Italian vocab

1000 Most Common Italian Words – Frequency Vocabulary using the 80/20 principle

Our list of the 1000 Most Common Words in Italian will help you to become conversational and effectively tackle a lot of new vocabulary? Check out our post on the 1000 Most Common Words in Italian below. If you would like some help working on them, feel free to get some help with one of our award-winning online instructors.

OTHER GREAT WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR VOCABULARY:

  1. Get a private Italian tutor or enroll in an online group Italian class
  2. Watch Netflix in Original language with original language captions
  3. Browse our list of the best Italian text books
  4. Do some quick daily exercises on DuoLingo or any other free language learning app
  5. test your vocab knowledge with a fun quiz
  6. Check your level and track your progress with our 5-min Italian level test. 

OUR LIST OF THE 1000 MOST COMMON WORDS IN ITALIANS BELOW:

This Italian word list is in order of frequency. 
Frequency NumberItalianin English
1sonoI am
2ioI
3il suohis
4chethat
5luihe
6erahe/she was
7perfor
8suon
9comeas/like
10conwith
11lorothey
12essereto be
13aat
14unoone
15avereto have
16questothis
17dafrom
18diby
19caldohot
20parolaword
21mabut
22cosawhat
23alcunisome
24èis
25quellothat
26voiyou (pl)
27oor
28avevahad
29ilthe
30diof
31ato
32eand
33una
34inin
35noiwe
36lattinacan (of soda)
37fuoriout
38altroother
39eranowere
40che / qualewhich
41fareto do/make
42lorotheir
43tempotime
44seif
45volontàwill
46comehow
47dettosaid
48unan
49ognieach
50diretell
51fadoes
52fissoset (unchanging)
53trethree
54desideraredesire
55ariaair
56benewell
57anchealso
58giocareplay
59piccolosmall
60fineend
61mettereput
62casahome
63leggereread
64manohand
65portarecarry
66grandelarge
67compitarespell (words)
68aggiungereadd
69ancheeven/also
70terraland
71quihere
72devoI must
73grandebig
74altohigh/tall
75talesuch
76seguirefollow
77attoan act
78perchéwhy
79chiedereask
80maschimen
81cambiamentoa change
82è andatohe/she went
83lucelight
84tipokind (of thing)
85spentoturned off
86bisognoneed
87casahouse
88immagineimage
89provaretry
90noius
91di nuovoagain
92animaleanimal
93puntopoint
94madremother
95mondoworld
96vicinonear
97costruirebuild
98se stessohimself
99terraearth
100padrefather
101qualsiasiany
102nuovonew
103lavorowork
104partepart
105prenderetake
106ottenereget
107postoplace
108fattomade
109viverelive
110dovewhere
111dopoafter
112indietroback
113pocolittle
114soloonly
115turnoround
116uomoman
117annoyear
118è venutocame
119spettacoloshow
120ognievery
121buonogood
122meme
123daregive
124il nostroour
125sottounder
126nomename
127moltovery
128attraversothrough
129solojust
130formaform
131frasesentence
132grandegreat
133pensarethink
134diresay
135aiutarehelp
136bassolow
137linealine
138differirediffer
139turnoturn
140causacause
141moltomuch
142diremean
143primabefore
144spostaremove
145dirittoright
146ragazzoboy
147vecchioold
148troppotoo
149stessosame
150leishe
151tuttoall
152cithere
153quandowhen
154suup
155usouse
156il tuoyour
157modoway
158circaabout
159moltimany
160allorathen
161lorothem
162scriverewrite
163sarebbewould
164comelike
165cosìso
166questethese
167leiher
168lungolong
169renderemake
170cosathing
171vederesee
172luihim
173duetwo
174hahas
175guardarelook
176di piùmore
177giornoday
178potutocould
179andarego
180venirecome
181ha fattodid
182numeronumber
183suonosound
184nono
185piùmost
186personepeople
187il miomy
188oltreover
189sapereknow
190acquawater
191dithan
192chiamatacall
193primofirst
194chewho
195puòmay
196giùdown
197latoside
198statobeen
199oranow
200trovarefind
201testahead
202stare in piedistand
203proprioown
204paginapage
205dovrebbeshould
206paesecountry
207fondarefound
208rispostaanswer
209scuolaschool
210cresceregrow
211studiostudy
212ancorastill
213impararelearn
214impiantoplant
215coperturacover
216cibofood
217solesun
218quattrofour
219frabetween
220statostate
221mantenerekeep
222occhioeye
223mainever
224ultimolast
225lasciarelet
226pensierothought
227cittàcity
228alberotree
229attraversarecross
230fattoriafarm
231difficilehard
232iniziostart
233forzamight
234storiastory
235segasaw
236lontanofar
237maresea
238disegnaredraw
239sinistraleft
240tardilate
241runrun
242nondon’t
243mentrewhile
244stampapress
245closeclose
246nottenight
247realereal
248vitalife
249pochifew
250nordnorth
251librobook
252portarecarry
253ha presotook
254scienzascience
255mangiareeat
256cameraroom
257amicofriend
258ha iniziatobegan
259ideaidea
260pescefish
261montagnamountain
262stopstop
263una voltaonce
264basebase
265sentirehear
266cavallohorse
267tagliocut
268sicurosure
269orologiowatch
270colorecolor
271voltoface
272legnowood
273principalemain
274apertoopen
275sembrareseem
276insiemetogether
277prossimonext
278biancowhite
279bambinichildren
280iniziobegin
281ottenutogot
282camminarewalk
283esempioexample
284alleviareease
285cartapaper
286gruppogroup
287semprealways
288musicamusic
289quellithose
290entrambiboth
291marchiomark
292spessooften
293letteraletter
294fino a quandountil
295migliomile
296fiumeriver
297autocar
298piedifeet
299curacare
300secondosecond
301abbastanzaenough
302pianuraplain
303ragazzagirl
304solitousual
305giovaneyoung
306prontoready
307sopraabove
308maiever
309rossored
310elencolist
311anche sethough
312sentirefeel
313Discussionitalk
314uccellobird
315prestosoon
316corpobody
317canedog
318famigliafamily
319direttodirect
320posapose
321lasciareleave
322canzonesong
323misuraremeasure
324portadoor
325prodottoproduct
326neroblack
327breveshort
328numeralenumeral
329classeclass
330ventowind
331domandaquestion
332accaderehappen
333integralecomplete
334naveship
335areaarea
336metàhalf
337rockrock
338ordineorder
339fuocofire
340sudsouth
341problemaproblem
342pezzopiece
343ha dettotold
344sapevaknew
345passarepass
346dasince
347toptop
348tuttowhole
349reking
350stradastreet
351polliceinch
352moltiplicaremultiply
353nientenothing
354corsocourse
355soggiornarestay
356ruotawheel
357completofull
358vigoreforce
359blublue
360oggettoobject
361decideredecide
362superficiesurface
363profonditàdeep
364lunamoon
365isolaisland
366piedefoot
367sistemasystem
368occupatobusy
369testtest
370recordrecord
371barcaboat
372comunecommon
373orogold
374possibilepossible
375pianoplane
376vecestead
377asciuttodry
378meravigliawonder
379riderelaugh
380migliaiathousand
381faago
382corseran
383controllarecheck
384giocogame
385formashape
386uguagliareequate
387caldohot
388perderemiss
389portatobrought
390caloreheat
391nevesnow
392pneumaticotire
393portarebring
394yes
395lontanodistant
396riempirefill
397esteast
398dipingerepaint
399lingualanguage
400traamong
401unitàunit
402potenzapower
403cittàtown
404finefine
405certocertain
406volarefly
407caderefall
408portarelead
409gridocry
410scurodark
411macchinamachine
412notanote
413aspettarewait
414pianoplan
415figurafigure
416stellastar
417scatolabox
418sostantivonoun
419campofield
420restorest
421correttocorrect
422in grado diable
423libbrapound
424donedone
425bellezzabeauty
426unitàdrive
427sorgevastood
428contenerecontain
429frontalefront
430insegnareteach
431settimanaweek
432finalefinal
433ha datogave
434verdegreen
435ohoh
436velocequick
437svilupparedevelop
438oceanoocean
439caldowarm
440gratuitofree
441minutominute
442fortestrong
443specialespecial
444mentemind
445dietrobehind
446chiaroclear
447codatail
448produrreproduce
449fattofact
450spaziospace
451sentitoheard
452migliorebest
453orahour
454megliobetter
455verotrue
456duranteduring
457centohundred
458cinquefive
459ricordareremember
460passostep
461prestoearly
462tenerehold
463ovestwest
464terraground
465interesseinterest
466raggiungerereach
467velocefast
468verboverb
469cantaresing
470ascoltarelisten
471seisix
472tavolotable
473viaggitravel
474menoless
475mattinamorning
476dieciten
477semplicesimple
478alcuniseveral
479vocalevowel
480versotoward
481guerrawar
482porrelay
483controagainst
484modellopattern
485lentoslow
486centrocenter
487amorelove
488personaperson
489soldimoney
490servireserve
491apparireappear
492stradaroad
493mappamap
494pioggiarain
495regolarule
496governaregovern
497tirarepull
498freddocold
499avvisonotice
500vocevoice
501energiaenergy
502cacciahunt
503probabileprobable
504lettobed
505fratellobrother
506uovoegg
507giroride
508cellacell
509crederebelieve
510forseperhaps
511sceglierepick
512improvvisosudden
513contarecount
514piazzasquare
515motivoreason
516lunghezzalength
517rappresentarerepresent
518arteart
519soggettosubject
520regioneregion
521dimensionesize
522variarevary
523risolveresettle
524parlarespeak
525pesoweight
526generalegeneral
527ghiaccioice
528materiamatter
529cerchiocircle
530coppiapair
531includereinclude
532dividedivide
533sillabasyllable
534feltrofelt
535grandegrand
536pallaball
537ancorayet
538ondawave
539caderedrop
540cuoreheart
541amam
542presentepresent
543pesanteheavy
544danzadance
545motoreengine
546posizioneposition
547braccioarm
548ampiowide
549velasail
550materialematerial
551frazionefraction
552forestaforest
553sedersisit
554gararace
555finestrawindow
556negoziostore
557estatesummer
558trenotrain
559sonnosleep
560dimostrareprove
561solitariolone
562gambaleg
563esercizioexercise
564murowall
565prenderecatch
566montemount
567desideriowish
568cielosky
569pensioneboard
570gioiajoy
571invernowinter
572satsat
573scrittowritten
574selvaggiowild
575strumentoinstrument
576tenerekept
577vetroglass
578erbagrass
579muccacow
580lavorojob
581bordoedge
582segnosign
583visitavisit
584passatopast
585morbidosoft
586divertimentofun
587luminosobright
588gasgas
589tempoweather
590mesemonth
591milionemillion
592sopportarebear
593finiturafinish
594felicehappy
595speranzahope
596fioreflower
597vestireclothe
598stranostrange
599gonegone
600commerciotrade
601melodiamelody
602viaggiotrip
603ufficiooffice
604riceverereceive
605filarow
606boccamouth
607esattoexact
608simbolosymbol
609moriredie
610menoleast
611difficoltàtrouble
612shoutshout
613tranneexcept
614ha scrittowrote
615semeseed
616tonotone
617aderirejoin
618suggeriresuggest
619pulitoclean
620pausabreak
621signoralady
622cantiereyard
623salirerise
624malebad
625colpoblow
626oliooil
627sangueblood
628toccaretouch
629è cresciutogrew
630centcent
631mescolaremix
632teamteam
633filowire
634costocost
635persolost
636marronebrown
637indossarewear
638giardinogarden
639pariequal
640inviatosent
641sceglierechoose
642cadutofell
643adattarsifit
644flussoflow
645fierafair
646bancabank
647raccoglierecollect
648salvaresave
649controllocontrol
650decimaledecimal
651orecchioear
652altroelse
653abbastanzaquite
654rottobroke
655casocase
656mezzomiddle
657ucciderekill
658figlioson
659lagolake
660momentomoment
661scalascale
662forteloud
663primaveraspring
664osservareobserve
665bambinochild
666drittostraight
667consonanteconsonant
668nazionenation
669dizionariodictionary
670lattemilk
671velocitàspeed
672metodomethod
673organoorgan
674pagarepay
675etàage
676sezionesection
677vestitodress
678nubecloud
679sorpresasurprise
680tranquilloquiet
681pietrastone
682piccolotiny
683salitaclimb
684frescocool
685designdesign
686poveropoor
687lottolot
688esperimentoexperiment
689fondobottom
690chiavekey
691ferroiron
692singolosingle
693bastonestick
694appartamentoflat
695ventitwenty
696pelleskin
697sorrisosmile
698piegacrease
699forohole
700saltojump
701bambinobaby
702ottoeight
703villaggiovillage
704si incontranomeet
705radiceroot
706acquistarebuy
707aumentareraise
708risolveresolve
709metallometal
710sewhether
711spingerepush
712setteseven
713paragrafoparagraph
714terzothird
715deveshall
716tenutoheld
717capellihair
718descriveredescribe
719cuococook
720pianofloor
721oeither
722risultatoresult
723bruciareburn
724collinahill
725sicurosafe
726gattocat
727secolocentury
728considerareconsider
729tipotype
730leggelaw
731bitbit
732costacoast
733copiacopy
734frasephrase
735silenziososilent
736altotall
737sabbiasand
738suolosoil
739rotoloroll
740temperaturatemperature
741ditofinger
742industriaindustry
743valorevalue
744lottafight
745bugialie
746batterebeat
747eccitareexcite
748naturalenatural
749vistaview
750sensosense
751capitalecapital
752non saràwon’t
753sediachair
754pericolodanger
755fruttafruit
756riccorich
757spessothick
758soldatosoldier
759processoprocess
760operareoperate
761praticapractice
762separatoseparate
763difficiledifficult
764medicodoctor
765per favoreplease
766proteggereprotect
767mezzogiornonoon
768raccoltocrop
769modernomodern
770elementoelement
771colpirehit
772studentestudent
773angolocorner
774partitoparty
775forniturasupply
776la cuiwhose
777individuarelocate
778anelloring
779caratterecharacter
780insettoinsect
781catturatocaught
782periodoperiod
783indicareindicate
784radioradio
785raggiospoke
786atomoatom
787umanohuman
788storiahistory
789effettoeffect
790elettricoelectric
791aspettareexpect
792ossobone
793ferroviarail
794immaginareimagine
795fornireprovide
796concordareagree
797cosìthus
798dolcegentle
799donnawoman
800capitanocaptain
801indovinareguess
802necessarionecessary
803taglientesharp
804alawing
805crearecreate
806prossimoneighbor
807lavaggiowash
808pipistrellobat
809piuttostorather
810follacrowd
811maiscorn
812confrontarecompare
813poesiapoem
814stringastring
815campanabell
816dipenderedepend
817carnemeat
818strofinarerub
819tubotube
820famosofamous
921dollarodollar
822ruscellostream
823paurafear
284vistasight
825sottilethin
826triangolotriangle
827pianetaplanet
828frettahurry
829capochief
830coloniacolony
831orologioclock
832minieramine
833cravattatie
834inserireenter
835maggioremajor
836frescofresh
837ricercasearch
838inviaresend
839gialloyellow
840pistolagun
841consentireallow
842stampaprint
843mortodead
844spotspot
845desertodesert
846tutasuit
847correntecurrent
848ascensorelift
840rosarose
850arrivarearrive
851mastermaster
852pistatrack
853genitoreparent
854rivashore
855divisionedivision
856fogliosheet
857sostanzasubstance
858favorirefavor
859collegareconnect
860Messaggiopost
861spenderespend
862accordochord
863grassofat
864feliceglad
865originaleoriginal
866quotashare
867stazionestation
868papàdad
869panebread
870caricacharge
871correttoproper
872barbar
873offertaoffer
874segmentosegment
875schiavoslave
876anatraduck
877immediatoinstant
878mercatomarket
879gradodegree
880popolarepopulate
881pulcinochick
882carodear
883nemicoenemy
884risponderereply
885bevandadrink
886verificarsioccur
887supportosupport
888discorsospeech
889naturanature
890gammarange
891vaporesteam
892motomotion
893sentieropath
894liquidoliquid
895loglog
896significavameant
897quozientequotient
898dentiteeth
899guscioshell
900colloneck
901ossigenooxygen
902zuccherosugar
903mortedeath
904piuttostopretty
905abilitàskill
906donnewomen
907stagioneseason
908soluzionesolution
909magnetemagnet
910argentosilver
911graziethank
912ramobranch
913partitamatch
914suffissosuffix
915particolarmenteespecially
916ficofig
917impauritoafraid
918enormehuge
919sorellasister
920acciaiosteel
921discuterediscuss
922avantiforward
923similesimilar
924guidareguide
925esperienzaexperience
926punteggioscore (noun)
927melaapple
928compratobought
929portatoled
930pecepitch
931cappottocoat
932massamass
933schedacard
934bandaband (rubber)
935cordarope
936slittamentoslip
937vittoriawin
938sognaredream
939seraevening
940condizionecondition
941alimentazionefeed
942strumentotool
943totaletotal
944di basebasic
945odoresmell
946vallevalley
947nor
948doppiodouble
949sedileseat (in a car)
950continuarecontinue
951bloccoa block
952graficochart
953cappellohat
954venderesell
955successosuccess
956aziendaa company
957sottrarresubtract
958eventoevent
959particolareparticular
960affaredeal
961nuotoswim
962termineterm
963oppostoopposite
964mogliewife
965scarpashoe
966spallashoulder
967spargerespread
968organizzarearrange
969campoa camp
970inventareinvent
971cotonecotton
972nascitabirth
973determinaredetermine
974quarto di gallonequart
975novenine
976camiontruck
977rumorenoise
978livellolevel
979possibilitàa chance
980raccoglieregather
981negozioa shop
982trattostretch (of land)
983gettarethrow
984brillareshine
985proprietàproperty
986colonnacolumn
987molecolamolecule
988selezionareselect
989sbagliatowrong
990grigiogray
991ripetizionerepeat
992richiedererequire
993ampiobroad
994preparareprepare
995salesalt
996nasonose
997pluraleplural
998rabbiaanger
999richiestaclaim
1000continentecontinent
1000 most frequently used Italian Words
Photo by Albert on Unsplash

When learning a new language the amount of vocabulary can be daunting. Have you heard people say things like: “We only use around 700 words when we talk?” This is true to some degree. The number of words to learn to speak a language really depends on your purpose. Remember that 300 to 600 words may be enough to travel, but at least 1,000 words are necessary for a conversation. The most important thing is not knowing how many words you need to speak a language, but which words to know. Complete fluency is in the 10,000 word range. According to the economist: “Most adult native test-takers range from 20,000–35,000 words. Average native test-takers of age 8 already know 10,000 words. Average native test-takers of age 4 already know 5,000 words. Adult native test-takers learn almost 1 new word a day until middle age”

10,000 words. Wow. That does seem daunting when you are first starting out. But like anything new, you just have to start small and keep adding to it. Why not start smart as well? Below is a list of 100 words that are the most commonly used in the Spanish language.

That’s why we wrote this blog article: Find the 1000 words used most often in spoken Italian below.

Why these 1000 words?Italian vocab

Let’s imagine that you just got a job as a bartender. Would you try to learn every cocktail known to man, or would you focus on the cocktails that are most popular in your area? We developed this list of words based on the idea of the 80/20 principle (the cornerstone of results-based living). This strategy developed by David Kock that says “The 80/20 Principle asserts that a minority of causes, inputs or efforts usually lead to a majority of the results, outputs or rewards” So instead of learning 10,000 words in no particular order, learn the most common 100 words, then the most common 500 words, and then the most common 1000 words. If you want to check out this classic business book, you can order it here.

50 most common Italian words

Some other great ways to improve your vocabulary:

  1. Watch Netflix in Original language with original language captions
  2. Check out a great book like this: 2500 most frequently used Italian words
  3. Do some quick daily exercises on DuoLingo or any other free language learning app
  4. Take some classes with us at Strømmen and speak to a real human in person or online 
 

 

Enjoy some authentic Carbonara at home tonight:

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