🗣️🤏🇮🇹

How to Say ‘I speak a little Italian’ in Italian

Parlo un po' di italiano

PAHR-loh oon po dee ee-tah-lee-AH-noh

[PAHR-loh oon po dee ee-tah-lee-AH-noh]

🇮🇹 In Italy: Opening with a few words of Italian before switching to English is warmly received. Many Italians will reply in Italian to encourage you.

Phrase Breakdown

Parlo un po'

PAHR-loh oon po

I speak a little

'Parlo' means 'I speak' and stresses the first syllable: PAR-lo. 'Un po'' is short for 'un poco' ('a little'). Say 'un po'' smoothly as one beat, with an open 'o'.

Example

Parlo un po' di francese.

I speak a little French.

Words in this phrase

Parlo

[PAHR-loh]

I speak

To talk or converse about something.

Example

Io parlo italiano.

I speak Italian.

[oon]

Masculine singular indefinite article used before many singular nouns.

Example

Nel disegno vedo Un quadrato blu.

In the drawing I see a blue square.

po'

[po]

Bit

A small piece or amount.

Example

Mi sento un po' meglio.

I feel a bit better.

di italiano

dee ee-tah-lee-AH-noh

(of) Italian

'Di' links 'un po'' to the language. In speech, 'di' and 'italiano' blend together: di-ta-LIA-no. Stress the 'lia' syllable and roll the 'l' lightly.

Example

Ho una lezione di italiano.

I have an Italian lesson.

Words in this phrase

[dee]

Used to indicate relationship or association.

Example

Piacere di conoscerti.

Pleasure to meet you.

italiano

[ee-tah-lee-AH-noh]

Italian

Refers to the Italian language, the official language of Italy.

Example

L'Italiano è una lingua bella.

Italian is a beautiful language.

Guides for Italian learners

Duolingo vs Busuu: Which Is Better for Actually Improving?Duolingo vs Busuu compared: a free gamified habit versus structured levels with corrections from native speakers. Which to choose, and when to use both.

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