{"id":69842,"date":"2018-04-04T22:20:27","date_gmt":"2018-04-05T02:20:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/directions-in-italian\/"},"modified":"2025-02-25T00:32:49","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T05:32:49","slug":"directions-in-italian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/italian\/directions-in-italian\/","title":{"rendered":"Directions in Italian: Essential Words and Phrases"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Italy, street names aren’t always prominently posted, so there’s a chance you may make a wrong turn during your travels<\/a>. But by learning just a few simple questions and vocabulary words, you’ll be able to get back on track.<\/p>\n

In this article, you’ll learn how to ask for directions in Italian and how to understand the directions that you receive. With plenty of examples and audio to help perfect your pronunciation<\/a>, you’ll soon be navigating the streets of Italy like a native.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

How to Ask for Directions in Italian<\/h2>\n

If you need to ask directions from a stranger, always be polite and say scusi<\/i><\/strong>\u00a0first. Then you can use any of the following three phrases to ask that person how to get to where you want to go.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dov\u2019<\/strong><\/em>\u00e8…?<\/em><\/strong> <\/strong>\u2014 Where is\u2026?<\/p>\n

Dov\u2019<\/em>\u00e8 il cinema?<\/em> \u2014 Where is the movie theater?<\/p>\n

Come vado…? <\/em><\/strong>\u2014<\/em> How do I go [to]…?<\/p>\n

Come vado alla Piazza del Duomo?<\/em> \u2014 How do I go to the Piazza del Duomo<\/em>? (Literally: Cathedral Square)<\/p>\n

Dove si trova…? <\/em><\/strong>\u2014<\/em> Where does one find\u2026?<\/p>\n

Dove si trova la biblioteca?<\/em> \u2014 Where does one find the library?<\/p>\n

Destinations and Landmarks<\/h3>\n

Odds are, you won’t always have an exact address of the place you’re trying to find. Here’s a list of common places that you may need directions to.<\/p>\n

la biblioteca<\/strong> \u2014 <\/em>the library<\/p>\n

l’universit<\/em><\/strong>\u00e0<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 <\/em>the university<\/p>\n

la fermata dell’autobus pi<\/em><\/strong>\u00f9 vicino<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 <\/em>the nearest bus stop<\/p>\n

il supermercato pi<\/em><\/strong>\u00f9 vicino<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 <\/em>the nearest grocery store<\/p>\n

il bancomat pi\u00f9 vicino<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 <\/em>the nearest ATM<\/p>\n

la farmacia pi\u00f9 vicina<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 <\/em>the nearest pharmacy<\/p>\n

la banca<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 the bank<\/p>\n

l’ospedale<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 the hospital<\/p>\n

il bagno<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 the restroom<\/p>\n

la stazione dei treni\/la stazione ferroviaria<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 <\/em>the train station<\/p>\n

la piazza<\/strong> \u2014 <\/em>the square<\/p>\n

il centro<\/strong> \u2014 <\/em>the center (of the town)<\/p>\n

la chiesa<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 the church<\/p>\n

la\u00a0cattedrale<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 the cathedral<\/p>\n

Understanding Directions in Italian<\/h2>\n

In this section, we’ll go over some key words and phrases<\/a> so you can not only ask for directions, but also understand the directions you’re given.<\/p>\n

The Cardinal Directions<\/h3>\n

Here are your cardinal directions in Italian.<\/p>\n

nord<\/em><\/strong> \u2014\u00a0north<\/p>\n

sud <\/strong><\/em>\u2014 south<\/p>\n

est<\/strong> <\/em>\u2014 east<\/p>\n

ovest<\/strong>\u2014 <\/em>west<\/p>\n

Using Verbs to Find Your Way<\/h3>\n

When listening to directions, there are a few verbs you should learn that will come up again and again. Note that many of these verbs are irregular<\/a>.<\/p>\n

andare<\/strong> \u2014 <\/em>to go<\/p>\n

girare<\/strong><\/em>\/<\/em><\/strong>svoltare<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u2014 <\/em>to turn<\/p>\n

andare diritto\/dritto<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 <\/em>go straight ahead<\/p>\n

andare indietro<\/strong> \u2014 <\/em>go back\/in the opposite direction<\/p>\n

continuare<\/strong> \u2014 <\/em>continue<\/p>\n

fermarsi<\/strong>\u2014 <\/em>to stop<\/p>\n

partire<\/strong> \u2014 <\/em>to leave<\/p>\n

arrivare<\/strong> \u2014 <\/em>to arrive<\/p>\n

Using Prepositions to Find Your Way<\/h3>\n

Below are some prepositional phrases you may encounter when receiving directions. You may want to review how prepositions combine with articles<\/a> so that you recognize these phrases in use even when they don’t look exactly the way they do below.<\/p>\n

a sinistra<\/strong> \u2014 <\/em>left<\/p>\n

a destra<\/strong> \u2014 <\/em>right<\/p>\n

verso<\/strong><\/em>\/<\/strong><\/em>attraverso<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>\u2014 <\/em>through<\/p>\n

accanto a<\/strong> \u2014 <\/em>next to<\/p>\n

vicino a<\/strong> \u2014 <\/em>close to<\/p>\n

dall’altra parte di\/di fronte a<\/em>\/davanti a<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 <\/em>across from (opposite)<\/p>\n

davanti a\/di fronte a <\/strong>\u2014 <\/em>in front of<\/p>\n

dietro<\/strong> \u2014 <\/em>behind<\/p>\n

fino a<\/strong> \u2014 <\/em>until<\/p>\n

On FluentU<\/a>, you can try searching for some of these Italian prepositions to see how they are used in context by native speakers.

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