Kristin Melia
Last updated:
7 Italian “Word of the Day” Services for Daily Apprendimento
When it comes to a language as rich as Italian, there are a lot of words to learn.
The good news is that you don’t have to learn them all at once. Why not start with just one word a day?
Fortunately, there’s a wide variety of Italian “word of the day” services to help you do just that.
Read on for seven handy services to expand your Italian vocab one day at a time.
Contents
- 1. Daily Dose of Language
- 2. ItalianPod101’s Word of the Day
- 3. Transparent Language’s Italian Word of the Day
- 4. TuneIn’s Let’s Speak Italian! Podcast
- 5. Parola del Giorno
- 6. The Local’s Word of the Day
- 7. Daily Italian Words
- How to Practice Italian Words of the Day
- And One More Thing...
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
1. Daily Dose of Language
This is a free app available for iOS and Android in several modern languages. Be sure to select Italian as your language and then choose your language level.
Daily Dose automatically sends you a new word each day that includes audio pronunciation help and a three-minute video on how to use the new word of the day.
This is an excellent app to supplement your more formal Italian studies. Not only is it practical (you’ll learn words you actually need) but it’s a fun way to integrate Italian vocabulary acquisition into your daily routine.
All your new daily words are archived, so you can practice and test your retention at the end of each week.
2. ItalianPod101’s Word of the Day
ItalianPod101 offers a free word of the day subscription email service.
You’ll receive a new word in your inbox every day, including examples of how to use the word in daily life. It’s a great way to make sure you learn a new Italian word first thing in the morning!
If you find yourself enjoying this email service, you’ll be glad to know that ItalianPod101 also has a number of great paid features for Italian learners. If you sign up for ItalianPod101, you’ll gain access to over 800 Italian lessons on grammar and vocabulary, plus a new lesson every week.
These virtual lessons are taught by three native Italian speakers, meaning you’ll learn proper pronunciation right from the start. You can even participate in instructor-led group discussions for extra support on tricky subjects.
ItalianPod101 is definitely worth checking out. But if you just want quick and easy access to Italian words of the day, start by signing up for the free daily emails and go from there. Be sure to select your correct Italian level.
3. Transparent Language’s Italian Word of the Day
Transparent Language provides a free Italian word of the day lesson when you join their email subscription service. Every morning you can expect a new word in your inbox with full explanations.
Daily words can be any part of speech and include everything from verb conjugations to appropriate use of prepositions. You’ll also receive helpful notes that highlight how the word’s usage may differ from its English counterpart’s.
A more in-depth companion lesson covering each new word of the day is available for a monthly fee.
4. TuneIn’s Let’s Speak Italian! Podcast
A new episode of this Italian learner podcast is available every weekday. Lasting anywhere from two to five minutes, each episode features a new word of the day.
The podcast highlights a wide variety of highly useful words. For example, one of the episodes explains how to use the word questo (this). Another features the word ricevere (to receive).
Each episode also comes with notes that explain the word and its contextual usage. Hearing the daily word pronounced by the host is great for retention and can help you work on your pronunciation.
5. Parola del Giorno
Parola del Giorno, literally meaning “word of the day” in Italian, is a blog that provides a word of the day in line with the season or that has something to do with recent news.
For example, they featured addobbare (to decorate) in mid-December to help readers talk about decorating a Christmas tree. Along with each word, you’ll find interesting notes on word origin, cultural explanations and relevant grammar tips.
All daily words include audio pronunciation. The thematic index of past words is also useful when searching for new words or phrases in line with the season.
6. The Local’s Word of the Day
Nearly every anglophone expat in Italy knows the English-language newspaper The Local. It’s a one-stop shop offering everything from job postings to holiday shopping guides to language lessons.
Their Italian Word of the Day column is as amusing as it is practical.
For full access to their language column, The Local requires a monthly or yearly paid subscription. This is well worth it if you’re planning an extended stay in Italy.
However, if you don’t want to worry about subscribing, several of their words of the day are available for free.
7. Daily Italian Words
A blog curated by a native Italian and a British Canadian, Daily Italian Words is a fun and friendly publication with tips, trivia and cultural commentary.
You’ll find a new word of the day and expression of the week right on their homepage, or you can search their database of Italian words and phrases.
Their posts are engaging and funny, and they focus on context to help you learn when to use each word. Sign up for their newsletter or follow them on Twitter to get daily updates and immerse yourself in Italian culture from afar.
How to Practice Italian Words of the Day
Whichever resource you choose, remember that consistency is key. Learning new words is a daily practice. Make it part of your routine with something like a 10-minute study session after you brush your teeth in the morning.
Here are some tips to help you on your journey:
- Don’t overdo it. Try to learn just one to three new words per day. Otherwise, your brain may not retain all the new information. Focusing on just a few words can really help solidify them in your memory.
- Make it your mission to use the word of the day. Try forming a few sentences with it and write them down. Practice using it in front of a mirror or with a language partner. Look for it when you read: you’ll probably see it pop up over and over again! Once you have a few words under your belt, see how many words you can incorporate into one short story.
- Create a “new word” journal. Most language learners benefit from writing down new words. You can use a physical journal, or try Evernote’s dictionary-style templates or Trello’s interactive lists. The important thing is to keep all new words in one place and keep coming back to them.
- Test yourself on your new words. If you learn one to two words per day, try testing yourself at the end of the week. Check that you understand both the literal and contextual meaning of each word by using it in different sentences. Take a few minutes to visualize the word in context before moving on to the next one.
- Make a digital flashcard deck. You can use a free program like Quizlet, which allows you to create and share personalized flashcard decks and categorize them based on theme. You can also create multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank quizzes to help you retain new words. Try taking interactive tests with friends or classmates for some competitive learning!
While individual words are important to learn, you’ll eventually need to string them together to form sentences and have conversations.
A great way to learn how to form sentences is by immersing yourself in Italian content so you can hear the language used in context. For example, you could listen to Italian music, watch Italian movies, or you could try using an immersive language learning program like FluentU.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Click here to check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.
Some like to say that practice makes perfect. When learning a new language, though, there’s no need to pursue perfection.
Create a small but meaningful daily routine for yourself and the next time you find yourself at a loss for words in Italian, your recall will be swift.
Remember: every missing word is just an opportunity to learn a new one!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
And One More Thing...
If you're as busy as most of us, you don't always have time for lengthy language lessons. The solution? FluentU!
Learn Italian with funny commericals, documentary excerpts and web series, as you can see here:
FluentU helps you get comfortable with everyday Italian by combining all the benefits of complete immersion and native-level conversations with interactive subtitles. Tap on any word to instantly see an image, in-context definition, example sentences and other videos in which the word is used.
Access a complete interactive transcript of every video under the Dialogue tab, and review words and phrases with convenient audio clips under Vocab.
Once you've watched a video, you can use FluentU's quizzes to actively practice all the vocabulary in that video. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.
FluentU will even keep track of all the Italian words you’re learning, and give you extra practice with difficult words. Plus, it'll tell you exactly when it's time for review. Now that's a 100% personalized experience!
The best part? You can try FluentU for free with a trial.
Start using Fluent on the website, or better yet, download the app from the iTunes store or from the Google Play store.
