Italian italiano
For English speakers. 4 lessons · 3 references · about 50 min of reading, plus as much practice as you like.
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Lessons
4 in orderRead them in order; each one has a drill you can come back to.
Lesson 1Italian 1: Sounds & SpellingItalian spells almost exactly what it says. Learn the pure vowels, the c and g code and the double consonants, and you can read any word aloud and hear the difference between palaLesson 2Italian 2: The Present TenseAn Italian verb carries its subject in its ending. Learn the three regular families and the -isc-Lesson 3Italian 3: Essere, Avere, Andare, Fare, plus Gender & ArticlesThe most common Italian verbs are irregular, and there are not many of them. Learn them as blocks, then meet the other thing every noun carries: a gender, and an article chosen by two short rules.Lesson 4Italian 4: Your First 150 WordsA deck of 150 common words that schedules its own reviews: two cards per word, a sentence on each, and a saved schedule that carries across the Italian pieces.
Reference
3 toolsKeep these open while you learn: words by level, every verb, and how to say things.
Words by LevelItalian: Words by Level762 Italian words from A1 to B1, by topic, each with an example and a play button. Search them, filter them, and turn any list into flashcards that come back on a schedule.Verb TablesItalian: Verb Tables149 Italian verbs in every tense you need up to B1, irregular forms in red, a play button on each form, and a typing drill for any verb that will not stick.How to Say ItItalian: How to Say It150 Italian phrases for the first situations you meet, with notes on formality; 30 sentence patterns by level; and a one-page survival sheet to print.
Where to go next
Outside the library: the resources from Italian 4: Your First 150 Words.
- 🌐 Listening from scratch. Language Transfer’s Italian course: free audio lessons, funded by optional donations, built around working the language out yourself.
- 🌐 A beginner podcast. Coffee Break Italian, from Coffee Break Languages: short lessons for beginners, free to listen to, with paid extras.
- 🌐 Real conversations. Easy Italian, from the Easy Languages network: Italians talking in the street and at home, with subtitles in both languages. Best once the deck feels easy.
- 🌐 The basic vocabulary. Tullio De Mauro’s Nuovo vocabolario di base, published free by Internazionale: the next 2,000 words to aim for are its fundamental band.
- 🌐 A dictionary. The free Vocabolario Treccani, with gender, plural and stress for every word.
- 📘 A grammar to keep. Martin Maiden and Cecilia Robustelli, A Reference Grammar of Modern Italian (Routledge, 2nd edition, 2007): a reference, not a course; look things up when a sentence puzzles you.
- 📘 Graded readers. Short books written for A1 and A2 learners, such as Alma Edizioni’s Letture Italiano Facile, once you finish the deck.
- 🗣 A person. A paid tutor or a language-exchange partner, one session a week, as soon as you can say twenty sentences. No app replaces talking to someone.