you do and so on. To say what your name is in Italian, you use mi chiamo which literally means I call myself, from the verb chiamarsi (to be called). Alternatively, like in English, you can simply say sono (I am), from the verb essere (to be). For more information on the verbs chiamare and essere, see here and here.
My name is…
| Mi chiamo Jonathan Jones. | My name is Jonathan Jones. |
| Ciao, mi chiamo Danielle. | Hi, my name is Danielle. |
| Ci chiamiamo John e Francis. | We are John and Francis. |
| Salve, io sono Liam. | Hi, I’m Liam. |
| Piacere, noi siamo Christine e Peter. | Nice to meet you, we are Christine and Peter. |
If you want to say how old you are, use ho followed by your age and anni (literally I have … years). ho comes from the verb avere (to have). For more information on avere, see here.
I’m… years old
| Ho trentasette anni. | I’m thirty-seven years old. |
| Ho ventidue anni. | I’m twenty-two. |
| Mio figlio ha otto anni. | My son’s eight. |
| Quanti anni hai? | How old are you? |
BUONO A SAPERSI!
If you have to ask Quanti anni ha? (How old are You?) you can always add se non sono indiscreto (or indiscreta) (if You don’t mind my asking).
To talk about who you are and what you do, use sono (I am), ho (I have) and faccio (I do). These come from the verbs essere (to be), avere (to have) and fare (to do). For more information on these verbs, see here, here and here.
I’m…
| Sono il fratello di Ben. | I’m Ben’s brother. |
| Sono un’amica di Paul. | I’m a friend of Paul’s. |
| Non sono sposata. | I’m not married. |
| Avevo una ragazza ma adesso sono single. | I had a girlfriend but I’m single now. |
| Siamo amiche di Helen. | We are Helen’s friends. |
When you say what you do in Italian, you use the verb fare (to do): I’m a baker is faccio il panettiere. The verb essere (to be) can also be used, but it is less common.
I’m a …
| Faccio l’insegnante. | I’m a teacher. |
| Faccio il medico. | I’m a doctor. |
| Faccio il programmatore presso un’azienda inglese. | I work as a programmer for a British company. |
| Sono avvocato. | I’m a lawer. |
| Siamo studentesse. | We are students. |
BUONO A SAPERSI!
Remember that when talking about people’s jobs, a in English is often translated by the definite article (il, la and so on) in Italian.
I have…
| Ho due sorelle. | I have two sisters. |
| Ho un figlio e una figlia. | I have one son and one daughter. |
| Abbiamo parenti nel sud Italia. | We have relatives in southern Italy. |
I live…
| Abito nel Galles. | I live in Wales. |
| Abito da sola. | I live alone. |
| Abitiamo in un appartamento. | We live in a flat. |
| Adesso vivo in Italia. | I live in Italy now. |
I’m staying…
| Sto all’Hotel Belvedere. | I’m staying at the Hotel Belvedere. |
| Sto da amici. | I’m staying with friends. |
| Mi fermo a Milano per una settimana. | I’m staying in Milan for a week. |
To say that you’ve done something for a given length of time, use da (for) with the present tense. Another common way of talking about things you’ve been doing for a while is to use sono… che….
I have been… for…
| Faccio l’infermiera da cinque anni. | I’ve been a nurse for five years. |
| Vivo in Italia da dieci anni. | I’ve been living in Italy for ten years. |
| Sono a Ravenna da due settimane. | I’ve been in Ravenna for two weeks. |
| Sono sei mesi che studio l’italiano. | I’ve been learning Italian for 6 months. |
| Sono tre mesi che insegno inglese in Italia. | I’ve been teaching English in Italy for 3 months. |
When you’re chatting socially, you will want to ask any number of questions. One simple way of finding out information from someone is to say mi parli di (tell me about) to someone you don’t know very well, or parlami di to someone younger. These come from the verb parlare (to speak). For more information on this verb, see here.
Tell me about…
| Mi parli della sua famiglia. | Tell me about Your family. |
| Mi parli un po’ di lei. | Tell me a bit about Yourself. |
| Parlami del tuo nuovo ragazzo. | Tell me about your new boyfriend. |
| Dimmi in che consiste il tuo lavoro. | Tell me what your job involves. |
| Ma basta parlare di me. Dimmi di te, adesso. | Enough about me. Now tell me about you. |
Another common way of asking for information in spoken Italian is to use question words: Come…?