Common Italian Words

Learning the most common Italian words helps you understand a great deal of everyday sentences, because the casual, spoken Italian language often uses a limited vocabulary. In this free lesson, we will see the 300 most common words in the Italian language.

lo Zingarelli, one of the biggest and most renowned dictionaries of the Italian language contains about 145,000 words and over 380,000 definitions. Do you need to know them all? Of course not. Don’t waste your time learning words and phrases that you'll never use.

The experts say that you only need a vocabulary of the 300 most common Italian words to be able to communicate well in Italian. Why not check them out today?

Resources for further reading:

How to pronounce the 300 most common Italian words

Here are some of the most common Italian words to get you started. Further on in this lesson we will look at the pronunciation of these and many more Italian words.

  • Il - The (for masculine nouns)
  • Essere - To be
  • Questo - This
  • Cosa - What
  • Di - Of
  • Avere - To have
  • Quello - That
  • Anno - Tear
  • E - And
  • Dire - To say

Let’s begin!

Practice Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record

Rocket Record lets you perfect your Italian pronunciation. Just listen to the native speaker audio and then use the microphone icon to record yourself. Once you’re done, you’ll get a score out of 100 on your pronunciation and can listen to your own audio playback. (Use a headset mic for best results.) Problems? Click here!
Il
The (for masculine nouns)
Essere
To be
Questo
This
Cosa
What
Di
Of
Avere
To have
Quello
That
Anno
Tear
E
And
Dire
To say
Più
More
Uomo
Man
A
To
Potere
Can
Tutto
Everything, all
Giorno
Day
Un
A
Volere
Want
Suo
His
Volta
Time, occurrence
In
In, inside
Sapere
To know
Altro
Other
Casa
House, home
Che
That
Stare
Stay
Mio
My, mine
Parte
Part
Non
Not
Dovere
Must
Quale
Which
Vita
Life
Si
Self, himself, herself
Vedere
To see
Tanto
Much, very
Tempo
Time, weather
Da
From, since
Andare
To go
Grande
Big
Donna
Woman
Lo
The (for masculine nouns)
Venire
To come
Poco
A bit, a little
Mano
Hand
Per
For
Dare
To give
Molto
Much, very
Occhio
Eye
Con
With
Parlare
To speak, to talk
Nostro
Our, ours
Ora
Hour, now
Ma
But
Trovare
To find
Stesso
Same
Signore
Sir
Come
How
Sentire
To hear, to feel
Primo
First
Paese
Town, village
Su
On, over
Lasciare
To leave
Loro
They, them, their, theirs
Momento
Moment, while
Mi
To me
Prendere
To take
Ogni
Every, all, any
Modo
Way, means
Anche
Too, as well
Guardare
To watch
Proprio
Exactly, really, your own
Mondo
World
O
Or
Mettere
To put
Solo
Only, alone
Parola
Word
Io
I
Pensare
To think
Quanto
How much
Padre
Father
Se
If
Passare
To pass by, to hand
Bello
Nice, good
Punto
Spot, point, dot
Perché
Why, because
Credere
To believe
Qualche
A few, some
Lavoro
Work, job
Li
Them
Portare
To bring, to wear
Nuovo
New
Stato
State, country, been
Ci
We, ourselves
Parere
To seem; opinion
Certo
Certain, certainly
Caso
Case, coincidence
Ne
About it, of it
Tornare
To come back
Vero
True
Città
City
Lei
She, you (formal)
Sembrare
To seem, to look like
Buono
Good
Guerra
War
Ancora
Still, again
Tenere
To keep
Tuo
Your, yours
Strada
Street
Tu
You (informal)
Capire
To understand
Nessuno
Nobody
Figlio
Son
Lui
He
Morire
To die
Alcuno
Nobody, any
Notte
Night
Senza
Without
Chiamare
To call
Italiano
Italian
Voce
Voice
Bene
Good, well
Conoscere
To know
Ultimo
Last
Nome
Name
Cui
Whom, which
Rimanere
To stay, to remain
Vecchio
Old
Sera
Evening
Chi
Who
Chiedere
To ask
Piccolo
Small
Acqua
Water
Già
Already, yeah
Cercare
To search
Troppo
Too much
Amico
Friend
Dopo
After
Entrare
To go in, to enter
Tale
So (that)
Fatto
Done
Uno
One
Vivere
To live
Giovane
Young
Gente
People
Noi
We
Aprire
To open
Alto
High, tall
Amore
Love
Dove
Where
Uscire
To go out
Vostro
Your, yours (plural)
Storia
History, tale
Qui
Here
Ricordare
To remember
Diverso
Different
Aria
Air
No
No
Bisognare
To need
Meglio
Better
Forza
Strength
Allora
Then
Cominciare
To begin
Lungo
Long
Testa
Head
Tra
In, after, between
Rispondere
To answer
Povero
Poor
Ragione
Reason
Vi
To you (plural), there (formal language)
Aspettare
To wait
Maggiore
Major
Mare
Sea
Riuscire
To manage
Mezzo
Half
Mese
Month
Fra
In, after, between
Chiudere
To close
Secondo
Second
Capo
Boss, head
Prima
Before
Finire
To finish
Lontano
Far
Luce
Light
Forse
Maybe, perhaps
Arrivare
To arrive
Vicino
Near
Sole
Sun
Sì
Yes
Scrivere
To write
Possibile
Possible
Famiglia
Family
Sotto
Under
Diventare
To become
Caro
Dear, expensive
Piede
Foot
Voi
You (plural)
Restare
To stay, to remain, to keep
Pieno
Full
Persona
Person
Fino
Until, to
Seguire
To follow
Nero
Black
Via
Way, street
Oggi
Today
Bastare
To be enough
Particolare
Particular, strange
Signora
Lady
Quasi
Almost
Perdere
To lose
Bianco
White
Governo
Government
Pure
As well, too
Rendere
To make, to yield
Forte
Strong
Senso
Sense
Egli
He
Correre
To run
Politico
Politician, politic
Opera
Opera, work
Mentre
While, in the meantime
Salvare
To save
Attuale
Current, present
Prodotto
Product
Contro
Against
Vestire
To dress
Latino
Latin
Festa
Party
Invece
Conversely, however
Costruire
To build
Impossibile
Impossible
Gioco
Game
Esso
It
Camminare
To walk
Sereno
Serene, calm
Prova
Try
Là
There
Ritrovare
To find again
Puro
Pure, authentic
Campagna
Country
Però
But
Durante
While
Normale
Normal
Fiore
Flower
Né
Neither, nor
Accendere
To light
Perfetto
Perfect
Sala
Hall, room
Subito
At once, immediately
Evitare
To avoid
Piano
Low, slowly, piano
Misura
Measure, size
Verso
Verse, animal sound
Immaginare
To imagine
Caratteristico
Characteristic, distinctive
Posizione
Position
Ciò
That
Ridurre
To reduce
Russo
Russian
Natura
Nature
Ecco
Here it is
Contenere
To contain
Continuo
Continued
Ufficio
Office
Fissare
To stare at, to secure, to fix
Stupido
Stupid
Specie
Species, sort
Essa
She
Costringere
To force
Estremo
Extreme
Successo
Success
Fuori
Outside
Abbandonare
To abandon
Grigio
Grey
Zona
Zone, area
Meno
Less, minus
Attendere
To wait
Reale
Real, royal
Fuoco
Fire
Adesso
Now
Preferire
To prefer
Interessante
Interesting
Soldato
Soldier
Niente
Nothing
Scegliere
To choose
Medesimo
Same
Vista
View, sight
Cioè
Namely, that is
Avvertire
To warn, to feel
Religioso
Religious
Libertà
Freedom
Male
Evil, bad, pain
Proporre
To propose, to suggest
Ampio
Wide
Risultato
Result
Nulla
Nothing
Temere
To be afraid of
Biondo
Blonde
Importanza
Importance
Esprimere
To express
Ufficiale
Official

After you learn these words, understanding Italian will be much easier!

If you want more on Italian words then check these out!

A presto!

Maria DiLorenzi and the Rocket Italian Team

Make It Stick With The Rocket Activities

Reinforce your learning with activities that test your recall, listening and speaking skills!
Activities
Flashcards
Reinforce your memory using Flashcards
300 left
Listening
Listen to the phrase, then record yourself saying the phrase
300 left

Writing

Listen to the phrase, then type what you heard

1/300
Speaking
Record yourself saying the phrase out loud
300 left

Let's get you talking in Italian.

We love Italian people and Italian culture - from ancient amphitheaters and sunny vineyards to delicious pastas and captivating music! And there's no better way to connect with them than by learning l'italiano.

No credit card required

or
Sign up with GoogleSign up with Apple