Basic directions: Asking for directions
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Key Phrases
Dov'è la stazione della metropolitana più vicina?
Where is the nearest metro station?
Come ci arrivo?
How do I get there?
Gira a sinistra al semaforo.
Turn left at the traffic light.
Skills You'll Learn
Asking for directions politely
Chiedere indicazioni con cortesia
Understanding simple navigation instructions
Capire semplici istruzioni stradali
Talking about nearby places and location
Parlare di luoghi vicini e posizione
Lesson Roleplay
Imagine you are in Italy asking a local for directions to the nearest metro station and learning how to understand simple street directions in Italian.
Ciao, scusa, dov'è la stazione della metropolitana più vicina?
Hi, excuse me, where is the nearest subway station?
Ciao! È abbastanza vicina da qui.
Hi! It's quite close from here.
Davvero? Come ci arrivo?
Really? How do I get there?
Vai sempre dritto per due minuti.
Go straight for two minutes.
Poi?
Then?
Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases
Ciao
chow
Hi
🇮🇹 [ciao] is friendly and informal. With strangers in Italy, especially when asking for help, [scusa] or [buongiorno] usually lands better.
See breakdown →Scusa
SKOO-zah
Excuse me
🇮🇹 [scusa] is the informal way to get someone's attention. With a stranger, many Italians would more naturally say [scusi].
See breakdown →Dov'è...?
doh-VEH eh
Where is...?
💬 [Dov'è] is short for [dove è]. Italian often contracts this way before [è]: [dov'è il bar?], [com'è?].
See breakdown →La stazione
lah stah-TSYO-neh
The station
Della metropolitana
DEL-lah meh-troh-poh-lee-TAH-nah
Of the subway / metro
💬 [della] is [di] + [la] merged together: literally "of the." You'll see the same kind of merge in [del], [dello], [dei], [delle].
See breakdown →Più vicina
pyoo vee-CHEE-nah
Nearest
💬 [più] makes an adjective into "more" or, in context like this, "nearest": [più vicina] = "closer/nearest." Swap in another adjective the same way: [più lontana] = "farther".
See breakdown →La stazione della metropolitana più vicina
lah stah-TSYO-neh DEL-lah meh-troh-poh-lee-TAH-nah pyoo vee-CHEE-nah
The nearest metro station
💬 Italian often uses [più] + adjective where English uses "-er" or "-est." So [la stazione più vicina] is literally "the station more near," meaning "the nearest station."
See breakdown →È
eh
It is
Abbastanza vicina
ah-bas-TAN-tsah vee-CHEE-nah
Quite close
💬 [vicina] changes to match a feminine thing, here [la stazione]. With a masculine noun, you'd get [vicino]: [il bar è vicino].
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