🇮🇹 Remember: it’s enough to do just one exercise a day.

❣️ Every contact with the Italian language counts!

Ciao!

Today, we will learn how to spell words in Italian.

🤔 Should you learn the alphabet?

You don’t need to learn it by heart! It’s almost the same as in English!

However, it’s important to know the letters and associate them with the Italian words used for spelling. You might need to spell your name over the phone or write something down.

🔡 The Italian alphabet

✅ Esercizio 1

🎧 Ascoltiamo.

✅ Esercizio 2

📖 Leggiamo!

• MARCO ROSSI

• HELGA SCHMITT

• FRANÇOIS DUBOIS

• CARLOS GONZÁLEZ

• JAN KOWALSKI

✅ Esercizio 3

🎧 Ascoltiamo e controlliamo.

🇮🇹 Practice with us!

Do you speak Italian?

Check out my other newsletters:

Daily Italian - self-study materials for A1+ to B2 levels.

How to speak Italian?

Italian for Beginners

Italian for complete beginners. Learn basic Italian before your next viaggio!

Dal 🇮🇹 Katarzyna Ciszewska

🇮🇹 Remember: it’s enough to do just one exercise a day.

❣️ Every contact with the Italian language counts!

Ciao!

Come stai? Please answer in the comments!

Leave a comment

🇮🇹 Practice with us!

Today, we will learn another useful question in Italian:

Come ti chiami?

🔎 Osserviamo!

💡 It means: What’s your name?

We will learn only the questions and answers at this point. The conjugation will be introduced later in this course.

• Come ti chiami? - informal

• Come si chiama? - formal

💁 the verb:

io mi chiamo

tu ti chiami

lui/lei si chiama

Some examples:

• Io mi chiamo Katarzyna.

• Tu ti chiami Anna.

• Lui si chiama Marco.

• Lei si chiama Maria.

✅ Esercizio 1

✒️ Scriviamo.

Write 2 sentences about yourself in the comments. What’s your name, and how are you today?

👉 Mi chiamo Katarzyna. Sto bene.

Leave a comment

✅ Esercizio 2

📖 Leggiamo!

Read the conjugation:

• io mi chiamo

• tu ti chiami

• lui/lei/Lei si chiama

Listen and control:

✅ Esercizio 3

📖 Leggiamo! Read the conjugation a couple of times and try to write it down.

Leave a comment

✅ Esercizio 4

🗣️ Leggiamo.

ELISA: Ciao, come ti chiami?

MARCO: Mi chiamo Marco, e tu?

ELISA: Mi chiamo Elisa. Piacere!

MARCO: Piacere!

Ascoltiamo:

🙋 Rispondiamo:

What do you think is the meaning of piacere?

✅ Esercizio 5

✒️ Scriviamo. Come si chiama? Come sta?

Write the sentences in the comments.

Example:

Lei si chiama Maria. Sta molto bene.

Leave a comment

✅ Esercizio 6

✏️ Completiamo. Choose the correct form of the verb:

https://twee.ai/l/sun4lf4

✅ Esercizio 7

✏️ Completiamo. Write the correct form of the verb:

✍️ Esercizio:

1. Io __________ Maria.

2. Come __________ tu? Tutto bene?

3. Lui __________ molto bene.

4. Io __________ male.

5. Come __________ (tu)? – Mi chiamo Paolo.

6. Lei __________ Francesca.

7. Io __________ bene, grazie.

8. Lei __________ Anna.

9. Lui __________ Marco.

10. Tu __________ male?

11. La mia amica __________ Sofia.

✅ Le soluzioni:

Check your answers:

1. Io mi chiamo Maria.

2. Come stai tu? Tutto bene?

3. Lui sta molto bene.

4. Io sto male.

5. Come ti chiami (tu)? – Mi chiamo Paolo.

6. Lei si chiama Francesca.

7. Io sto bene, grazie.

8. Lei si chiama Anna.

9. Lui si chiama Marco.

10. Tu stai male?

11. La mia amica si chiama Sofia.

🇮🇹 Practice with us!

🙋 Domande?

Do you have any questions?

Leave a comment or reach out in chat!

Alla prossima!

Katarzyna

Who am I

I’m Katarzyna Ciszewska, an Italian as a foreign language teacher, DILS-PG certificate qualified trainer, CELI certificate examiner and owner of Scuola AL DENTE. My top priority is introducing quality to Italian teaching. We work on it every single day together with my team.

I’m here to help 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 and communicate effectively during your next stay in Italy.

Leave a comment, email me at dailyitalian@substack.com or reach out in chat!

🇮🇹 Do you speak Italian?

Check out my other newsletters:

Daily Italian - self-study materials for A1+ to B2 levels.

How to speak Italian?

Italian for Beginners

Italian for complete beginners. Learn basic Italian before your next viaggio!

Dal 🇮🇹 Katarzyna Ciszewska

🇮🇹 Remember: it’s enough to do just one exercise a day.

❣️ Every contact with the Italian language counts!

Ciao!

Today, we will learn a very useful question in Italian:

Come stai?

💡 It means: How are you? It is used in the same way.

📖 Leggiamo!

Sometimes, especially in the North, people ask this question immediately after buongiorno and don’t even expect any answer.

In Italian, you can ask this question in an informal way (when talking to a friend) or in a formal way (when talking to a person you don’t know). Or to a group of people.

Every time you will use a different verb form of the verb STARE.

• Come stai? informal

• Come sta? formal

• Come state? plural

💁 Personal Pronouns

This is the first Italian verb we are going to learn, together with the pronouns:

• io - I

• tu - you singular

• lui - he

• lei - she

• Lei - formal you (when you talk to elderly people, in formal situations)

❗ (There is no it, neuter gender, in Italian)

• noi - we

• voi - you plural

• loro - they (both male and female)

It’s very important to learn these in order. I have a little exercise for you to practice:

✅ Esercizio 1

〰️ Abbiniamo.

https://wordwall.net/it/resource/109799410

👋 “STARE” verb

📖 Leggiamo!

Let’s learn our first Italian verb conjugation in the present tense.

The verb STARE is irregular, so we will learn the whole conjugation by heart.

Right now, we will learn only one meaning of this verb: we use it to ask about health and well-being. Come stai? = How are you?

• io sto

• tu stai

• lui/lei/Lei sta

• noi stiamo

• voi state

• loro stanno

✅ Esercizio 2

🗣️ Leggiamo.

Read the conjugation:

• io sto

• tu stai

• lui/lei/Lei sta

• noi stiamo

• voi state

• loro stanno

Listen and control:

✅ Esercizio 3

✒️ Scriviamo. Read the conjugation a couple of times and try to write it down.

Leave a comment

✅ Esercizio 4

What do you think, what’s the difference between:

Come stai?

and

Come sta?

Leave a comment

🔎 Come stai? It is informal, use it with people you know. Come sta? is formal. Use it in formal situations.

⚠️ Remember: if you hear a question: Come stai? Answer in first person: Sto bene.

If you hear: Come sta? answer in first person as well. It’s a formal question directed to you.

An alternative to Come stai? is Come va? (How is it going).

🤔 Come stai?

🔎 Osserviamo!

What are the possible answers?

😊 Positive

These are the safest and most commonly used phrases:

• Bene, grazie! – Fine, thank you! (The classic).

• Molto bene! – Very well!

• Tutto bene. – Everything is fine / All good.

• Alla grande! – Great! / Fantastic!

• Abbastanza bene! - quite good!

⚠️ Remember: This question is an element of greeting, not a real question. Nobody really expects you to give information on your well-being. In some cultures (for example, in my home country, Poland), people are used to complaining and a simple question Come stai? ends up with people complaining about their health or local politicians. Not in Italy!

😐 Neutral

Perfect for when you don’t want to complain, but aren’t bursting with energy either:

• Così così. – So-so.

• Non c’è male. – Not bad.

☹️ Negative

Save these for conversations with close friends:

• Male. – Bad.

• Non molto bene. – Not very well.

• Malissimo. - very bad

🌀 Quizlet

Let’s learn all the answers with a Quizlet set:

https://quizlet.com/pl/1159320250/come-stai-flash-cards/?i=1wg40h&x=1qqt

https://quizlet.com/join/G34evxU3t?i=1wg40h&x=1bqt

✅ Esercizio 4

🗣️ Leggiamo.

ELISA: Ciao, buongiorno!

MARCO: Ciao, Elisa! Come stai? Tutto bene?

ELISA: Sì, grazie, tutto bene! E tu? Come stai?

MARCO: Sto benissimo, grazie mille!

ELISA: Allora a presto, Marco!

MARCO: A dopo, Elisa, ciao!

Ascoltiamo:

🙋 Rispondiamo:

Answer the questions.

1. Come sta Elisa?

2. Come sta Marco?

3. E tu? Come stai?

Leave a comment

✅ Esercizio 5

✏️ Completiamo.

Fill in the gaps:

https://twee.ai/l/sulyjf4

✅ Esercizio 6

🗣️ Parliamo. Come sta Marco?

Write the sentences in the comments.

Example:

Maria sta molto bene.

🇮🇹 Practice with us!

✅ Esercizio 7

〰️ Abbiniamo! Positivo o negativo?

https://wordwall.net/it/resource/109962947

✅ Esercizio 8

✒️ Scriviamo. Choose the correct form of the verb STARE:

https://twee.ai/l/sul6kf4

✅ Esercizio 9

✒️ Scriviamo. Write the correct form of the verb STARE:

✍️ Esercizio: Come stai? (Il verbo STARE)

1. Ciao Anna! Come (....... )?

2. Buongiorno, Signor Rossi. Come (....... )?

3. Io (....... ) molto bene, grazie.

4. Noi (....... ) alla grande oggi!

5. E tu, Paolo? Come (....... )?

6. Come (....... ) voi ragazzi?

7. Buonasera! Io non (....... ) molto bene.

8. Maria (....... ) così così.

9. Salve! Come (....... ) Lei oggi?

10. “Come state?” – “Noi (....... ) benissimo!”

11. Marco e Sofia (....... ) male.

12. Carla, non (....... ) bene?

13. Lui (....... ) male.

✅ Le risposte:

Check your answers:

1. Ciao Anna! Come stai?

2. Buongiorno, Signor Rossi. Come sta?

3. Io sto molto bene, grazie.

4. Noi stiamo alla grande oggi!

5. E tu, Paolo? Come stai?

6. Come state voi ragazzi?

7. Buonasera! Io non sto molto bene.

8. Maria sta così così.

9. Salve! Come sta Lei oggi?

10. “Come state?” – “Noi stiamo benissimo!”

11. Marco e Sofia stanno male.

12. Carla, non stai bene?

13. Lui sta male.

🇮🇹 Practice with us!

🙋 Domande?

Do you have any questions?

Leave a comment or reach out in chat!

Alla prossima!

Katarzyna

Who am I

I’m Katarzyna Ciszewska, an Italian as a foreign language teacher, DILS-PG certificate qualified trainer, CELI certificate examiner and owner of Scuola AL DENTE. My top priority is introducing quality to Italian teaching. We work on it every single day together with my team.

I’m here to help 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 and communicate effectively during your next stay in Italy.

Leave a comment, email me at dailyitalian@substack.com or reach out in chat!

🇮🇹 Do you speak Italian?

Check out my other newsletters:

Daily Italian - self-study materials for A1+ to B2 levels.

How to speak Italian?

Italian for Beginners

Italian for complete beginners. Learn basic Italian before your next viaggio!

Dal 🇮🇹 Katarzyna Ciszewska

🇮🇹 Remember: it’s enough to do just one exercise a day.

❣️ Every contact with the Italian language counts!

Ciao!

Today, we will learn the greetings, how and when to use them.

💡 Greetings 💡 are typically learnt at very early stages of your language journey, but there is a complicated sociolinguistic situation behind each of them. I will do my best to explain it, but please concentrate on learning the most common words. Once you talk to Italians in real life, you will understand that the real-world application of these greetings depends on the person, their personal preference, region, education and so on.

You are a foreigner, I’m sure any native speaker will appreciate your attempts to speak their language, especially if you smile. Don’t stress too much about the greetings.

Did you have a look at:

useful expressions?

I use them in this lesson.

🇮🇹 Practice with us!

Do you already know some Italian greetings?

Let’s check.

✅ Esercizio 1

〰️ Abbiniamo.

https://twee.ai/l/sudfyf4

✅ Esercizio 2

〰️ Abbiniamo.

Divide the Italian greetings into formal (formale) and informal (informale):

https://wordwall.net/it/resource/88636473

Iscriviti ora

Let’s learn all the forms!

✅ Esercizio 3

🎧 Ascoltiamo:

ascolta e ripeti

Join our class to use Quizlet for free:

https://quizlet.com/join/G34evxU3t?i=1wg40h&x=1bqt

✅ Esercizio 4

🌀Quizlet - list of greetings

Quizlet is a spaced-repetition-based app you can use to learn vocabulary. The basic function is flashcards. Download it to your phone or use it on your computer. It’s free to use.

🌀Learn the greetings here: https://quizlet.com/pl/1149703353/italian-greetings-flash-cards/?i=1wg40h&x=1jqt

Join our class to use Quizlet gratis: https://quizlet.com/join/G34evxU3t?i=1wg40h&x=1bqt

📖 Leggiamo!

🔎 How to use the Italian greetings?

• Ciao! The most famous Italian word. It is informal and used with friends, family, or people you know well. Interestingly, it works as both “Hello” and “Goodbye.” In recent years, it’s also used in shops and other semi-formal contexts, especially among people who feel young :)

• Buongiorno! (Good morning / Good day) Used from early morning until the early afternoon (around 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM). It is the “safest” greeting, polite, cultured, and appropriate for shops, hotels, or meeting elders. You can use it both when you enter and leave the place. It’s a “good day” wish, so you can use it not only in formal contexts, but also with your friends.

• Buondì! (Good morning / Good day). It is cheerful, lighthearted, and polite. It’s less formal than a serious buongiorno, but more elegant than a quick ciao. Because of a famous Italian breakfast snack brand called "Buondì Motta", many people associate the word with breakfast and coffee. So use it in the morning.

• Buonasera! (Good evening) In Italy, “evening” starts early. People begin using Buonasera as soon as the main lunch period ends, typically after 2:00 PM or 3:00 PM. Use this when entering a restaurant for dinner or meeting someone in the late afternoon. You can use it both when you enter and leave the place. It’s a “good evening” wish, so you can use it not only in formal contexts, but also with your friends.

• Salve! When I studied Italian at the university 20 years ago, we were taught it’s almost a magical word: it can be used in all contexts, formal and informal, at any time of the day or night. When you don’t know what to say, say salve. It’s not like this anymore, and this word creates a lot of confusion, so I stopped using it. I work with 16 native speaker Italian teachers, when I ask them about salve, when to use it, I’m sure the discussion will go on until late at night. The famous Italian dictionary, Treccani, says salve is highly informal but can be used in a formal way. The same does the Hoepli dictionary.

• Arrivederci! (Goodbye) The standard way to say goodbye in formal or semi-formal situations (like leaving a café or a business meeting). It literally means “until we see each other again.” You can use it at any time of the day, to one person or to a group.

• ArrivederLa! (Goodbye - Formal) This is the high-level formal version of arrivederci. You would use this with a professor, a doctor, or an elderly person to show extreme respect. It can be used at any time of the day when speaking to one person.

• A presto! (See you soon) Used when you know you will see the person again shortly. You can use it at any time of the day, to one person or to a group.

• A dopo! (See you later) Use this if you are going to see the person again, typically on the same day. For example, if you’re meeting a friend for coffee in two hours. You can use it at any time of the day, to one person or to a group.

• A domani! (See you tomorrow) A simple, direct way to say goodbye when you have plans for the following day. You can use it at any time of the day, to one person or to a group.

• Ci vediamo! (See you) The “go-to” phrase for friends. It’s casual, warm, and very common in daily social life. You can use it at any time of the day, to one person or to a group.

• Buona giornata! (Have a good day) You say this only when you are leaving a place in the morning or early afternoon. It’s a polite way to wish someone a nice day ahead. You can use it in formal and informal situations.

• Buona serata! (Have a good evening) The evening version of buona giornata. Use it when leaving a group or a shop after 4:00 PM.

• Buonanotte! (Goodnight) Only use this when you are going to bed or leaving someone very late at night, when no further activity is expected. It is a final “sleep well” greeting.

🤩 Chiaro?

To begin with, just learn these basic forms. Just 4 words are enough to be correct and polite in every situation.

Get PDF

🇮🇹 Practice with us!

Subscribe now

✅ Esercizio 5

✅ Rispondiamo! Quiz

https://wordwall.net/it/resource/108428009

✅ Esercizio 6

✏️ Scriviamo:

https://wordwall.net/it/resource/108427603

✅ Esercizio 7

✏️ Scriviamo:

What will you say in this situation?

https://wordwall.net/it/resource/108428259

🇮🇹 Practice with us!

🙋 Domande?

Do you have any questions?

Leave a comment or email me: dailyitalian@substack.com

Alla prossima!

Katarzyna

Who am I

I’m Katarzyna Ciszewska, an Italian as a foreign language teacher, DILS-PG certificate qualified trainer, CELI certificate examiner and owner of Scuola AL DENTE. My top priority is introducing quality to Italian teaching. We work on it every single day together with my team.

I’m here to help 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 and communicate effectively during your next stay in Italy.

Leave a comment, email me at dailyitalian@substack.com or reach out in chat!

🇮🇹 Do you speak Italian?

Check out my other newsletters:

Daily Italian - self-study materials for A1+ to B2 levels.

How to speak Italian?

Italian for Beginners

Italian for complete beginners. Learn basic Italian before your next viaggio!

Dal 🇮🇹 Katarzyna Ciszewska

🇮🇹 Remember: it’s enough to do just one exercise a day.

❣️ Every contact with the Italian language counts!

Ciao!

👝 Let’s prepare for our journey! Learning Italian from scratch before your next viaggio to Italy!

Here’s a list of expressions we are going to use to study Italian together.

📝 Parole utili – Useful words

🏫 Classroom communication

• Non capisco! – I don’t understand!

• Non lo so! – I don’t know!

• Che cosa significa “gatto”? – What does “gatto” mean?

• Come si dice “cat” in italiano? – How do you say “cat” in Italian?

• Puoi ripetere? – Can you repeat?

• Chiaro? – Clear?

👂 Listening

🎧 Ascoltiamo! – Let’s listen!

🎧 Ascoltiamo e rispondiamo. – Let’s listen and answer.

🗣️ Reading/speaking

📖 Leggiamo! – Let’s read!

🗣️ Parliamo. – Let’s speak.

✍️ Writing

✒️ Scrivi un commento! – Write a comment!

✒️ Lascia un commento! – Leave a comment!

✒️ Scriviamo. - Let’s write!

🔗 Matching/ordering / describing

〰️ Abbiniamo! – Let’s match!

📷 Descriviamo la foto! – Let’s describe the photo!

〰️ Riordiniamo. – Let’s put in order.

🌀 Review and observation

🌀 Ripassiamo! – Let’s review!

🔎 Osserviamo! – Let’s have a good look!

➕ Other grammar exercises

🏋️ Pratichiamo! – Let’s practice!

👀 Guardiamo! – Let’s watch / Let’s look!

✅ Rispondiamo! – Let’s answer!

✏️ Completiamo. – Let’s complete.

🪜 Coniughiamo. – Let’s conjugate.

🔑 Checking the answers

la chiave - answer key

soluzioni - the solutions

📚 Useful vocabulary

• La parola – The word

• La frase – The sentence

• La domanda – The question

• La risposta – The answer

• L’esempio – The example

• ✅ Esercizio 1 – Exercise 1

🎧 Listen to the pronunciation:

🌀Learn in Quizlet:

https://quizlet.com/pl/1143224027/parole-utili-flash-cards/?i=1wg40h&x=1jqt

⬇️ Download PDF:

GET PDF

🇮🇹 Join Italian for Beginners:

Subscribe now

🇮🇹 Practice with us!