Italian Phrase: Ti piace? (Do you like it?)

If you buy someone a gift or cook them a meal, you might want to ask the question Ti piace? (Do you like it?) to find out if your thoughtful gesture was appreciated. The phrase is made up of the second person indirect pronoun ti (you or to you) and the verb piacere (to like) …

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Italian Phrase: Vorrei un caffè. (I would like a coffee.)

If you visit a bar (café or coffee shop) in Italy, it is important to know how to order food and drink in Italian. In this article, we’ll be looking specifically at how to order a classic cup of coffee. Vorrei un caffè. I would like a coffee. Let’s see how the phrase is composed. …

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Italian Phrase: Parli italiano? (Do you speak Italian?)

If you are a non-Italian living in Italy, a question you might wish to ask other foreigner nationals or travellers you meet is Parli italiano? which means Do you speak Italian? Parli Italiano? Parli is the second-person singular of the verb parlare (to speak / talk) whereas italiano means Italian. Note that the names of …

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Italian Word of the Day: Torta (cake / pie)

The generic name for a baked sweet that is round in shape and made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, butter and eggs is torta (feminine, plural: torte). Although cake is the most common translation in English, it may also denote a pie. Learn with our video Some different kinds of sweet torte people enjoy …

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Italian Phrase of the Week: A presto! (See you soon!)

Tired of saying the formal greeting arrivederci when parting ways with someone? Want to transform it into something more casual and friendly? Then why not try saying A presto! (See you soon!) instead! Let’s break it down into its component parts: a A is a preposition that means to or at depending on the context. …

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Italian Word of the Day: Musica (music)

The Italian word for music is the similar sounding musica (feminine, plural: musiche). Both words can be traced back to the Greek mousikē (tekhnē) which means (art) of the Muses. Learn with our video Like the English word, musica is used to talk about not only the combination of melodic vocals and sounds itself, but …

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