Italiano in pratica
by Alessio · teacher of Italian for foreigners, ITALS master’s in teaching Italian abroad (Ca’ Foscari University, Venice) and a master’s in teaching Italian as a second language (Giustino Fortunato University, Benevento)
For a postcard you don't need the post office: stamps, francobolli, are sold at the tabaccheria too. At the post office take a ticket from the machine for the right service and wait for your number. Postboxes are red.
A postcard from Italy still makes people happy. The stamp is the tricky part: which one, where to buy it, and which slot of the red box to use.
Here's how to buy stamps, send a postcard, a letter or a parcel, and understand the ticket machine at the post office. With closed questions, as always.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Un francobollo per l'Inghilterra, per favore. | A stamp for England, please. |
| È per una cartolina. | It's for a postcard. |
| Vendete francobolli? | Do you sell stamps?answer: sì or no: at a tabaccheria |
| Quanto ci mette ad arrivare? | How long does it take to arrive? |
| Vorrei spedire questo pacco. | I'd like to send this parcel. |
| Serve un modulo? | Do I need a form?answer: sì or no |
| Dov'è la buca delle lettere? | Where's the postbox? |
| Che numero devo prendere? | Which ticket do I take?at the machine |
Read the Italian out loud once before you need it. The questions marked sì or no get a one-word answer you can understand.
At the post office, l'ufficio postale, and at many tabaccherie, the shops with the T sign. Say where it's going and what it is: un francobollo per l'Inghilterra, per una cartolina.
Prices depend on the destination zone, and the tabaccheria has the same official stamps as the post office.
| You say | English |
|---|---|
| Vendete francobolli? | Do you sell stamps?sì or no |
| Un francobollo per l'Inghilterra, per favore. | A stamp for England, please. |
| È per una cartolina. | It's for a postcard. |
| Tre francobolli per gli Stati Uniti. | Three stamps for the United States. |
| You hear | English |
|---|---|
| Per dove? | Where to?say the country |
| Lettera o cartolina? | Letter or postcard?a choice of two |
| Sono finiti. | We've run out.try the post office |
Take a ticket from the machine, l'eliminacode, choosing the right service: letters and parcels, payments, or financial services. Then watch the screen for your number and the desk, sportello, where you're called.
If you're not sure which button, ask anyone in the queue: per spedire un pacco, quale prendo? Post offices in smaller towns are often open only in the morning.
| You say | English |
|---|---|
| Che numero devo prendere? | Which ticket do I take? |
| Per spedire un pacco, quale prendo? | To send a parcel, which one do I take? |
| È il mio turno? | Is it my turn?sì or no |
| You hear | English |
|---|---|
| Prenda il numero. | Take a ticket. |
| Sportello tre. | Desk three. |
| Il prossimo! | Next! |
Stamp it and drop it in a red postbox, la buca delle lettere. Many boxes have two slots: per la città, for the city, and tutte le altre destinazioni, all other destinations. Abroad goes in the second.
Ask how long it takes as a yes/no question if you're in a hurry: arriva entro una settimana?
| You say | English |
|---|---|
| Dov'è la buca delle lettere? | Where's the postbox? |
| Arriva entro una settimana? | Will it arrive within a week?sì or no |
| Quanto ci mette ad arrivare? | How long does it take to arrive? |
| You hear | English |
|---|---|
| Più o meno una settimana. | About a week. |
| Nella fessura di destra. | In the slot on the right. |
In the 
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At the post office desk: say what's inside and where it's going, and fill in the form if one is needed. Ask whether it can be tracked, si può tracciare?, and whether it's insured.
Outside the EU a customs declaration is needed: the clerk will ask what's inside and how much it's worth.
| You say | English |
|---|---|
| Vorrei spedire questo pacco. | I'd like to send this parcel. |
| Serve un modulo? | Do I need a form?sì or no |
| Si può tracciare? | Can it be tracked?sì or no |
| Ci sono dei libri. | There are books in it. |
| You hear | English |
|---|---|
| Cosa c'è dentro? | What's inside? |
| Quanto vale il contenuto? | How much are the contents worth? |
| Compili questo modulo. | Fill in this form. |
| Pesa due chili. | It weighs two kilos. |
An Italian post office queue is rarely made up of people posting letters. Poste Italiane is also a bank, an insurer and a payment office: people come to pay bills, collect pensions, manage savings books and postal bonds, pick up parcels and, in some small towns, apply for documents. With about 12,750 branches at the end of 2024, many in villages that have lost their bank, it is the most widespread public counter in the country.
That explains the ticket machine at the entrance, with separate buttons for letters and parcels, payments and financial services, and the screens calling numbers to different desks. The same queue-ticket system, the eliminacode, turns up in pharmacies, hospital offices and town halls. In a country where an ordinary queue can be a loose crowd, the number in your hand settles every argument about who was first.
For a postcard you don't need the post office at all: the tabaccheria sells the same stamps. Italian postboxes are red, and many have two slots, one for the city and one for everywhere else. A postcard to another country can take a week or more, so the one you write on the first day of the holiday has the best chance of arriving before you do.
Read next: Why do Italians spell words with city names? · Why do Italian shopkeepers serve you instead of letting you browse?
Italians rarely answer with a bare sì or no. These are the forms you will actually hear, so you know which way the answer went.
| You hear | English | It means |
|---|---|---|
| Sì, certo. | Yes, of course. | yes |
| Certo! | Sure! | yes |
| Come no! | Of course! (literally: how not?) | yes |
| Volentieri. | Gladly. | yes |
| Va bene. | Fine, OK. | yes |
| Prego. | Go ahead / please do. | yes |
| No, mi dispiace. | No, I'm sorry. | no |
| Purtroppo no. | Unfortunately not. | no |
| Non c'è. | There isn't any. | no |
| È finito. | It's sold out / all gone. | no |
| Non si può. | That's not allowed. | no |
| Non ancora. | Not yet. | no |
Six real replies. Tap Yes or No for each one.
The grammar behind them
This guide as two printable pages, in English: the phrases to say, the yes/no questions and what you will hear.
All 43 phrase PDFs · €9Already included in the full course · €39 a year.
Or keep the eight phrases as an image, to save on your phone or pin:
Italian phrases: At the post office in ItalyAt post offices and at many «tabaccherie», the shops with the T sign.
Red. Many have two slots: one for the city and one for all other destinations, which is the one for abroad.
The ticket machine: choose the right service, take a number and wait to be called to a desk.
«Un francobollo per una cartolina», and add the country: «per l'Inghilterra».
