Learn to read Italian
A short, active path into reading Italian: decode real words from a small sound guide, learn where the endings and the verb sit, meet the past that fables are printed in, and read a whole fable before opening your first book.
Words
2 sectionsDescribing words, and where they sit
- A describing word is a word like big, small, old, good.
- It normally comes after the thing and copies its ending: una casa piccola.
- A describing word ending in -e has one shape for both families: grande, felice.
- A few common ones can go in front instead: il vecchio coniglio.
- You need not produce these endings to read, but notice them: they say which description belongs to which thing.
Six describing words
| English | Italian | Feminine form |
|---|---|---|
| big | grandeGRAHN-deh | no change |
| small | piccoloPEEK-koh-loh | piccola |
| old | vecchioVEHK-kyoh | vecchia |
| good | buonoBWOH-noh | buona |
| happy | felicefeh-LEE-cheh | no change |
| sad | tristeTREE-steh | no change |
Half of these end in -e and have one shape for both families — though -e still becomes -i for more than one, as volpe became volpi.
A small house.
Una casa piccola.
OO-nah KAH-zah PEEK-koh-lah
casa first, piccola after — and the -a on piccola was copied from casa. Expect the thing first; translate in English order and you will be a word behind all the way.
The old rabbit is happy.
Il vecchio coniglio è felice.
eel VEHK-kyoh koh-NEE-lyoh eh feh-LEE-cheh
A few common ones — buono, bello“beautiful”, grande, vecchio, piccolo — can go in front instead, where they sound warmer: “an old fox” against “that old fox of ours”. Both positions are ordinary Italian.
Which ending, and which side
- una volpe vecchia
The describing word copies the ending of the thing.
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una volpe vecchiaOO-nah VOHL-peh VEHK-kyah“an old fox” - Il coniglio è triste.
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Il coniglio è triste.eel koh-NEE-lyoh eh TREE-steh“The rabbit is sad” - Why is it una casa piccola but un albero piccolo?
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The describing word copies the ending of its thing: casa ends in -a, albero in -o.