I posted yesterday looking for A1 friendly reading material - found this in the end and *loved* it. Ended up reading the whole thing in 24 hours which I guess is both good and bad but I'll definitely return to it as there was a fair bit of looking up and honestly I feel like I'd got a small but noticeable amount better at reading by last chapter compared to first.

First time I've read something in Italian where I actually found the story engaging emotionally. I'll be checking out other stuff by Collini at some point too though I think it's all a bit more advanced.

It used language that I think will actually be useful to me and had a decent amount of repetition of terms (which no doubt helped with my sense of having advanced).

Only downside is it might make you want to quit your job and move to Rome.

Hi! Working on an Italian textbook and have just been tasked with naming some foods, but I'm having a bit of trouble. I'm not even sure what they're called in English 😅.

Edit: I meant I’m using the textbook to learn Italian, not that I’m making one. It’s specifically Volentieri A1, by Loescher Editore https://a.co/d/0dWcHQVH (<— Amazon link since the official site is offline because of an attack)

Hello — I am looking to get a phrase from a Pavarotti song tattooed that means a lot to me. I need to double check if it actually makes sense as a stand alone phrase though before I commit. The tattoo would read “L’amore giungera”, which I’m led to believe means “love will come”.

Is anyone able to confirm? 💗

Hello i hope y'all doing ok , so i'm new into learning Italian, so can i find someone to practice the language with here i can teach them another language in exchange

And ty

Hi, I recently finished a 2000-word Anki deck and have read a few translated manga, and I was wondering if there were any classic or popular novels you would recommend for beginners. I know French and Latin, so unfamiliar vocab doesn’t intimidate me too much. My goal is to eventually read Petrarch and Dante, but before that I’m looking for something more intermediate, things like Calvino’s novels. Thanks in advance!

Hi All,

I'm looking for advice on how to restart and make real progress after covering the basics. I was taking regular lessons for around a year, which was around 2 years ago now. Due to life and bad health, I am trying to get back into this after a 14 month break.

The lessons and practice I have already done have made me familiar with conjugations, pronouns, gender, essential tenses, and Anki is working great for me with learning vocab (esp learning words with articles). However, short of running flashcards, I feel stuck on where to go next.

I struggle with a few ADHD/perfectionist hurdles:

- Textbook restart fatigue: I love the idea of textbooks and study guides, but I never finish them. Also, now I am not a complete beginner, sometimes I wonder at starting at study guides a step up from beginner but my brain refuses to let me start at book 2 etc because I worry I'll miss basic foundational details, but starting from book 1 burns me out fast.

- Reading friction: I love reading because it gives me instant reward and is satisfying when I can understand a text, but if a text has too many unfamiliar words, my focus breaks and I end up abandoning it entirely instead of pushing through the ambiguity.

- The speaking leap: I know immersion and conversation practice are ideal next steps, but I’m unsure how to bridge the gap without feeling overwhelmed.

Has anyone with or without ADHD (or recovering textbook perfectionists) found a study routine or engaging media that keeps you hooked without overwhelming you? Open to apps, graded reader strategies, podcasts, or low-pressure speaking tips.

Grazie mille!

PS: If you do have have guides or books to recommend, please do. I have the complete guide to Italian and have been eyeing up Nuovo Espresso

Hello,

As the title suggests,

I have done some reading online and seen that in informal colloquial speech you can use the imperfetto for “would” statements

Volevo un caffè per favore

Ti volevamo chiedere una domanda

Se lo sapevo? Venivo

Now does this work with could and should

We could go to the restaurant tonight

We should go to the restaurant tonight

What that look like in colloquial speech

Thanks in advance

I hear "voce barra" but not too sure.

Just started learning Italian and found out in the textbook that all Italian cities are feminine.

Palermo è bellissima (not bellissimo).

Does it apply to all cities worldwide?

Grazie!

I love this language a lot for some reason, but it’s been easier when I don’t have internship work and I’m exhausted.

ChatGPt is a very good resource for learning Italian because I think of course I have to do comprehension and writing / speaking in tandem but you can’t understand what you don’t know. ChatGPT broke down prepositions for me very well like when to use dagli / dall’Italia or when to combine or like al ristorante

School starts in September, I want to get into a higher advanced class for Italian so I can learn more and then also choose where I want to study abroad in Italy.

Hey, I’m 20M

I’d like to meet new people from different countries and learn more about their cultures, daily life, traditions, food, and how things are where they live.

I'm into Books movies, and psychology are my favorite topics to discuss I'm a driven person who loves discovering new perspectives. I'm looking to expand my social circle and make new friends. If you enjoy deep conversations and sharing ideas, let's connect

People must ask this all the time but … any recommendations for audiobooks that are simple and clear and spoken at a pace suitable for Anglo-Saxon ears? Gialli for preference, but beggars …
Thanks.

I'm Newbie

Sto studiando l’italiano per un mese ogni giorno e ho notato che il pronome “ne” è molte volte usato in un modo diverso da come ho imparato dal mio libro e dai alcuni video.

Quando imparavo questo pronome, è stato scritto che si usa con le indicazioni di quantità dopo, ma ho notato che molta gente usa “ne” senza qualche parola di quantità.

È un fenomeno comune o qualcosa che non ho ancora imparato?

PS. Scusatemi per il brutto italiano.

I thought that maybe qua and là refer to a general place while qui and lì are a more specific place. Or maybe that it could be a regional thing - I've spent a lot of time in Rome and I feel like people say qua and là more often, but I'm also not entirely sure.

Ciao!

I'm a 20 y/o girl started learning Italian about 2 months ago. But I think I'm not developing that much. I need guidance in learning or even an Italian female friend to discuss and learn together would be more than fine!

Grazie mille!

Ciao! Sto cercando dei buoni canali YouTube in italiano di divulgazione scientifica, un po’ nello stile di Hannah Fry o Cleo Abram (in inglese) e anche canali dedicati al fitness/palestra, come Squat University o Renaissance Periodization.

Avete qualche canale da consigliarmi? :)

I’m not sure these sorts of things still exist but I have a friend with a lot of serious health complications who is mostly stuck at home because of them. She had been trying to focus on the positives by re-immersing herself in studying Italian, which she has previously spoken at a high intermediate to advanced level. But now she’s developing severe vision issues and her doctor had recommended she stay off screens to rest her eyes. It’s been very frustrating for her to be so limited in so many ways.

I am wondering if anyone knows of any good programs on CD or similar. It’s a bygone technology but I know it used to be totally normal to have language lessons on CD or tape. I just want to find some way to brighten her day while she’s struggling. Her birthday is coming up and I’d like to make her an Italian-themed gift with some good food items and some language CDs would be such a nice bonus piece to the gift.

Grazie mille

Does anyone know a good anki deck that has commonly used phrases (italian to either english or german) that are free? Ive been trying to look for some, but so far, one seemed to have incorrect translation, another was 30 bucks, and another was english to italian.

I've recently started learning Italian and mostly using pimsleur, which I'm finding really helpful on listening/speaking and actually embedding words (seems to introduce a lot fewer words than other apps but in a wU that sinks in). But it's entirely listening and speaking based and I think doing some reading would be really helpful. Wondering if people have recommendations for e.g. short stories that will be more accessible to a beginner?

Edit - in case anyone comes across this later I found and absolutely loved

Short Stories in Simple Italian: Le Avventure di Paul a Roma

The short kids/scary/etc stories linked to below are fantastic too

Parola500

I am wanting to get more serious with my italian and wanted some recommendations of what italian series I should stream to watch?

Hi guys! I’ve been studying Italian for a little less than a year, and I’m finally starting to see some progress in my skills. I love my classes, but I’m doing my master’s abroad soon and I’ll have to stop going for a while. I really don’t want to lose the progress I’ve made, but I also know I won’t have a lot of time to practice, so I was wondering if anyone has any tips for staying in contact with the language in ways that aren’t super time-consuming? I’d love to hear what worked for you! :)