The ti amo Italian learning path on iPhone

For people learning Italian

Italian for Retiring in Italy: the language you will actually use

Holiday Italian is a restaurant and a train ticket. Living in Italy is an office, a plumber and a form.

What changes when you stop being a tourist

On holiday you speak to people whose job is to understand foreigners. Once you live somewhere, you speak to a clerk at the anagrafe who has no reason to slow down, a geometra explaining a survey, and a neighbour with a strong regional accent telling you something about the water.

The vocabulary shifts completely, and so does the skill: listening becomes the hard part, not speaking.

The words of the first six months

il codice fiscale	tax code, the first document you will need for anything
la residenza	registered residence
l’anagrafe	the population registry office
il permesso di soggiorno	residence permit, for non-EU citizens
la tessera sanitaria	health card
il medico di base	the family doctor you register with
l’ASL	the local health authority
il notaio	the notary, unavoidable in a property purchase
il rogito	the deed of sale
il geometra	surveyor, who handles most building paperwork
il catasto	the land registry
l’IMU	property tax
le utenze	utilities
la voltura	transferring a contract into your name
l’amministratore di condominio	building manager, if you buy a flat

Three sentences that carry more weight than any grammar

Scusi, può parlare più lentamente, per favore?
Non ho capito bene: me lo può ripetere?
Può scrivermelo, per favore?
Vorrei scegliere il medico di base.
Mi fa male da tre giorni.
Ho bisogno di un certificato per il lavoro.
Sono esente dal ticket?
Qual è la farmacia di turno stanotte?
Il medico riceve senza appuntamento?

The third one is the professional’s trick. Written Italian is far easier than spoken Italian for a learner, and asking someone to write down a date, an amount or an address turns an impossible conversation into a manageable one.

All'ASL

The words above, in a real conversation.

ImpiegataBuongiorno, deve fare la tessera sanitaria?

PazienteSì, e vorrei scegliere il medico di base.

ImpiegataMi serve il codice fiscale e il permesso di soggiorno.

PazienteEccoli. Che medici ci sono in questa zona?

ImpiegataQuesta è la lista. Il dottor Bianchi riceve anche il sabato.

PazientePrendo lui. Devo prenotare per la prima visita?

ImpiegataLo chiami domani mattina. Il numero è sulla tessera.

Take this page with you

The words and phrases from this page on two A4 sheets, free and ready to print. Keep it in your bag for the day you need it.

Download the sheet for free (PDF)

How much time it really takes

A year of one lesson a week, with reading in between, gets most people from nothing to handling their own paperwork. That is slower than the brochures suggest and faster than most people fear.

Starting after sixty is not a handicap: vocabulary and context are easier when you have more of both. What changes is the method: more repetition, less new material per session. Reading fits that perfectly, which is why a graded novel is a better companion than a grammar book. Start at A1 and move up.