Practice these 10 beginner Italian phrases with games

Meet John

I have a new student: John. John is eager to learn Italian but told me, “I don’t have much time, so I need to focus on the essentials to start speaking as soon as possible!”

If you’re like John and want to get straight to the point, this blog is for you. Whether you’re just starting or have taken a few lessons and want to refresh, these ten key structures will help you confidently handle your first encounters in Italian. Plus, I’ve included lots of fun games to help you practise and really get these phrases to stick!

The best way to learn is to practise, so let’s dive right in!

1. Introducing yourself

One of the first things you’ll need to say in Italian is your name. Here’s how:

🧑‍🦰 Come ti chiami? – What’s your name?
🗣 Mi chiamo… – My name is…

If you’re asking someone in a formal setting, use:

🧑‍🦰 Come si chiama? – What’s your (formal) name?
🗣 Mi chiamo… – My name is…

Let’s now add a greeting:

🧑‍🦰 Ciao, come ti chiami? – Hi, what’s your name?

🧑‍💼 Buongiorno, come si chiama? – Good morning, what’s your (formal) name?

🟢 Let’s put it into practise with a game: In this game, order the letters to form sentences.

2. Asking and answering ‘How are you?’

🧑‍🦰 Come stai? – How are you? (informal)
🗣 Sto bene. – I’m well.
🔄 E tu? – And you?

🟢 Game to widen your vocabulary: Play the game. Learn more possible answers to the question “Come stai?” by playing this game. Match the answers to the pictures.

3. Talking about where you’re from

🧑‍🦰 Di dove sei? – Where are you from?
🗣 Sono + nazionalità. – I am [nationality].
🗣 Sono di + città. – I am from [city].

📌 Example: Sono inglese. Sono di Londra. (I am English. I am from London.)

🟢 A game for you: Memory game with nationalities and Countries —match the country to the nationality!

4. Asking for clarification

When speaking a new language, you might not catch everything. These phrases will help you when you don’t understand:

👂 Come, scusa? – Sorry, what? (informal)
🔄 Puoi ripetere? – Can you repeat?
📝 Come si scrive…? – How do you spell…?

Do you know the alphabet? If not, you might be interested in this lesson about pronunciation, letters and sounds: Italian Alphabet – Parla Italiano

🟢 Game idea: Spelling race— write down a few words in Italian – if you are a complete beginner and do not know any, write them in your own language, it still work and it is realistic as an Italian might ask to spell a foreign word for them. Then set the timer and see how many you can spell using the Italian alphabet in one minute. For example: pen – pi, e, enne.

🟢 Game for developing your vocabulary: Hangman – guess the correct letter to form a range of vocabulary related to fruits in Italian.

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5. 20 essential nouns for first conversations

Here are some key words that often come up when meeting people:

1. nome (name)
2. cognome (surname)
3. indirizzo (address)
4. numero di telefono (phone number)
5. email (email)
6. età (age)
7. città (city)
8. paese (country)
9. nazionalità (nationality)
10. lingua (language)
11. amico (friend)
12. insegnante (teacher)
13. studente (student)
14. scuola (school)
15. lavoro (job)
16. ufficio (office)
17. casa (house/home)
18. vacanza (holiday)
19. passaporto (passport)
20. biglietto (ticket)

🟢 A fun game: Learn your first high frequency words with this game: match the English with the Italian word.

6. Numbers 1-20 in Italian

Numbers are essential in any conversation—whether giving your phone number or asking for a price.

| 1 – uno | 2 – due | 3 – tre | 4 – quattro | 5 – cinque |
| 6 – sei | 7 – sette | 8 – otto | 9 – nove | 10 – dieci |
| 11 – undici | 12 – dodici | 13 – tredici | 14 – quattordici | 15 – quindici |
| 16 – sedici | 17 – diciassette | 18 – diciotto | 19 – diciannove | 20 – venti |

🟢 Game idea: Listening challenge, record yourself saying the numbers, make sure you say them not in order. Reply the recording and write them down.

🟢 Practice with this game: Choose the correct number and listen to their pronunciation here. Second game here.

Conclusion: Practise, Practise, Practise!

These ten essential phrases will help you in your first conversations with Italians. The key is to practise often!

💡 Want to improve faster? Join our free live lessons and start using these phrases today!