Start with the 500 phrases for a first month and the page on the mistakes English speakers make. The statistics page counts the Italian half of the corpus, level by level and theme by theme; the rest are frequency and themed lists.
The 500 is the one to read if you are moving. The verb list is the one a student should not skip, because Italian puts more of the sentence on the verb than English does. One list here is written around a job: the Italian a foreign-trained doctor needs in the first weeks on a ward. It is a language list and never clinical guidance. Italian is thin here next to Spanish. There is nothing yet on the restaurant, the shop or a first week in an office, and those come before any more frequency pages.
Where to start
- 500 most useful Italian phrasesthe list for a first month, in the order a day happens.
- Italian mistakes English speakers makethe words that look like English and mean something else.
- Most common Italian verbs: A1 to C2 frequency ladderItalian puts more of the sentence on the verb than English does.
- Italian vocabulary, by the numberscompare vocabulary coverage by level and topic.
Start here
Choose Italian phrases to practise, check common mistakes, or explore vocabulary by level.
500 most useful Italian phrases
500 most useful Italian phrases for everyday life, travel and work. English translations, audio and notes on Lei and tu, from ordering coffee to meetings.
The Vocabcord 200 for DoctorsItalian for doctors: 200 hospital phrases
200 Italian phrases for a hospital shift: the handover, the ward round, the history, the examination, the family, the discharge letter.
The Vocabcord 500 · ItalianItalian for your first 48 hours in Italy
The Italian for the passport queue, the taxi meter, a prepaid SIM, when to pay at the bar, the scontrino and the etti.
The Vocabcord 500 · ItalianItalian mistakes English speakers make
The Italian traps our note column kept flagging: when ciao fits, how to answer in bocca al lupo, and why ricetta can mean two things.
Corpus statisticsItalian vocabulary, by the numbers
Every Italian entry in the app's language packs, counted by CEFR level and theme.
Words and frequency
Which words to spend your time on, ranked from our own corpus.
Reference
Look up dates, times and numbers, or review a particular type of word.
Keep learning
Explore 500 everyday phrases in other languages, with collection details and citation guidance if you want to use them in your own work. For more practice ideas, browse the blog. Teaching a class? Use the lesson plan and downloadable phrase lists to organise your lessons.
You can compare vocabulary coverage by level and topic across languages, and check how the level and topic labels are assignedwhen choosing what to practise next.
If you spot an incorrect translation, level or note, send us a correction. Feedback from people who use the language helps us improve these resources.