Italian All-in-One For Dummies (27 page)

Scusi, dov'è una banca?
(
skooh
-zee, doh-
veh
ooh
-nah
bahn
-kah?) (
Excuse me, where is a bank?
)

Ho bisogno di/Mi serve
/
Mi servono
(oh bee-
zoh
-nyoh dee/mee
sehr
-veh/mee
sehr
-voh-noh) (
I need
[singular/plural])

•
un parucchiere
(oohn pah-rooh-
kyeh
-reh) (
a hairdresser
)

•
un'estetista (per fare la ceretta)
(oohn-eh-steh-
tee
-stah [pehr
fah
-reh lah chehr-
eht
-tah]) (
an esthetician
[for waxing]
) (It's uncommon for Italian women to shave with a razor.)

Sto cercando
(stoh chehr-
kahn
-doh) (
I'm looking for
)

•
il dentifricio
(il dehn-tee-
free
-choh) (
toothpaste
)

•
la crema solare
(lah
kreh
-mah soh-
lah
-reh) (
sun protection lotion
)

•
i tamponi
(ee tahm-
poh
-nee) (
tampons
)

•
la carta igienica
(lah
kar
-tah ee-
jehn
-ee-kah) (
toilet paper
)

•
qualcosa per le zanzare
(kwahl-
koh
-zah pehr leh dzahn-
zah
-reh) (
something for mosquitoes
)

•
qualcosa per il mal di testa
(kwahl-
koh
-zah pehr eel mahl dee
tehs
-tah) (
something for a headache
)

Vorrei
(vohr-
rey
) (
I'd like
)

Mi può/potrebbe consigliare . . . ?
(mee pwoh/poh-
trehb
-beh kohn-seel-
yah
-reh . . . ?) (
Would you be able to recommend . . . ?
)

Può ripetere lentamente, per favore?
(pwoh ree-
peh
-teh-reh lehn-tah-
mehn
-teh, pehr fah-
voh
-reh?) (
Would you repeat slowly, please?
)

Non capisco.
(nohn kah-
pees
-koh.) (
I don't understand.
)

Non lo so.
(nohn loh soh.) (
I don't know.
)

Italians use
boh
(boh) to express doubt and uncertainty. Despite its colloquialism, it's what most people use and would use to answer a question. However, avoid its use in a more formal setting, like in school, talking with a professor, in a business meeting, or during a job interview.

Scusi, sa a che ora arriva il treno da Siena?
(
skooh
-zee, sah ah keh
oh
-ra ahr-
ree
-vah eel
treh
-noh dah
syeh
-nah?) (
Excuse me, do you know at what time the train from Siena arrives?
)

Boh, dovrebbe essere gà qui.
(boh, doh-
vrehb
-beh
ehs
-seh-reh jah kwee.) (
Well, it should be here already.
)

Pronto
(
prohn
-toh) means more than just
hello
when you pick up the phone. It frequently means
ready,
in which case it functions as an adjective and, therefore, changes according to the noun it describes. In other words, when the noun it modifies is masculine, the adjective ends in
-o
—
pronto.
If the noun is feminine, it ends in
-a
—
pronta
(
prohn
-tah). When modifying plural nouns, it ends in
-i
(-ee) (masculine, plural) and
-e
(-eh) (feminine, plural). Consider these examples:

Ragazzi, siete pronti?
(rah-
gats
-zee,
syeh
-teh
prohn
-tee?) (
Guys/kids, are you ready?
)

La cena è pronta.
(lah
cheh
-nah eh
prohn
-tah.) (
Dinner is ready.
)

Another use of
pronto
you should know is
pronto soccorso
(
prohn
-toh sohk-
kohr
-soh) (
first aid; emergency room
). In this context,
pronto
means
rapid.

Presto
(
prehs
-toh), on the other hand, means either
early
or
soon
and as an adverb is invariable (ending always in
-o
). For example:
Siamo arrivati presto
(
syah
-moh ahr-ree-
vah
-tee
prehs
-toh) (
We arrived early
).

Here are a few other terms to help you cover the basic needs: