Read below for a reprint of the November 2019 Fran Noi Magazine review of Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases book
right here in this blog.
There is also an online version of Fra Noi Magazine, which can be viewed by clicking here: Fra Noi Online Magazine.
Bonus: My language blogs are found here, with the same click for free!
AboutFra Noi Magazine:
In a previous blog, Fra Noi Magazine — Read and become “a little bit Italian today!” I mentioned that the pages of Fra Noi Magazine are filled with interesting interviews about the Italian-Americans who are making a difference in our world today and informative articles about the community here in Chicagoland and in our Italian homeland.
Along with the timely Italian-American news Fra Noi Magazine provides, the magazine’s reviews of music and movies keep me up-to-date, and their travel section features great travel tips and beautiful photographs of a different region and city each month.
Important to know: for Italian language students:
Fra Noi Magazine now features five pages written entirely in Italian! This is a wonderful opportunity for those learning Italian to increase their knowledge of the Italian spoken today, while at the same time reading timely and entertaining material about Italy. The Italian articles feature Italian movies, Italian history, Italian artists, and Italian sports.
Read below for the November 2019Fra Noi Magazinereviewof Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases with it’s newly designed cover!
Fra Noi Magazine review article, November 2019 for “Conversational Italian for Travelers: Just the Important Phrases” pocket travel book
How do I say, “I love you?” in Italian? Let me count the ways…
For Valentine’s Day this year, let’s learn how to greet all of our loved ones warmly by saying, “I love you!” in Italian, using the correct phrases for our one true romantic love and for our family and friends.
For the last 2 years, we’ve been learning that “commonly used phrases” are the key for how we can all build fluency in any language in a short time.
Well, what common Italian phrases could be more important to learn than the phrases that mean “I love you”?
This post is the 19th in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE.
Many “commonly used phrases” that will help us talk more easily describe “I love you…”
We will discuss the Italian expressions for those we love – our one true love, our family and our friends. See below for how this works.
As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?
The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference booksJust the Verbsand Just the Grammar
The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained atLearn Travel Italian.com.
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Amare…
How to say, “I love you!” in Italian
Let’s learn how to use the verb amare, which means “to love” in Italian. But be careful! Because this is the Italian verb of romantic love! In fact, Italians often address their romantic love simply as “amore,” which is the noun that means “love.” Italians also address loved ones as “amore mio,”which means “my love.” Beautiful, isn’t it? The full conjugation of this important verb is given below, with the stressed syllables underlined.
Amare – to love
io
amo
I love
tu
ami
you (familiar) love
Lei/lei/lui
ama
you (polite) she/he loves
noi
amiamo
we love
voi
amate
you all love
loro
amano
they love
For our focus on conversational Italian, as usual, the most important conjugations to remember for the verb amare will be the first and second persons – amo and ami. We can use these two verbs when speaking to our “one true love,” to ask about and declare our feelings of love.
This is a bit tricky in Italian, though, since the sentence structure is different from English. In English, we say, “I love you, putting the direct object pronoun “you” after the verb “love.” But, in Italian, the word order is the opposite. The direct object pronoun for “you,” is “ti” and tiis placed before the verb “love”. So, “I love you,” is, “Io ti amo,” in Italian. But, the subject pronoun, is left out as usual, so we come to the simple phrase, “Ti amo.”
To tell someone that you love them in Italian, you must think like an Italian! In my mind, to keep this all straight, I use the English sentence structure, ” It is you who I love!”
When asking the question, “Do you love me?” in Italian, the sentence structure is the same as the statement, “You love me,” but with a raised voice at the end to signify that this is a question. In Italian, it is not necessary to say, “Do you…?” the way we do in English when asking a question. So, the Italian phrase would be, “Tu mi ami?” Leaving out the subject pronoun, we come to, “Mi ami?” for, “Do you love me?”
Let’s summarize:
amare
to love in a romantic way
amore / amore mio
love / my love
essere innamorato(a) di…
to be in love with…
Mi ami?
Do you love me?
Ti amo!
I love you!
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After you and your romantic love have announced your love to each other, you may want to describe your feelings to someone else. Or, you may be talking to your friend about how someone you both know has fallen in love with another. My favorite Italian phrase to describe this head over heels feeling is, “Ho/Ha perso la testa per…” “I/he,she has lost their mind for…”
Another expression: “essere pazzamente innamorati di…” – “to be madly in love with…”
“Sono pazzamente innamorato di lei.” = “I am madly in love with her.”
Or, “amare (qualcuno) alla follia” – “to love (somebody) to distraction”.
“Amo lei alla follia.” = “I love her to distraction.”
Below are different variations of the first phrase, which is the one I have heard most often, listed in a table. Of course, you can substitute a male name for “lui” and a female name for “lei” and use the same verb form.
Ho perso la testa per lui!
I’ve fallen in love with him!
Ho perso la testa per lei!
I’ve fallen in love with her!
Lei ha perso la testa per lui!
She has fallen in love with him!
Lui ha perso la testa per lei!
He has fallen in love with her!
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The phrases we have just discussed for romantic love are very useful. But, we know that in life there is more than just romantic love. What about our love for family and friends? For places or things?
In America, we seem to “love” everyone and everything – from our spouse to our best friend, our hometown, our favorite movie, a comfortable pair of shoes, pizza… Everyone and everything can be “loved” in America! But, as an Italian friend once told me. it is best to reserve amare for that one and only, special romantic love.**
So, how do we tell family and friends that we love them in Italian?
We use the Italian phrasal verb form “volere bene (a qualcuno)” and the expression, “Ti voglio bene,” which really doesn’t translate well into English. It has been translated as, “I care for you,” or, “I wish you well,” but really, it is the way Italians tell their children, parents, and friends that they love one another.
The phrase, “Ti voglio bene,” is also used frequently between spouses or romantic couples. In other words, this phrase can also be used to express one’s romantic love for another. When you watch old Italians movies, listen closely, and you will hear this phrase come up often!
Mi vuoi bene?
Do you love me/care for me?
(for family and friends, and also your true love)
If you can learn to use the verbs amare and volere in these expressions,
you will have really learned to think in Italian!
Remember these phrases, and I hope you can use them every day!
**I have recently seen and heard exceptions to this rule about amare in advertisements: on a billboard in Milan, in an Italian magazine, and on Italian TV, but I still think it safest to be careful when choosing to use the verb amare.
The Christmas season is upon us and soon it will be a new year! Have you thought about making a New Year’s resolution to speak Italian more easily and confidently by the end of 2019? Well, it is never too late to start to learn Italian, and I think my blogs can help you with your goal this coming year!
For the last 2 years, we’ve been learning that “commonly used phrases” are the key for how we can all build fluency in any language in a short time.
If we learn how to incorporate“commonly used phrases”when we speak Italian, we will be able to express important thoughts – our own thoughts – just as we do in our native language! Read below and you will see what I mean.
This post is the 17th in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE.
Many “commonly used phrases” that will help us talk more easily describe “What I am thinking…”
We will discuss the Italian expressions for our everyday experiences: “I think…”, “It came to mind…”,“I changed my mind…” “I’ll take care of it!”
See below for how this works.
As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?
The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference booksJust the Verbsand Just the Grammar
The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained atLearn Travel Italian.com.
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Pensare…
What I Am Thinking in Italian
Many, many Italian expressions use the verb pensare, which is most often translated as “to think”. You can imagine how this verb will come up often in conversation – with family and close friends, of course, but also with acquaintances.
In fact, the Italian verb pensare has so many uses in Italian, many of which do not translate directly into English, that we must really learn to think in Italian to master the use of this verb. But, once mastered, speaking with these phrases will truly help one to sound like a native!
Because this verb is so important, we will give the full conjugation below. You will notice that pensare is conjugated as a regular -are verb. As always, remember that the most important forms for conversation will be the first three, singular forms io, tu,Lei/lei/lui, and the noiform for the plural. The stressed syllable has been underlined.
Pensare – to think
io
penso
I think
tu
pensi
you (familiar) think
Lei/lei/lui
pensa
you (polite) she/he thinks
noi
pensiamo
we think
voi
pensate
you all think
loro
pensano
they think
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Read below for many (but certainly not all) of the phrases that use the verb pensare.These phrases have been put into groups in our table to aid in understanding the different situations in which pensarecan be used.
First, some common expressions that use pensare with the meaning of to think are listed below. You will also notice that we’ve included the phrase “I realized” in one of our expressions. If you need help understanding this phrase, refer to our blog, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day! What I realized…”
I should also note that the pronouns “ci” and “ne” are an important component of many of the expressions that use the verb pensare. These pronouns have been highlighted in red when they are attached to a verb, in order to make them easy to recognize and to separate them from the verb itself. You may want to brush up on your understanding of how the pronouns “ci” and “ne” are used in sentences with the meaning of “about it” and “of it”in our Conversational Italian for Travelers text book or “Just the Grammar” book!
Che ne pensi?
What do you think about it?
Pensaci bene!
Think about it! / Really think it over!
Fammi pensare.
Fammici pensare.
Let me think.
Let me think about it.
Ora che inizio a pensare…
Ora che ho iniziato a pensare…
Now that I start to think… Now that I’ve started to think…
Ora che ci penso bene…
Ora che ci ho pensato bene…
Now that I really think about it…
Now that I’ve really thought it over…
Che pensi? Che stai pensando?!
A cosa stavi pensando?!
Stavo pensando… Pensandoci, mi sono reso(a) conto di…
What are you thinking? What are you thinking?!
What were you thinking?!
I was thinking… Thinking about it, I realized that…
Non serve a niente pensarci adesso.
It doesn’t help thinking about it now.
Che ne pensavi?
What were you thinking about it?
Penso di/che…*
I think that…
Pensavo di/che…*
I was thinking that…
Ho pensato di/che…*
I thought that…
*How to use “di” and “che” with the verb pensare will be the topic of the another blog!
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Below are some expressions where pensare is directly translated into English with the meaning of “to take care of it.” The verb itself does not actually mean “to take care of” but rather the expressions as a whole do mean that someone is taking care of something . I call these “idiomatic expressions,” but really these expressions just show the difference that sometimes occurs when one tries to expresses the same idea in English and Italian.
Another interesting thing to know about Italian, is that in order to emphasize who is doing what, or to signify one’s intent to do something, the subject pronoun (io, tu,lei/lui, etc…) is placed after the verb!
Here is an example situation for when to invert the usual Italian subject pronoun/verb order. Let’s say I am sitting in a room and having a conversation, eating, playing cards, etc. with a group of people when the doorbell to the house rings. I want to signify that I will get up and go to answer the door. In this case, I will say, “Vado io,” to mean, “I will be the one to go to answer the door right now.” This concept is expressed a lot more concisely in Italian, isn’t it?
Ci pensoio.
I’ll take care of it.
Ci pensitu?
Will you take care of it?
Ci pensavo io.
Ci ho pensato io.
I was taking care of it. I took care of it.
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Finally, let’s say we want to describe the circumstances around which our thought/thoughts (pensiero/pensieri) or idea/ideas(idea/idee) are based. (Please note that when the English word idea is used in a phrase to mean a “guess” or “impression,” the Italian word, “impressione” is the correct translation.)
For instance, we can talk about how a thought or idea has come to our mind(mente) or into our head(testa) using the verb to come (venire), just as we would in English, and then go on to describe our thought.
Or, perhaps we have been thinking about something and want to talk about why we have changed our mind! It should be noted that Italians express a change of mind differently than an English speaker. To an Italian, the idea (idea) always changes, rather than one’s mind. But to an English speaker, it is the “mind” itself that changes.
If you want to say what you have changed your mind about, just add “su”, which in this case means “about”to the phrase and describe the change!
Mi viene in mente.
(It) comes to mind.
Mi vengono in mente, tante cose.
Many things came to mind.
Lots of things came to mind.
Ti vengono in testa, certe cose/ certe pensieri.
Certain things/ Certain thoughts came into his head.
Mi è venuto in mente.
It came to mind.
Cambio idea ogni giorno.
I change my mind every day.
Ho cambiato idea su…
I’ve changed my mind about…
Hai cambiato idea?
Have you changed your mind?
Ho cambiato idea su…
I’ve changed my mind about…
If you can learn to use the verb pensare in these expressions,
you will have really learned to think in Italian!
Remember these phrases, and I guarantee you will use them every day!
Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, for Conversational Italian for Travelers books
Ciao a tutti! Fra Noi Magazine, a gorgeous, glossy magazine, featuring Italian-Americans, is the subject of my blog today because…
This already wonderful magazine has just undergone a “make-over”, and the first “new” edition has just come just out this week!
Fra Noi is the only magazine I receive that I actually wait for with great anticipation each month! It’s pages are filled with interesting interviews about the Italian-Americans who are making a difference in our world today and informative articles about the community here in Chicagoland and in our Italian homeland.
If you want to see for yourself, click on the link for the Fra Noi Magazine November 2018 issue that Fra Noi has generously provided to promote their magazine this month.
Along with the timely Italian-American news Fra Noi provides, their reviews of music and movies keep me up-to-date, and their travel section features great travel tips and beautiful photographs of a different region and city each month. I also love to turn to my favorite columnists: Zia Maria, who has a witty Italian saying for every situation, and Mary Ann Esposito, whose recipes are perfect for the home cook, whether making dinner for her family or a for a special occasion.
I am also honored to report that…
I have been included in the Fra Noi Magazine’s expansion of coverage for Italian language!
Fra Noi magazine now features five pages written entirely in Italian! Check out pages 93-97 in this month’s magazine. This is a wonderful opportunity for those learning Italian to increase their knowledge of the Italian spoken today, while at the same time reading timely and entertaining material about Italy. The Italian articles feature Italian movies, Italian history, Italian artists, and Italian sports.
On page 85 of Fra Noi magazine, I am introduced as a website columnist for Fra Noi. Each month on the Fra Noi website – FraNoi.com Language Tab – I will provide a blog from my popular series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!”
Take a look at the Fra Noi website, and you will find even more reasons to love this magazine!
