Imagine strolling through chic Milan boutiques, exploring Roman markets, or picking up souvenirs in charming Tuscan towns … Would you know the essential vocabulary for shopping in Italian?
It might seem silly, but being able to communicate the basics helps you connect with locals and ensures you find exactly what you’re looking for while leaving a good impression – especially in small villages where English is not so widely spoken. To help you with that, in this blog post, we’ll dive into useful phrases and tips for shopping in Italian, inspired by lesson thirty-six from Coffee Break Italian Season 1.
If you want to learn how to pronounce these sentences and words better and listen to locals speaking the language, make sure to listen to the episode below:
Essential phrases for shopping in Italian
While many Italians, especially in tourist hotspots, speak English, being able to communicate in Italian can enhance your shopping experience. Speaking the local language makes interactions smoother, from understanding discounts to ensuring the right fit.
With that in mind, let’s review some key vocabulary for going shopping in Italian:
Starting the conversation
If you are familiar with some of the essential Italian phrases for shopping, you already know that you should greet the shop assistant when you enter the shop and that you should use the word vorrei to ask for something specific.
But let’s review how to say that you are just window shopping:
- Sto solo guardando. I’m just looking.
- Stiamo solo guardando. We’re just looking.
In addition, shopkeepers often start with the polite question, ‘Desidera?’ ‘Can I help you?’ to which you can respond with sì or no or even use the phrase we mentioned before.
Trying on clothes
The next topic about shopping in Italian that deserves a brief review is the vocabulary for trying on clothes. We will use a piece of vocabulary we mentioned on the last topic for that as that word is used to make polite requests:
- Vorrei provare questa xxx. I would like to try on this xx (item of vocabulary).
The shop assistant may ask you for your size by saying che taglia?, to which you can respond with porto una S o una M I wear a small or a medium, for example. When something feels a bit too loose, you can then say C’è una taglia più piccola? Is there a smaller size?.
Clothes in Italian
To be able to ask for specific clothing items, you need to know what they are called. For that reason (and also to help you review some of this important vocabulary), here are the names of some common items:
- la maglietta t-shirt
- la camicia shirt
- i pantaloni pants
- i pantaloncini shorts
- il vestito dress
- la gonna skirt
- il maglione sweater
- le scarpe shoes
- gli stivali boots
Asking about prices
A staple question when shopping is Quanto costa? How much does it cost? For simplicity, you can also use Quant’è?. As you can imagine, people will answer using numbers in Italian, so you should be familiar with them too!
When you are hunting for bargains or shopping during Italy’s famous saldi sales, you can then say:
- È scontato/a? Is it discounted?
At the cash desk
When you’re ready to make a purchase, these phrases come in handy:
- Lo/la prendo. I’ll take it.
- Posso pagare con carta di credito? Can I pay with a credit card?
The cashier then might ask you:
- Vuole una busta? Do you want a bag?
Shopping in Italian is about more than transactions and with these phrases and tips in hand, you’re ready to explore Italy’s vibrant shops and markets confidently. The small efforts to speak the language and put your Italian skills to the test will make your shopping adventure much more fulfilling.
You need to keep practising to improve your Italian skills, right? So check out the blog post we prepared on how to ask for information in Italian at the hotel reception!
