could give off the impression that you’ve woken up fresh and radiant, totally ready to run a marathon... ¡ERROR! You’ll wake up with a headache as though you’d been hit with a baseball bat during the night, hence, you need to know this phrase ¡Ho mal di testa! which means I’ve got a headache!

Other than the Saturday or Sunday hangovers, this phrase could be useful on many other occasions. Like for example Monday hangovers, or Tuesday ones, or Wed… Ok, I’ll stop, I’m joking. If you need to go to the doctor, or the pharmacy etc. it’s important that you know how to express yourself, so: Ho mal di testa (I’ve got a headache), ho mal di gola (I’ve got a sore throat) etc.

35. Mi dispiace, non capisco niente.

I know that you’re not going to need this phrase in any moment thanks to my advanced how to learn a language in 6 months course. But, in the hypothetical case that one day you may need it, if you don’t understand what they’re saying you can say "Mi dispiace, non capisco niente" which means "Sorry, I don’t understand at all"

If there are any senior people who manage this competition reading this right now, I advise you to stop reading, as inappropriate words will be used. It’s important that you know the more common ways of saying things, ones that are used in the street. This doesn’t mean you’ll use them, but very often you’ll hear "Non capisco un cazzo" which would translate as "I don’t understand sh! t” although the word cazzo doesn’t literally mean that. You’ll learn that word for yourselves, this type of education doesn’t form part of my training. If anyone asks me what I’m doing writing these types of phrases, I’ll say "Mi dispiace, non capisco niente"

36. Ci vediamo dopo.

Are you going to have a break and pick up the lesson later? Are you tired but you’ll come back later? Ok, I understand, no problem ¡Ci vediamo dopo!

To say goodbye there are thousands of expressions: Ciao, arrivederci, a dopo, ci vediamo dopo... The last one means "See you later"

37. Non c'è problema.

When you find yourselves in a situation where you need to use phrase 35 "Mi dispiace, non capisco niente" non c'è problema, you can return to my blog and and review the phrases to see if you can make your way through it.

I like how you’re working on your deductive thinking a little, I’m sure you’ve guessed, if you haven’t… "non c'è problema" I’ll explain in a second. This phrase means No problem!

38. Non ti preocupare.

It will seem silly to you, but this phrase is very important to me. The day I realised that I’d learned it was in the metro station in Milan. I had arrived with Abi from a visit to Lyon, and an older person asked me if I could help her take her suitcases down the stairs. I took told of them both and told her: Non ti preocupare.

Why is this phrase so important to me? Well, the negative imperative in Italian is formed with: Non + infinitive. For example, don’t smoke would be non fumare which translated literally would be “to not smoke”. I had never studied this grammatical rule, but at this moment I used it without any knowledge.

Afterwards I wondered whether it was correct or not, but… Of course it was! I had improved my Italian level and I didn’t even realise. That’s why, if you go on Erasmus and you have no idea about speaking Italian, or English... ¡Non ti preocupare! Don’t worry.

39. Da portare via grazie.

I was still in my first Spanish class in the University of Milan. It was an obligatory course that I didn’t really want to go to, therefore, I always arrived late or just in time.

As usually I was dying of sleepiness, so I decided to get a coffee before going. The coffee needed to be to take away, but obviously... How could I ask for a coffee to take away in my first week in Milan?

I used a mixture of languages: Take away, para llevar etc, I tried several, until finally I lowered myself to asking. Scusa, sono spagnolo, come si dice in italiano se voglio prendere un café fuori? (Sorry, I’m Spanish, how do you say in Italian that you want to take a coffee outside?

There’s always another way to communicate, to make yourself understood. That’s what I did, and so I leanred that "To take away" is "Per portare via"

40. Ti posso chiedere una cosa?

• Oi, you who’s reading this, yes you. Ti posso chiedere una cosa?
• Ey?
• Have you learned Italian with this blog?
• Of course.
• Sei un bomber.

For the first few days I also carried my prepared phrases in case there was a need. One of them was "Ti posso domandare una cosa? " but people corrected me over time, because they don’t use that much. Ti posso chiedere una cosa? means Can I ask you something? "

41. Voglio imparare l'italiano.

It’s clear that if you’ve read this far, things are happening.

1. Tu sei pazzo
2. Vuoi imparare l'italiano
3. Tutte due.

If your response is the first one you already know what it means, and, you will surely achieve it. If your answer is the second one... What am I doing teaching Italian if you already know what it means? You’re a machine, it means "Do you want to learn Italian", therefore, voglio imparare l'italiano would be in first person singular.

I must say that the correct answer is number 3 - Tutte due, which means both. I find this phrase really funny, because I invented tonnes of incorrect versions to try to say it: Le due, i due, lo due... Trial, error and learning.

42. Le gambe. (False friend in Spanish)

This word still sounds super strange to me. I remember being in the gym, when Alessandro said to me "Oggi vado a fare le gambe". The literal translation in my head was "Today I’m going to do prawns" and obviously, this entails several consecutive errors.

• Oggi vado a fare le gambe (Today I’m going to do "prawns")
• Vai a fare gambe davvero? (You’re going to do "prawns", really? )
• Sì, perché? (Yes, why? )
• Ma... non è costoso? (But… Are they not expensive? )
• Ey?
• Ey?
• ...

Have you already deduced the meaning of the word "gambe"? If you’ve guessed what it means, you’re more than capable of learning Italian, because I didn’t guess it.

Gambe means legs. Thus, Alessandro unfortunately wasn’t going to make prawns for dinner, but he was going to train his leg muscles in the gym.

43. È libero questo posto?

When I arrived at the University of Milan I freaked out. I didn’t have anywhere to sit in class! When I say that I didn’t have a seat, I mean I didn’t have a seat. This meant that I had to attend classes sat on the floor.

Therefore, if you arrive far enough in advance, don’t think that you’ll have loads of seats to choose from. Most of the ones that you see are "Semi-free", there’ll be jackets or bags that take up 5 seats and you won’t know if they’re taken or not, but don’t worry, I’m here to help you. È libero questo posto? means Is this seat available?

I hope the University of Milan changes the system for next year and resolves a lot of things, ma non c'è problema, tu sei un bomber non ti preocupare.

44. Ridotto universitari.

Ridotto universitari or ridotto erasmus, you’ll see tutte due more than 10km away. It’s very important that you focus on this phrase, because it’s going to solve you financial problems in your city of choice. What am I referring to?

When you’re an Erasmus student you live with very little money, juggling to reach the end of the month. So, if you find a "Ridotto univesitari" or a "Ridotto erasmus" run towards it, they’re usually really good.

¡RIDOTTO ERASMUS! : A blog about how to learn languages in 6 months + impressive adventures + online private consultation and personalised message mediator in return for a simple visit to your city.

Have you caught up yet? Do you know what ridotto Erasmus means? Correct, Erasmus discount. Don’t miss this opportunity, get hold of your ridotto erasmus on www.erasmusu.com by visiting my blog: Luis Martínez Soto.

45. Oggi resto a casa.

Exactly! You guessed it first time! I told you from the start that Italian is very similar to Spanish, that you don’t even need to study it to understand it all, it’s exactly the same. That’s why we all know that this means "Hoy hago restas en casa" (today I’m doing subtractions at home) it’s obvious, so let’s move on to the next point.

What? That doesn’t seem right to you? But Italian and Spanish are the same. Well, I’ll tell you because it’s you and because we get on so well, but you can’t use this phrase very often. Oggi resto a casa means today I’m staying at home, but, I repeat, only when you are very, very ill, can you stay at home.

46. Ce la facciamo.

This is a phrase that I learned from my good friend Luquitas from Milan.

• Luis this is impossible, I’m never going to learn Italian
• Of course you are mate
• Non è possibile. (It’s not possible)
• Of course it is, ce la facciamo
• Ey?

We would repeat this phrase when we saw each other struggling to get the metro. When we were studying and we didn’t have enough time etc. It would be something like "we can do it/we’ll manage"

47. Ma secondo te cosa devo fare?

Lots of things change on Erasmus, but this doesn’t mean that you won’t find yourself with the same problems that you’ve always had, and you need to ask for advice from a friend. It’s important to know how to express yourself when you’re searching for help, so it’ll help you a lot to have somebody close that you can tell about your mistakes at any time.

• Ok Luis, but I’m still worried about going alone
• Ce la facciamo (We’ll manage)
• Ma secondo te cosa devo fare?
• Are you speaking Italian? Non è possibile. (It’s not possible)
• Non ci credo! (I don’t believe you! )

Dear Reader, you are progressing rapidly in this language, don’t give up, you’re going to be able to speak fluent Italian (or at least be able to fend for yourself much better than I did).

Just as you used in our previous conversation, "Ma secondo te, cosa devo fare? " means "But in your opinion, what should I do? "

48. Ce l'ho / ce l'hai

Ok people, we’re reaching a new level of Italian, this is more complicated but it’s very important that you know it.

I remember that when I began to speak to other people in the residence, I heard a lot of ce l'ho, or as I understood it with Spanish pronunciation (Che lo) What did the famous ce l’ho mean? In the end I ended up asking and they told me than it meant "I have".

My head began to burn and steam was coming out of my ears. Ce l’ho is I have, ce l’hai is you have, but then… What did "Io ho" mean? The verb avere means to have:

• Io ho
• Tu hai
• Egli/ella ha
• Noi abbiamo
• Voi avete
• Essi hanno

I don’t understand anything! Relax, they explained to me that you could say it both ways (Tutte due). But most of the people that I met used the form that I am teaching you. In the end I got the hang of using it and I have to say I love it, it’s got something about it and sounds very Italian.

49. Non ho soldi

I hope with all my heart that you never have to use this phrase, but we are Erasmus and surely one day you’ll find yourself in this situation. I’ll give you clues and see if you guess it, to make it more fun. Ok?

If I say to you: I’m looking for “Il ridotto erasmus” I don’t know if I’ll have enough "Dove posso prelevare i soldi? "

Have you got it yet? Do you know what it means? This is a good pointer. With the context you can work out a lot of what if going on around you, even though you have no idea what it means. The more you expand your vocabulary, the more easily you’ll be able to understand phrases that you’ve never heard. The correct answer is "I’ve got no money". So guys ho bisogno di aiuta, non ho soldi, cosa possiamo fare? A little help, please.

50. Luis – EMERGENCY - you’re running out of ideas! What can we do?

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