Signs in Italian
After this free lesson you’ll avoid potential embarrassment and frustration by recognizing signs in Italian! Knowing these useful Italian words will ensure you’ll never walk into the wrong restroom, light up in a no-smoking area, or have your car towed from a no-parking spot.
Most of the time you’ll probably only need to recognize the written Italian phrase, but we’ve included audio so you can listen to the Italian pronunciation. This way you’ll be able to ask if something is open or closed, or explain that something is out of order. Let’s get started!
Resources for further reading:
Signs in Italian
Practice Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record
Rocket Record lets you perfect your Italian pronunciation. Just listen to the native speaker audio and then use the microphone icon to record yourself. Once you’re done, you’ll get a score out of 100 on your pronunciation and can listen to your own audio playback. (Use a headset mic for best results.) Problems? Click here!
Signore
Ladies
Signori
Gentlemen
Tirare
To pull
Spingere
To push
Aperto
Open
Chiuso
Closed
Gli orari di apertura
The opening hours
Parcheggio vietato
No parking
When you buy food in a supermarket and don't intend to eat it right away it might pay to check the ‘expiration date' to avoid nasty surprises…
Valida entro la data di…
Expiration date (female noun)
Da consumarsi entro…
Best before...
In 2005, the Italian government made it illegal to smoke inside public buildings, except for special designated smoking areas, so it's very useful to learn what "Vietato fumare" means.
La zona fumatori
The smoking area
La zona non-fumatori
The non-smoking area
Vietato fumare!
No smoking!
Sometimes you will see big bright colored signs in nearly every store window. There must be a sale on…
I saldi di fine stagione
The end of season sale
Scontato
Reduced
L'affare
The bargain
For more lessons on Italian vocabulary I recommend these!
- Learn all the vocabulary about accommodation in Italian
- Break the ice by using vocab to do with sports in Italian
- DIY while in Italy? This lesson covers the essential vocab for tools in Italian
A presto!
Maria DiLorenzi and the Rocket Italian Team
Make It Stick With Rocket Reinforcement
Reinforce your learning from this lesson with the Rocket Reinforcement activities!