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Italian vocabulary

5,058 words from real stories, organized by topic and frequency. Hear the pronunciation, read examples and find pictures for concrete words. Practice any list for free, without an account.

5,058words to discover
8,205meanings in context
188stories to explore

Italian vocabulary lists by topic

Choose a topic to see its words and their meanings. Listen to any word, then practice the whole list.

Family & relationships

FlashcardsMeaning quiz
  • famiglia/faˈmiʎːa/family
  • padre/ˈpadre/father
  • amico/aˈmi.ko/friend
  • figlio/ˈfiʎʎo/son
  • mamma/ˈmam.ma/mom
  • figlia/ˈfiʎʎa/daughter

The 100 most common Italian words

Ranked by how often each word appears across 188 Italian stories. Start here: these words make up a large share of everything you read.

  1. 1il/il/the
  2. 2di/di/of
  3. 3uno/ˈuno/a/an
  4. 4essere/ˈɛssere/be
  5. 5la/la/(feminine singular)
  6. 6che/ke/that/which
  7. 7e/e/and
  8. 8in/in/
  9. 9non/non/not
  10. 10dire/ˈdire/say
  11. 11a/a/to
  12. 12lo/lo/it
  13. 13per/pɛr/for
  14. 14le/le/the
  15. 15avere/aˈvere/have
  16. 16ma/ma/but
  17. 17da/da/from
  18. 18si/si/oneself
  19. 19ci/tʃi/there
  20. 20con/kon/with
  21. 21questo/ˈkwɛsto/this
  22. 22fare/ˈfare/do
  23. 23al/al/to the
  24. 24anche/ˈaŋke/also
  25. 25come/ˈkome/as
  26. 26tutto/ˈtutto/everything
  27. 27più/pju/more
  28. 28se/se/if
  29. 29mi/mi/me
  30. 30su/su/on
  31. 31quello/ˈkwɛllo/that
  32. 32gli/ʎi/to him/her/them
  33. 33mio/ˈmi.o/my
  34. 34potere/poˈtere/be able to
  35. 35io/ˈi.o/I
  36. 36o/o/or
  37. 37suo/ˈswɔ/his/her/its
  38. 38sapere/saˈpere/know
  39. 39tutti/ˈtut.ti/everyone
  40. 40stare/ˈstare/be (used to form the progressive)
  41. 41anno/ˈanno/years
  42. 42tu/tu/you
  43. 43Come/ˈkome/like
  44. 44solo/ˈsolo/only
  45. 45due/ˈdu.e/two
  46. 46ti/ti/you
  47. 47ora/ˈɔra/hour
  48. 48cosa/ˈkɔ.za/what
  49. 49sempre/ˈsɛm.pre/always
  50. 50andare/anˈdare/go
  51. 51chi/ki/who? / whom?
  52. 52molto/ˈmolto/very
  53. 53volere/voˈlere/want
  54. 54dovere/doˈvere/must
  55. 55primo/ˈprimo/first
  56. 56tra/tra/among
  57. 57prima/ˈprima/before
  58. 58quanto/ˈkwanto/how much
  59. 59Suo/ˈsu.o/his/her
  60. 60vedere/veˈdere/see
  61. 61ne/ne/of it
  62. 62così/koˈzi/this way
  63. 63no/nɔ/
  64. 64dopo/ˈdɔpo/after
  65. 65tuo/ˈtu.o/your
  66. 66già/ˈdʒa/already
  67. 67grande/ˈɡrande/big
  68. 68bene/ˈbɛne/well
  69. 69persona/perˈsɔna/person; people
  70. 70quindi/ˈkwin.di/therefore
  71. 71poi/ˈpɔi/then
  72. 72grazie/ˈɡratːsje/thank you
  73. 73me/me/
  74. 74noi/ˈnɔi/us
  75. 75ancora/aŋˈkora/still
  76. 76secondo/seˈkondo/second
  77. 77poco/ˈpɔko/little
  78. 78Cosa/ˈkɔza/things
  79. 79qui/kwi/here
  80. 80senza/ˈsɛntsa/without doing …
  81. 81altro/ˈaltro/another
  82. 82mai/ˈmai/never
  83. 83ogni/ˈoɲɲi/every
  84. 84venire/veˈnire/come
  85. 85altri/ˈaltri/others
  86. 86quale/ˈkwale/which
  87. 87lui/ˈlui/he
  88. 88dove/ˈdove/where
  89. 89cui/kui/that/which
  90. 90stato/ˈstato/state
  91. 91nuovo/ˈnwɔvo/new
  92. 92quando/ˈkwando/when
  93. 93Quando/ˈkwando/when
  94. 94proprio/ˈprɔprjo/precisely
  95. 95parte/ˈparte/part
  96. 96casa/ˈkaza/home
  97. 97trovare/troˈvare/find
  98. 98tre/tre/three
  99. 99dai/dai/come on
  100. 100pensare/penˈsare/think
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5,058 words · Illustrated discoveries

Illustration for dire

/ˈdire/

say · tell someone · mean

135 stories
Illustration for vedere

/veˈdere/

see · meet · notice · be visible

125 stories
Illustration for sapere

/saˈpere/

know · to smell or taste of · seems to me

115 stories
Illustration for in

/in/

into · in which · in hand

107 stories
Illustration for poi

/ˈpɔi/

then · also

103 stories
Illustration for volere

/voˈlere/

want · mean to · love · is needed

92 stories
1 / 843
From a word to a whole world

You’ve met the words.
Now follow the story.

Every example in this library comes from an Inklingo story. Read at your level, listen to the narration, and tap a word whenever you need its meaning.

  1. Pick a story that interests you.
  2. Tap unfamiliar words as you read.
  3. Save the ones you want to remember.

A little guidance before you start

What are the most common Italian words?

The most common Italian words are short, everyday words such as il, di, uno, essere, la, che, e, in. The list above ranks them by how often they appear in our stories. Learn the first 100 and you will recognize a large share of the words in any text. The 100 most common Italian words

How many Italian words do I need to know?

A few hundred frequent words are enough to follow simple texts and conversations. Around 1,000 to 2,000 cover most everyday reading, and the rest comes naturally as you read. Learn frequent words first, then the topic words for the situations you care about.

What’s the best way to learn Italian vocabulary?

Start with a small set of useful words. Recall their meanings in an exercise, then read their story examples. Save words you want to revisit and return to them over several short sessions.

Can I practice without an account?

Yes. Browse the library and use all five exercises freely. Create a free account when you want to keep a word in your Word Bank and review it later on the web or in the app.

Why does a word have several meanings?

The right translation depends on the sentence. Open any word to compare its meanings, pictures, and original examples instead of memorizing a single translation.

Are these words for beginners?

You can filter by the reading level of the stories where each word appears, starting at A0 or A1. That tells you about the story’s difficulty; it is not a certified level for the word itself.

Learn the meaning, not just the translation.
A word can express different ideas in different stories. This library brings its meanings, images, and examples together. The level filter refers to the source story’s reading level, not a certified level for the word. Translations are available in 26 languages. Free practice progress stays in this browser. Save words to your account to keep them in your Word Bank.