Italiano

Italian

Romance

FamilyRomance Speakers~85M ScriptLatin CountriesItaly, Switzerland, San Marino Official in4 countries + EU Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3ita Glottocodeital1282

Italian (italiano) is a Romance language of the Italo-Romance branch with ~65M L1 and ~85M total speakers, official in Italy, San Marino, Vatican City, and Switzerland (Canton Ticino + parts of Graubünden). It is the closest of the major Romance languages to Latin in phonology and morphology, retaining doubled consonants (gemination), Latin-style 7-vowel system (a/ɛ/e/i/ɔ/o/u), and SVO word order with rich verbal inflection across moods, tenses, and person/number. Standard Italian descends specifically from the Florentine dialect of Tuscan, established as the literary prestige variety through the 14th-century "Three Crowns" — Dante Alighieri (Divina Commedia, 1308-1320), Petrarca (Canzoniere), and Boccaccio (Decameron) — whose works gave Tuscan continental prestige. The Accademia della Crusca (founded 1583, the world's first language academy) codified spelling and lexicon through its Vocabolario (1612). Standard Italian became the national language only after political unification (1861) and television-driven dialect leveling in the 20th century; ~30% of Italians still use one of the major regional dialects (Lombard, Venetian, Neapolitan, Sicilian) — many of which are linguistically separate Romance languages — alongside the standard. Lingua franca of opera, classical music, art history, and high cuisine.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Italian

Water

acqua

ˈakkwa

Fire

fuoco

ˈfwɔːko

Sun

sole

ˈsoːle

Moon

luna

ˈluːna

Star

stella

ˈstɛlla

Night

notte

ˈnɔtte

Rain

pioggia

ˈpjɔddʒa

Snow

neve

neːve

Wind

vento

ˈvento

Earth

terra

ˈtɛrra

Stone

pietra

ˈpjɛːtra

Mountain

montagna

monˈtaɲːa

Sea

mare

ˈmare

Mother

madre

ˈmaːdre

Father

padre

ˈpaːdre

Daughter

figlia

ˈfiʎʎa

I

io

ˈio

You

tu

tu

We

noi

noi

Name

nome

ˈnome

Person

persona

perˈsona

Head

testa

ˈtɛsta

Eye

occhio

ˈɔkkjo

Ear

orecchio

oˈrekkjo

Nose

naso

ˈnaːzo

Mouth

bocca

ˈbokka

Tooth

dente

ˈdɛnte

Tongue

lingua

ˈliŋɡwa

Hand

mano

ˈmaːno

Foot

piede

ˈpjɛde

Heart

cuore

ˈkwɔːre

Bone

osso

ˈɔsso

Blood

sangue

ˈsaŋɡwe

Poop

cacca

ˈkakka

Love

amore

aˈmoːre

Tree

albero

ˈalbero

Dog

cane

ˈkaːne

Cat

gatto

ˈɡatto

Fish

pesce

ˈpeʃʃe

Bird

uccello

utˈtʃɛllo

Butterfly

farfalla

farˈfalla

Egg

uovo

ˈwɔːvo

Bear

orso

ˈorso

Horse

cavallo

kaˈvallo

House

casa

ˈkaːsa

Milk

latte

ˈlatte

Honey

miele

ˈmjɛːle

Salt

sale

ˈsale

Wine

vino

ˈvino

Rice

riso

ˈriːzo

Chocolate

cioccolato

tʃokkoˈlaːto

Iron

ferro

ˈfɛrro

Wheel

ruota

ˈrwɔta

Silk

seta

ˈseːta

Book

libro

ˈliːbro

Eat

mangiare

manˈdʒaːre

Drink

bere

ˈbeːre

Sleep

dormire

dorˈmiːre

One

uno

ˈuːno

Two

due

ˈdue

Three

tre

tre

Four

quattro

ˈkwattro

Five

cinque

ˈtʃiŋkwe

Hundred

cento

ˈtʃɛnto

Hello

ciao

ˈtʃaːo

Thank you

grazie

ˈɡrattsje

Good

buono

ˈbwɔːno

New

nuovo

ˈnwɔːvo

Red

rosso

ˈrosso

White

bianco

ˈbjaŋko

Black

nero

ˈnero

Green

verde

ˈverde

Blue

blu

blu

Cuckoo

cuculo

ˈkuːkulo

Woof

bau bau

baw baw

Cock-a-doodle-doo

chicchirichì

kikkiriˈki

Computer

computer

komˈpjuter

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

ˈwaifai

Sushi

sushi

ˈsuʃʃi

Tea

tè

tɛ

Coffee

caffè

kafˈfɛ

Sugar

zucchero

ˈdzukkero

Orange

arancia

aˈrantʃa

Ninety-nine

novantanove

novantaˈnove

Dopamine

dopamina

dopaˈmiːna

At sign

chiocciola

ˈkjɔttʃola

Internet laughter

ahah

ˈahah

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Romance

Meaning ItalianDante-era ItalianCorsicanSicilianVenetianInterlinguaNeapolitan
Water acqua /ˈakkwa/ acqua /ˈakːwa/ acqua /ˈakwa/ acqua /ˈakkwa/ aqua /ˈakwa/ aqua /akwa/ acqua /ˈakkwə/
Fire fuoco /ˈfwɔːko/ foco /ˈfɔko/ focu /ˈfɔku/ focu /ˈfɔku/ fogo /ˈfoɡo/ foco /fɔko/ fuoco /ˈfwɔkə/
Sun sole /ˈsoːle/ sole /ˈsole/ sole /ˈsɔle/ suli /ˈsuli/ sol /sol/ sol /sɔl/ sole /ˈsolə/
Moon luna /ˈluːna/ luna /ˈluna/ luna /ˈluna/ luna /ˈluna/ łuna /ˈuna/ luna /luna/ luna /ˈlunə/
Star stella /ˈstɛlla/ stella /ˈstella/ stella /ˈstella/ stidda /ˈstɪɖːa/ stela /ˈstela/ stella /ˈstɛla/ stella /ˈstellə/
Night notte /ˈnɔtte/ notte /ˈnotte/ notte /ˈnɔtːe/ notti /ˈnɔtti/ note /ˈnɔte/ nocte /ˈnokte/ notte /ˈnɔttə/
Rain pioggia /ˈpjɔddʒa/ piova /ˈpjɔːva/ pioggia /ˈpjɔdʒa/ chiuvuta /kjuˈvuta/ piova /ˈpjɔva/ pluvia /ˈpluvia/ chiòve /ˈkjɔːvə/
Snow neve /neːve/ neve /ˈneve/ neve /ˈneve/ nivi /ˈniːvi/ neve /neve/ nive /nive/ neve /ˈneːvə/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Italian
Io voglio provare un abito che ho visto ‌in un negozio di fronte all'hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

Yo quiero probame un traje que vi en una tienda frente ar hotel
Eu quero experimentar um terno que vi numa loja em frente ao hotel
Jo vull provar-me un vestit que vaig veure en una botiga davant de l'hotel
Yo quiero probarme un terno que vi en una tienda frente al hotel
Italian
Io voglio provare un abito che ho visto ‌in un negozio di fronte all'hotel

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