Italiano (Italian)
Italian is spoken by over 65 million native speakers, primarily in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, and Vatican City. It's the language of Dante, Leonardo da Vinci, and Galileo; of opera, art, and design.
Why learn Italian?
Italian opens doors to one of the world's richest cultural heritages. Italy has more UNESCO World Heritage sites than any other country. Italian is essential for art history, classical music, cuisine, and fashion.
What makes Italian distinctive?
- Phonetic spelling — Italian is pronounced as it's written
- Melodic rhythm — Vowel-final words create a musical flow
- Grammatical gender — Masculine and feminine nouns
- Verb-rich communication — Subject pronouns often dropped
- Regional diversity — Strong dialects and regional identities
This guide
- The sounds of Italian — Pronunciation and the alphabet
- Your first words — Essential vocabulary
- Nouns and gender — Understanding il and la
- Verbs — Present tense conjugations
- Sentence structure — Building Italian sentences
- Numbers and time — Counting and telling time
- Everyday conversations — Practical dialogues
- Culture and context — Understanding Italian society
- Next steps — Resources for continued learning