Vocab: Travel and Places – Spaghetti Logic

All the words you need for getting around, finding places, transport, accommodation and services. This list works as your reference now, and later you can add dialogue examples here or move them to your dedicated Situations page.

Places, Locations & Buildings

Italian	Pronunciation	Meaning & Notes
La città	la cheet‑tah	City / Town
Il paese	il pah‑eh‑zeh	Town / Village / Country
Il villaggio	il veel‑lah‑joh	Village
Il centro	il chen‑troh	Centre / Town centre
Il centro storico	il chen‑troh stoh‑ree‑koh	Historic centre / Old town
La strada	la strah‑dah	Street / Road
Il viale	il vyah‑leh	Avenue / Boulevard
La piazza	la pyat‑tsah	Square — very important in Italian towns!
Il ponte	il pon‑teh	Bridge
Il fiume	il fyoo‑meh	River
Il lago	il lah‑goh	Lake
Il mare	il mah‑reh	Sea / Seaside
La montagna	la mon‑tah‑nyah	Mountain
La stazione	la stat‑tsyoh‑neh	Station — usually means train station
La stazione ferroviaria	la stat‑tsyoh‑neh fer‑ro‑vyah‑ryah	Railway station — full name
L’aeroporto	lah‑eh‑ro‑por‑toh	Airport
La fermata dell’autobus	la fer‑mah‑tah del‑low‑toh‑boos	Bus stop
La metropolitana	la meh‑tro‑poh‑lee‑tah‑nah	Metro / Underground / Subway
Il parcheggio	il par‑keh‑joh	Car park / Parking area
L’hotel / L’albergo	loh‑tel / lal‑ber‑goh	Hotel — both used equally
Il ostello	los‑tel‑loh	Hostel
Il bed and breakfast	bed and brek‑fast	B&B — commonly used as is
Il campeggio	il kam‑peh‑joh	Campsite
L’appartamento	lap‑par‑tah‑men‑toh	Apartment / Flat
Il museo	il moo‑zeh‑oh	Museum
La chiesa	la kyeh‑zah	Church
Il negozio	il neh‑goh‑tsyoh	Shop / Store
Il supermercato	il soo‑per‑mer‑kah‑toh	Supermarket
Il mercato	il mer‑kah‑toh	Market — outdoor or covered
La banca	la ban‑kah	Bank
La farmacia	la far‑mah‑chee‑ah	Pharmacy / Chemist — marked with green cross
Le poste / L’ufficio postale	leh pos‑teh / loof‑fee‑choh pos‑tah‑leh	Post office
L’ospedale	los‑peh‑dah‑leh	Hospital
La polizia	la poh‑lee‑tsee‑ah	Police / Police station
Il bagno / I bagni	il bah‑nyoh / ee bah‑nyee	Toilet / Bathrooms — always ask for il bagno
L’ingresso	leen‑gres‑soh	Entrance
L’uscita	loo‑shee‑tah	Exit
Le scale	leh skah‑leh	Stairs / Steps
L’ascensore	la‑shen‑soh‑reh	Lift / Elevator
Il sottopassaggio	il sot‑to‑pas‑sah‑joh	Underpass / Subway (walking)
Il sovrappassaggio	il so‑vra‑pas‑sah‑joh	Footbridge / Overpass

Directions, Position & Prepositions

Italian	Pronunciation	Meaning
Qui	kwee	Here
Lì / Là	lee / lah	There
Vicino / Vicino a	vee‑chee‑no / vee‑chee‑no ah	Near / Close to
Lontano / Lontano da	lon‑tah‑no / lon‑tah‑no dah	Far / Far from
Dritto / Sempre dritto	dree‑toh / sem‑preh dree‑toh	Straight / Straight ahead
A destra	ah des‑trah	To the right / On the right
A sinistra	ah see‑nee‑strah	To the left / On the left
Di fronte (a)	dee fron‑teh (ah)	Opposite / In front of
Accanto (a)	ak‑kan‑toh (ah)	Next to / Beside
Dietro	dee‑eh‑troh	Behind
Tra / Fra	trah / frah	Between
Sopra	soh‑prah	Above / On top of
Sotto	sot‑toh	Below / Under / Underneath
Su / Sul / Sulla	soo / sool / sool‑lah	On / On the
In / Nel / Nella	een / nel / nel‑lah	In / In the / Inside
Da / Dal / Dalla	dah / dal / dal‑lah	From / By / At the house/shop of
Per	per	For / Through / Via
Fino a	fee‑noh ah	As far as / Until / Up to

Transport & Travel

Italian	Pronunciation	Meaning & Notes
Il treno	il treh‑noh	Train
L’autobus	low‑toh‑boos	Bus
Il pullman	il pool‑man	Coach / Long‑distance bus
Il tram	il tram	Tram
La metropolitana	la meh‑tro‑poh‑lee‑tah‑nah	Metro / Underground
Il taxi	il tak‑see	Taxi
L’aereo	lah‑eh‑reh‑oh	Plane / Aircraft
Il traghetto	il trah‑get‑toh	Ferry
La macchina / L’auto	la mak‑kee‑nah / low‑toh	Car
La bicicletta	la bee‑chee‑klet‑tah	Bicycle / Bike
A piedi	ah pyeh‑dee	On foot
Il biglietto	il bee‑lyet‑toh	Ticket
Andata	an‑dah‑tah	One‑way / Single
Andata e ritorno	an‑dah‑tah eh ree‑tor‑noh	Return / Round trip
Biglietto giornaliero	bee‑lyet‑toh jor‑nah‑lyeh‑roh	Day ticket / Daily pass
La biglietteria	la bee‑lyet‑teh‑ree‑ah	Ticket office / Ticket counter
Il distributore	il dee‑stree‑boo‑toh‑reh	Ticket machine / Vending machine
Convalidare	kon‑vah‑lee‑dah‑reh	To validate / stamp ticket — must do this before travel!
La prenotazione	la preh‑noh‑tah‑tsyoh‑neh	Reservation / Booking
Il binario	il bee‑nah‑ryoh	Platform / Track — trains
Il piazzale	la pyat‑tsah‑leh	Platform — buses / airport
La partenza	la par‑ten‑tsah	Departure
L’arrivo	lar‑ree‑voh	Arrival
Il ritardo	il ree‑tar‑doh	Delay / Late
Cancellato / Cancellata	kan‑chel‑lah‑toh / kan‑chel‑lah‑tah	Cancelled
In orario	een oh‑rah‑ryoh	On time
Prendere	pren‑deh‑reh	To take / To catch (bus/train)
Scendere	shen‑deh‑reh	To get off / To descend
Salire	sah‑lee‑reh	To get on / To go up
Cambiare	kam‑byah‑reh	To change / To transfer

Accommodation & Staying

Italian	Pronunciation	Meaning & Notes
La camera	la kah‑meh‑rah	Room — always say la camera, not stanza
Camera singola	kah‑meh‑rah seen‑goh‑lah	Single room
Camera doppia	kah‑meh‑rah dop‑pyah	Double room — one large bed
Camera a due letti	kah‑meh‑rah ah doo‑eh let‑tee	Twin room — two separate beds
Camera tripla	kah‑meh‑rah tree‑plah	Triple room
Camera familiare	kah‑meh‑rah fah‑mee‑lyah‑reh	Family room
Il bagno	il bah‑nyoh	Bathroom / Toilet — with shower or bath
La doccia	la doh‑chah	Shower
La vasca	la vah‑skah	Bath / Bathtub
Il balcone	il bal‑koh‑neh	Balcony
L’aria condizionata	lah‑ryah kon‑dee‑tsyoh‑nah‑tah	Air conditioning — very important in summer!
Il riscaldamento	il ree‑skal‑dah‑men‑toh	Heating
La colazione	la koh‑lah‑tsyoh‑neh	Breakfast
Compresa / Inclusa	kom‑preh‑sah / een‑kloo‑zah	Included / Included in price
Il prezzo per notte	il pret‑tsoh per not‑teh	Price per night
Il soggiorno	il soj‑jor‑noh	Stay / Period of stay
La chiave	la kyah‑veh	Key
Il deposito bagagli	il deh‑poh‑zee‑toh bah‑gah‑lyee	Luggage storage

Shops & Services

Italian	Pronunciation	Meaning
Il panificio	il pah‑nee‑fee‑choh	Bakery — fresh bread & pastries
La macelleria	la mah‑chel‑leh‑ree‑ah	Butcher
La frutteria	la froot‑teh‑ree‑ah	Fruit & vegetable shop
La gelateria	la jeh‑lah‑teh‑ree‑ah	Ice cream shop
La libreria	la lee‑breh‑ree‑ah	Bookshop
L’edicola	leh‑dee‑koh‑lah	Newsagent / News stand
Il tabaccaio	il tah‑bak‑kah‑yoh	Tobacconist — sells tickets, stamps, phone cards, souvenirs
Il parrucchiere	il par‑rook‑kyeh‑reh	Hairdresser (men & women)
Il calzolaio	il kal‑tsoh‑lah‑yoh	Shoe repair shop
Il cambio	il kam‑byoh	Currency exchange / Money exchange

Useful Phrases

Italian	Pronunciation	Meaning
Dov’è…?	doh‑veh…?	Where is…?
Dove sono…?	doh‑veh soh‑no…?	Where are…?
Qual è la fermata per…?	kwah‑eh la fer‑mah‑tah per…?	Which stop is for…?
Quanto dista…?	kwan‑toh dee‑stah…?	How far is…?
Quanto tempo ci vuole?	kwan‑toh tem‑poh chee vwo‑leh?	How long does it take?
Un biglietto per…, per favore	oon bee‑lyet‑toh per…, per fah‑voh‑reh	A ticket to…, please
Che autobus devo prendere?	keh ow‑toh‑boos deh‑voh pren‑deh‑reh?	Which bus do I take?
È lontano da qui?	eh lon‑tah‑no dah kwee?	Is it far from here?
Posso andare a piedi?	pos‑so an‑dah‑reh ah pyeh‑dee?	Can I walk there?
Vorrei prenotare una camera	vor‑ray preh‑noh‑tah‑reh oo‑nah kah‑meh‑rah	I would like to book a room
Avete camere libere?	ah‑veh‑teh kah‑meh‑reh lee‑beh‑reh?	Do you have any rooms available?
La colazione è compresa?	la koh‑lah‑tsyoh‑neh eh kom‑preh‑sah?	Is breakfast included?
Ho perso la strada	oh per‑so la strah‑dah	I have lost my way / I am lost

Help & Emergencies

ℹ️ NOTE: Keep these handy — you may not need them, but good to know!

Italian	Pronunciation	Meaning
Aiuto!	ah‑yoo‑toh!	Help!
Chiamate la polizia!	kyah‑mah‑teh la poh‑lee‑tsee‑ah!	Call the police!
Chiamate un ambulanza!	kyah‑mah‑teh oon am‑boo‑lan‑tsah!	Call an ambulance!
Ho bisogno di un dottore	oh bee‑zoh‑nyoh dee oon dot‑toh‑reh	I need a doctor
Mi sono perso / persa	mee soh‑no per‑so / per‑sah	I am lost
Ho perso il passaporto	oh per‑so il pas‑sa‑por‑toh	I have lost my passport
Mi è stato rubato…	mee eh stah‑toh roo‑bah‑toh…	My … has been stolen / Someone stole my …
Non mi sento bene	non mee sen‑toh beh‑neh	I don’t feel well

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