Buon anno!
The start of the new year brings with it the best sales, here in Rome sales (saldi) start on the 6th of January.
As a beginner in the Italian language, it can be hard to make conversations with locals. However, since I am a hopeless shopping addicted, I tried to speak to Italian shopkeepers as soon as I arrived in Rome. Guess what? They didn’t understand nothing! That’s why I decided to learn some useful Italian words and sentences about shopping that I wish to share with you today with a full article and an infographic... you will be able to go shopping in Rome after this lesson :)
by Sonia, student @ Kappa Language School in Rome
The Italian word for “store” is Negozio, it is used for every kind of store for example Negozio di scarpe (but also Calzature) which is the Italian translation for “shoe store”. When a store is open you will find the sign Aperto on the door, although when a store is closed you will find the sign Chiuso. In some periods there are big sales in Italy, and this period is called Saldi.
Well, now that you got all the major signs, let’s take a look inside the shop for the most common Italian words for clothes and accessories.
La borsa = the bag Il vestito = the dress Le scarpe = the shoes Il cappotto = the coat La maglietta = the t-shirt La cintura = the belt Il maglione = the sweater I pantaloni = the pants La gonna = the skirt
Let’s make it a little bit more difficult with some useful phrases during shopping.
- When you want to know where the city center is: “Dov’è il centro?”
- When you want to say that you would like to have something you start your sentence with the polite form “Vorrei…”
- When you want to try something on and take a look at yourself in the mirror: “Posso provare…?”
- When you want to ask the price for something: “Quanto costa?”
- When you want to know if you can pay by card: “Posso pagare con il bancomat?”
Practice your Italian in the stores of Rome now and don’t forget to join one of our Italian Language Courses to learn more practical words for shopping in Italy!
Save some money for your shopping and learn Italian: take a look at this offer
