This is the beginning of my attempt to learn Italian, and I want to try it kind of in the process that I learned Spanish. I'd simply like to start with greetings first. Does anyone have a list of greetings and courtesy terms that I might see, or if you could make one, it would be greatly appreciated. I really want to devote myself to progressing in the language. I want to make them into flash cards that will hopefully help me. Please and thanks.

Buon giorno - Good morning
Buona sera - Good evening
Ciao - Hello or goodbye
Come sta - How are you?
Come va - How are you doing?
Pronto - Hello for answering the telephone
Salve - Hello

VERY INFORMAL ci vediamo "chy vehdyahmoh" see you soon
INFORMAL arrivederci "ahrryvehdehrchy" good bye, see you again soon
FORMAL arrivederla "ahrryvehdehrlah" good bye, see you again soon
FORMAL / INFORMAL buonanotte "bwohnanoh'tteh" good night

Arrivederci is less informal than the other two expressions, though still used with people who
are already known. Nevertheless, it may be used politely when leaving a party of people.

Instead, arrivederla is the polite form addressed to single persons.
Buongiorno and buonasera are a polite greeting both when entering and leaving a
shop, a bar, an office, etc.
Buonanotte may be used either formally or informally, with singles or parties, usually
after 11 o'clock PM.

Benvenuti -- welcome - As in welcome to the forum
The answer to grazie is prego - You're welcome
Buona fortuna -- good luck

Ci sentiamo bene.
We're feeling fine.

Grazie, va bene cosí.
Thanks, just fine.

Quanto sono infedeli, in realita, gli uomini italiani?
How unfaithful are Italian men, really?

Lasciami in pace! Leave me alone!

Parli piu lentamente, per favore. Speak slower, please.

Lasciate ogni speranza, voi che entrate. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. Dante

Stronzo - Turd

Vaffanculo! - Screw yourself!

Mi sembravo che il semafaro fosse verde. I thought the light was green.

Senso unico? Davvero! A one way street? Is that so!

Ma e pazzo? Mah ay POT-soh? What are you? Crazy?

Ma perche e chiuso il museo oggi? But why is the museum closed today?

Mi perdone padre, perche ho peccato. Forgive me father, for I have sinned.

Non ho mai conosciuto l'amore fino ad oggi. I have never known love until today.

Se mi lasci me uccido. If you leave me I will kill myself.

Non posso vivere senza te. I can't live without you.

Sei molto bella. You are very pretty.

Il tuo seno e come i meloni tosscani. You breasts are like melons from Tuscany.

Abbracciami. Baciami. Tesoro mio. Oh mio Dio! Ti amo. Vengo, vengo! Non ti lascero mai. Sempre sto pensando in te.

me and my friends like to use 'Ciao' for hello and 'Ciao ciao' for goodbye
sometimes we also use 'a presto'= see you soon and 'buon pranzo'= have yourself a good lunch...

my friends like to 'ma dai..' but until today, i could not figure out how to use this expression..??

Thanks for pulling out a list like that, Villa. I appreciate it. Is there anything else that I should know how to say? Going to make these into flash cards and get the basics down.

Thanks for pulling out a list like that, Villa. I appreciate it. Is there anything else that I should know how to say?Oh, si! Going to make these into flash cards and get the basics down.

Si, do make lots of flash cards. I use them all the time.

So here is more to add to your list:

forse - maybe

Per piacere or Per favore - please

Mi scusi - Excuse me

Mi dispiace - I'm sorry

Un momento - Just a second

Va bene - Okay

Non Importa - It doesn't matter

Capisce? - Do you understand? kah-PEE-sheh

Capisco - I understand.

Non capisco. - I don't understand.

Non lo so - I don't know. or Non so.

Non mi ricordo - I don't remember.

Come si chiama questo in italiano? chiama(key-AH-mah)
(This is a very important expression in Italian!)
Just point to any object and say this.

Che cosa significa (quello)? What does that mean?

Per favore, parli lentamente. Please speak slowly. lehn-tay-MINT-tay

Che? or Che cosa? What? Che(Kay)

Che cosa ha detto? What did you say?

Lo ripeta per favore. Please repeat that.(it)

Come si chiama Lei? What is your name?

Come si chiama lui? What is his name?

Come si chiama lei? What is her name?

Mi chiamo... My name is... Me key-AH-moe...

(Io) voglio affittare un appartamento. I want to rent an apartment. voglio=I want (voh-YO)

Quanto costa? How much does it cost?

In che direzione devo andare? Which way do I go?

a sinistra - to the left - a destra - to the right - sempre diritto - straight ahead

Che lavoro fai? What kind of work to you do?

Non lavoro. I don't work.

Sono studente. I'm a student.

Sono professore. I'm a teacher.

Sono pensionato. I'm retired. pen-see-oh-NAH-toe

Che ora e? or Che ore sono? What time is it?

Sono le... The time is... or It's...

A che ora? At what time?

Le piace l'Italia? Do you like Italy?

Si, mi piace molto.

Ti piace il caffe?

No, non mi piace.(il caffe) No, I don't like it.

Di dove sei?(say) Where are you from?

Sono di California. I'm from California.

Dove vai? Where are you going? In Roma. To Rome.

(Tu) parli italiano? Do you speak Italian? Si, parlo italiano molto bene. Yes, I speak Italian very well.

Che cosa bevi, Maria? What are you drinking, Mary? Bevo il cappuccino. I'm drinking cappuccino.

Dov'e Rachele?(rah-KAY-lay) Where is Rachele? E alla partita di calcio.(CAL-cho) She's at the soccer game.

Che cosa mangi a pranzo? What do you eat for lunch? Di solito mangio un panino. Usually I eat a sandwich.
(MAHN-gee) (MAHN-joe)

Buon appetito! Enjoy your meal!

Vincent, Important must learn words in Italian. When I was first lived in Italy I noticed these words
kept coming up over and over again in conversation.

MAKE FLASH CARDS WITH THESE WORDS!!!!!!!!!

There are several classes of adverbs in Italian:

Adverbs of quality or manner:

bene- well, (BAY-nay)
meglio- better,(MEL-yo)
peggio- worse (PEG-gee-oh)
male- badly, (MAH-lay_
anche- also (ON-kay
cosi- as, like (coe-SEE)
pure- also, too, (POO-ray)
insieme- together (in-see-EH-may)
come- as, like
invano- vain


Adverbs of time:

Cuando?- When?
sempre- always,
mai- never, (my) oggi- today,
domani- tomorrow,
ieri- yesterday, (YEER-ree)
adesso- now, ora-now,
allora- then, poi-then, (owl-OH-rah)
dopo- after,
prima(di)- before,
ancora- still,yet, non ancora-not yet (an-CORE-rah)
spesso(frequentemente)- often,
stasera- tonight,
presto- early,soon,
tardi- late,
a tempo- on time,
gia- already,
subito & immediatamente- immediately, (SUE-be-toe)
di quando in quando- from time to time,
di solito- usually,
fa-ago, tre giorni fa- 3 days ago,
fino a- until,
frattanto- meanwhile,
raramente- rarely,seldom,
recentemente- recently, (ray-chin-tay-MINT-tay)
ultimo- last,
una volta- once,

Adverbs of Place:

Dove?-Where?,
lontano-far,
vicino-near, (vee-CHEE-no)
dietro-behind, (dee-EH-tro)
davanti-in front of,
avanti-forward, (ah-VAHN-tee)
indietro-backward,
dentro-inside,
fuori-outside,
qua,qui-here,
li,la-there
giu-down (jew)
laggiu-down there (lah-jew)
lassu-up there (lah-sue)
accanto a - beside
sopra-above
sotto-below
tra,fra-between
via-away (vada via!-get out of here!)
attraverso- through
intorno,attorno - around
da nessuna parte - nowhere
da qualche parte - somewhere
dappertutto- everywhere
a destra - to the right
a sinistra to the left

Adverbs of quantity:

Quanto?- How much?
molto-much
troppo-too much
poco-little
tanto-so much
abbastanza-enough
quasi-almost
piu-more
meno-less
circa-nearly, about
soltanto, solo, solamente-only
assai-much
piuttosto- rather Piuttosto caro. - Rather expensive.
probabilmente- probably
piu o meno- more or less
veramente- indeed, really
purtroppo- unfortunately

Le Domande - Questions

Come?- How
Quanto? How much
Quanti? Quante? How many?
Come mai?- How come?
Che? What?
Che cosa? What?
Quale? Which?
Chi?(key) Who?
Perche? Why?
Perche -because
Che tipo di...? What kind of...?
Dove? Where
Dove ci vediamo? Where shall we meet?

Aggettivi importante

buono- good
buffo- funny
caldo- hot
fredo- cold
caro- costly
cattivo- bad
celibe (CHAY-lee-bay) single male
aperto- open
chniuso- closed
corto- short
debole- weak
forte- strong
difficile- difficult
facile- easy
gentile- nice
giovane- young
grande- big
piccolo- little
grasso- fat
magro- skinny
innocente
lento- slow
libero- free, availiable
malato- sick
meschio- mean
morbido- soft
nubile- single female
nuovo- new
occupato- busy
pesante- heavy
piacevole- pleasant
piccante- spicy hot
pieno- full
pigro- lazy
primo - first
profondo- deep
sbagliato- mistaken
scuro- dark
secco- dry
sordo- deaf
sporco- dirty
pulito- clean
umido- humid
vecchio- old
vivace- active
vuoto- empty
zitto- quiet

Prepositions - Don't forget to make flash cards!!!

a- to, at
da- from, by, sometimes at
di- of sometimes from, about
in- in into sometimes by, on
su- on sometimes upon
con- with
per- for, through sometimes in order to + verb

Ho... I am... (literally have)
fame- hungry
freddo- cold
caldo- hot
paura- afraid
sete- thirst
sonno- sleepy
vergogna- ashamed

Il Nome - Nouns

il gatto- cat
il cane- dog
la carne- meat
il pane- bread
il topo- rat
il libro- book
la porta- door
la casa- house
la montangna- mountain
il albero- tree
la finestra- window
il finestrino- car or train window
il genitore- parent
la parente- relative (f.)
il parente- relative (m.)
la valigia- suitcase
la pioggia- rain
il sindaco- mayor
la spiaggia- beach
il denaro, il soldi- money
la lingua- language, tongue
il paese- country, small town
il postino- mailman
la posta- mail
la camera- room or bedroom also la camera di letto

Grazie, Villa. What a list. This should certainly keep me busy.

Abbracciami. Baciami. Tesoro mio. Oh mio Dio! Ti amo. Vengo, vengo! Non ti lascero mai. Sempre sto pensando in te.

I used this one just the other day while making love. Davero.

Although these lessons are intended for Vincent but i too learnt a lot from it Villa!
Grazie mille
You are a very good teacher

Dear Vincent so you have decided to learn Italian. Great choice, it really is a fantastic language. This will help you on your way, so I found this link for you,it will be very useful:
[url]www.smartphrase.com/Italian/it_general_words_voc.shtlm
www.mahalo.com/How_to_Speak_Italian
Have fun!