Hi everybody, my name's Mike and this is the Let's Speak Italian podcast. So you've been listening to the first few lessons, and hopefully you're learning how to speak Italian.

Well with the first 100 lessons completed, I wanted to release the first few lessons for free as a little teaser so that you can see just how easy it is to learn to speak Italian. Now, by going to the website, you can buy the first 100 lessons for only $15.00. That includes 100 lessons, plus 20 review lessons as well, for a total of 120 lessons in all. That's 24 weeks of lessons, for only $15.00.  It's over 13 hours of Italian lessons, for the price of what you might pay for one music CD.

I've found that the key to learning to speak Italian is to learn a little bit every day, and to practice it with your friends. So get lessons 1-100, and listen to one lesson, every day for 24 weeks. By the end, you'll be amazed at how easy it was, and just how much you can learn by practicing a few minutes every day.

To buy the first 100 lessons, just go to the web site at www.letsspeakitalian.net and click on one of the banner ads. If you want to Download Lessons 1-100, click on the 'Download' banner ad. Once I get your payment, I'll e-mail you a link to the files. Be patient though, it might take a few hours before I check my email.  If you would rather Get Lessons 1-100 on CD-Rom, click on the 'CD' banner ad and once I receive your payment, I'll mail the CD-Rom to you.  For only $15.00 you'll be speaking Italian before you know it.

Grazie tanto, arrivederci.

When the time is after the hour, add the word 'e' and the appropriate number of minutes. To indicate the half hour, use the phrase 'e mezza.' To indicate the quarter of the hour, use the phrase 'e un quarto.'

e = and

e mezza = and half

e un quarto = and a quarter

E' l'una e venticinque = It's 1:25

Sono le tre e dieci = It's 3:10

E' l'una e mezza = It's 1:30

Sono le quattro e mezza = It's 4:30

E' l'una e un quarto = It's 1:15

Sono le dieci e un quarto = It's 10:15

When the time is before the hour, use the word 'meno' and the appropriate number of minutes.

meno = minus

E' l'una meno cinque = It's five 'til one or 12:55

Sono le otto meno venti = It's twenty 'til eight or 7:40

E' l'una meno un quarto = It's fifteen 'til one or 12:45

Sono le sette meno un quarto = It's fifteen 'til seven or 6:45

giorno = day

settimana = week

mese = month

anno = year

minuto = minute

ora = hour

fa = ago

orologio = clock, watch

mezzogiorno = noon

mezzanotte = midnight

Che ore sono? = What time is it?

E' l'una = It's one o'clock

Sono le due = It's two o'clock

E' mezzogiorno = It's noon

E' mezzonotte = It's midnight

Sono stanco = I am tired (male)

Sono stanca = I am tired (female)

Ho fame = I am hungry

Non lo so = I don't know

Sei pronto? = Are you ready? (male)

Sei pronta? = Are you ready? (female)

Sono pronto = I am ready (male)

Sono pronta = I am ready (female)

colazione = breakfast

pranzo = lunch

cena = dinner, supper

mattina = morning

pomeriggio = afternoon

sera = evening

notte = night

camera = bedroom

mensa = cafeteria

libreria = bookstore

bagno = bathroom

a = to, at

si' = yes

no = no

dove = where

dov'e' = where is

quando = when

adesso = now

cibo = food

ma = but

grazie = thank you

prego = you're welcome

forse = maybe, perhaps

pronto = ready, but it's also what you say when you answer the telephone instead of saying 'hello.'

ance = anza

importance = importanza

ence = enza

intelligence = intelligenza

ant = ante

important = importante

ent = ente

student = studente

ible = bile

possible = possibile

ist = ista

dentist = dentista

ly = mente

generally = generalmente

sion = sione

mission = missione

tion = zione

station = stazione

ty = ta'

society = societa'

Nouns ending in 'o' are generally masculine:

amico = friend (male)

libro = book

Nouns ending in 'a' are generally feminine:

amica = friend (female)

casa = house

Nouns ending in 'e' can be both and simply must be memorized:

ristorante (m) = restaurant

pane (m) = bread

classe (f) = class

notte (f) = night

Words ending with a consonant are usually foreign words, and are

usually masculine:

bar, autobus, film, sport

Change the 'o' to an 'i' to make it plural:

amico = friend, amici = friends

Change the 'a' to an 'e' to make it plural:

chiesa = church, chiese = churches

Change the 'ca' to a 'che' to make it plural:

banca = bank, banche = banks

Change the 'e' to an 'i' to make it plural:

studente = student, studenti = students

Most masculine words ending in 'io' you drop the 'o' to make it plural:

negozio = store, negozi = stores

Nouns ending with an accented vowel or a consonant do not change in the plural:

caffe' = coffee shop, due caffe' = two coffee shops

foto = photo, due foto = two photos

libro = book

penna = pen

matita = pencil

carta = paper

quaderno = notebook or planner

sedia = chair

luce = light

finestra = window

scrivania = desk

pagina = page

porta = door

parlare = to speak

io parlo = I speak

tu parli = you speak (informal)

Lei parla = you speak (formal)

lui parla = he speaks

lei parla = she speaks

noi parliamo = we speak

voi parlate = you speak (plural)

loro parlano = they speak

Inglese = English

Francese = French

Spagnolo = Spanish

Tedesco = German

Russo = Russian

Giapponese = Japanese

Italiano = Italian

Parliamo Italiano = We speak Italian

20 = venti (we've already learned this one, but I thought I'd throw it in again.)

30 = trenta

40 = quaranta

50 = cinquanta

60 = sessanta

70 = settanta

80 = ottanta

90 = novanta

100 = cento

21 = ventuno (drop the vowel before the uno)

22 = ventidue

23 = ventitre'

24 = ventiquattro

25 = venticinque

26 = ventisei

27 = ventisette

28 = ventotto (drop the vowel before the otto)

29 = ventinove

30 = trenta

31 = trentuno

32 = trentadue

33 = trentatre'

34 = trentaquattro

35 = trentacinque

36 = trentasei

37 = trentasette

38 = trentotto

39 = trentanove

40 = quaranta

41 = quarantuno

42 = quarantadue

43 = quarantatre'

44 = quarantaquattro

45 = quarantacinque

46 = quarantasei

47 = quarantasette

48 = quarantotto

49 = quarantanove

50 = cinquanta

51 = cinquantuno

52 = cinquantadue

53 = cinquantatre'

54 = cinquantaquattro

55 = cinquantacinque

56 = cinquantasei

57 = cinquantasette

58 = cinquantotto

59 = cinquantanove

60 = sessanta

61 = sessantuno

62 = sessantadue

63 = sessantatre'

64 = sessantaquattro

65 = sessantacinque

66 = sessantasei

67 = sessantasette

68 = sessantotto

69 = sessantanove

70 = settanta

71 = settantuno

72 = settantadue

73 = settantatre'

74 = settantaquattro

75 = settantacinque

76 = settantasei

77 = settantasette

78 = settantotto

79 = settantanove

80 = ottanta

81 = ottantuno

82 = ottantadue

83 = ottantatre'

84 = ottantaquattro

85 = ottantacinque

86 = ottantasei

87 = ottantasette

88 = ottantotto

89 = ottantanove

90 = novanta

91 = novantuno

92 = novantadue

93 = novantatre'

94 = novantaquattro

95 = novantacinque

96 = novantasei

97 = novantasette

98 = novantotto

99 = novantanove

Dov'e'...? = Where is ...?

un aeroporto = an airport

un albergo = a hotel

una banca = a bank

un bar = a bar

un caffe' = a coffee shop

una chiesa = a church

un cinema = a movie theater

una farmacia = a pharmacy

un museo = a museum

un negozio = a shop or store

un ospedale = a hospital

Dov'e'... = Where is ...?

una piazza = a town square

un ristorante = a restaurant

una scuola = a school

uno stadio = a stadium

una stazione = a station

un supermercato = a supermarket

un ufficio postale = a post office

un'universita' = a university

una via = an avenue

uno zoo = a zoo

c'e'...? = is there...?

c'e'... = there is...

un aeroplano = an airplane

un autobus = a bus

una macchina = a car

una bicicletta = a bicycle

una motocicletta = a motorcycle

un treno = a train

vicino = near

lontano = far

a sinistra = to the left

a destra = to the right

diritto = straight ahead

poi = then

tra = between

C'e' un treno vicino? = Is there a train nearby?

Si, c'e' un treno tre chilometri diritto, poi a destra. = Yes, three kilometers straight ahead, and then right.

Ascoltate = Listen

Leggete = Read

Ripetete = Repeat

Rispondete = Answer

Scrivete = Write

Aprite i libri = Open your books

Chiudete i libri = Close your books

Fate l'esercizio = Do the exercise

Capite? = Do you understand?

Ancora una volta! = One more time!

Attenzione! = Be careful! or Pay attention!

Giusto! = Correct!

Benissimo! = Very good!

Sbagliato! = Wrong!

Tutti insieme! = All together!

Va bene = OK

Capisco = I understand

Non capisco = I don't understand

Come? = What? or How? or Say that again?

Come si dice...? = How do you say...?

Come si pronuncia...? = How do you pronounce...?

Come si scrive...? = How do you spell...?

Cosa vuol dire...? = What does...mean?

Ripeta, per favore = Please repeat

The Italians only really use 21 letters, but sometimes they do use the other 5 if the word is a non-Italian word containing one of those letters. The 5 letters that are not a part of the Italian alphabet are J, K, W, X, and Y.

A = a

B = bi

C = ci

D = di

E = e

F = effe

G = gi

H = acca

I = i

L = elle

M = emme

N = enne

O = o

P = pi

Q = cu

R = erre

S = esse

T = ti

U = u

V = vu

Z = zeta

J = i lunga

K = cappa

W = doppia vu

X = ics

Primavera = Spring

Estate = Summer

Autunno = Autumn

Inverno = Winter

Gennaio = January

Febbraio = February

Marzo = March

Aprile = April

Maggio = May

Giugno = June

Luglio = July

Agosto = August

Settembre = September

Ottobre = October

Novembre = November

Dicembre = December

Domenica = Sunday

Lunedi = Monday

Martedi = Tuesday

Mercoledi = Wednesday

Giovedi = Thursday

Venerdi = Friday

Sabato = Saturday

Di dove sei (tu)? = Where are you from? (informal)

Di dov'e' (Lei)? = Where are you from? (formal)

Sono di...= I am from...

Dov'e'...? = Where is...?

Ecco... = Here is...

And here are some famous cities and their Italian and English pronunciations.

Roma = Rome

Milano = Milan

Venezia = Venice

Firenze = Florence

Napoli = Naples

Italian Spelling = English Sound

a = ah

e = ay

i = ee

o = oh

u = oo

c (before e or i) = ch

c (before other vowels) = k

ch = k

g (before e or i) = j

g (before other vowels) = g (as in go)

gh = g (as in go)

gl = lli (as in million)

gn = ny (as in canyon)

h = always silent

r = r (a single r should lightly rolled or trilled; a double rr is strongly rolled or trilled)

s = s (but pronounced as a z when it comes between vowels)

sc (before e or i) = sh

sc (before other vowels) = sk

sch = sk

z (beginning of a word) = dz

z (within a word) = ts

zz = ts and sometimes dz

io = I

tu = you (informal)

Lei = you (formal)

lui = he

lei = she

noi = we

voi = you (plural, formal and informal)

loro = they

The subject pronoun io, unlike the English I, is not capitalized unless it begins a sentence.

Lei is the formal form for both masculine and feminine and is written with the capital L to distinguish it from lei (she).

Essere = to be

io sono = I am

tu sei = you are (informal)

Lei e' = you are (formal)

lui/lei e' = he/she is

noi siamo = we are

voi siete = you are (plural)

loro sono = they are

Avere = to have

io ho = I have

tu hai = you have (informal)

Lei ha = you have (formal)

lui/lei ha = he/she has

noi abbiamo = we have

voi avete = you have (plural)

loro hanno = they have

0 = zero

1 = uno

2 = due

3 = tre

4 = quattro

5 = cinque

6 = sei

7 = sette

8 = otto

9 = nove

10 = dieci

11 = undici

12 = dodici

13 = tredici

14 = quattordici

15 = quindici

16 = sedici

17 = diciassette

18 = diciotto

19 = diciannove

20 = venti

Ciao = Hi, bye

Salve = Hello

Buongiorno = Good morning, good day

Buonasera = Good evening

(Tanto) Piacere = (So) Nice to meet you

Molto lieto/lieta = Very pleased to meet you

Scusa = Excuse me (informal)

Scusi = Excuse me (formal)

Come ti chiami? = What is your name? (informal)

Come si chiama? = What is your name? (formal)

Mi chiamo... = My name is...

E tu? = And you? (informal)

E Lei? = And you? (formal)

Come stai? = How are you? (informal)

Come sta? = How are you? (formal)

Come va? = How's it going?

Sto bene = I'm fine

Sto benone = I'm terrific

Sto benissimo = I'm very well

Sto molto bene = I'm very well

Sto abbastanza bene = I'm quite well, or I'm well enough

Sto cosi' cosi' = I'm so-so

Sto male = I'm badly

Non sto bene = I'm not well

Non c'e' male = Not too bad

Bene, grazie, e tu? = Fine, thank you, and you? (informal)

Bene, grazie e Lei? = Fine, thank you, and you? (formal)

Signore = Mr.

Signora = Mrs.

Signorina = Miss

Avvocato = Lawyer

Ingegnere = Engineer

Professore = Masculine professor

Professoressa = Feminine professor

Dottore = Masculine doctor

Dottoressa = Feminine doctor

Insegnante = Teacher

On those masculine titles that end with 'ore'; the final 'e' is dropped before the person's last name:

Signor Bianchi = Mr. Bianchi

Professor Ricci = Professor Ricci

Feminine titles remain unchanged.

Ciao = Bye (also means Hi)

Arrivederci = Good-bye (informal)

ArriverderLa = Good-bye (formal)

A presto = See you soon

Alla prossima = Until next time

Ci vediamo = See you later

Addio = Farewell