French & Italian Comparative Tutorial I: Learn Two Languages Simultaneously
 

 

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Basic Phrases

English	French	Italian
Good day	Bonjour	Buongiorno
Good evening	Bonsoir	Buona sera
Good night (going to bed)	Bonne nuit	Buona notte
Hello / Hi / Bye	Salut	Ciao
Goodbye	Au revoir	Arrivederci
Thank you (very much)	Merci (beaucoup)	Grazie (mille)
You're welcome	De rien	Prego
Please	S'il vous plaît	Per favore
How are you? (formal)	Comment allez-vous ?	Come sta?
How are you? (informal)	Ça va?	Come stai?
I'm (really) good.	Je vais (très) bien.	Sto (abbastanza) bene.
I'm ok.	Comme ci, comme ça.	Cosí cosí.
Bad / not bad	Mal / pas mal	Male / Non c'è male
What's your name? (f)	Comment vous appelez-vous ?	Come si chiama?
What's your name? (in)	Tu t'appelles comment ?	Come ti chiami?
My name is…	Je m'appelle…	Mi chiamo…
Where are you from? (f)	D'où venez-vous ?	Di dov'è Lei?
Where are you from? (in)	Tu es d'où ?	Di dove sei?
I'm from….	Je suis de…	Sono di…
How old are you? (f)	Quel âge avez-vous ?	Quanti anni ha?
How old are you? (in)	Tu as quel âge ?	Quanti anni hai?
I'm ___ years old.	J'ai ___ ans.	Ho ___ anni.
Yes / No	Oui / Non	Si / No
Do you speak … ? (f)	Parlez-vous …	Parla…
Do you speak … ? (inf)	Est-ce que tu parles …	Parli…
I (don't) speak…	Je (ne) parle (pas)…	(Non) parlo…
I (don't) know	Je (ne) sais (pas).	(Non) lo so.
Do you understand? (f)	Comprenez-vous?	Capisce?
Do you understand? (inf)	Est-ce que tu comprends ?	Capisci?
I (don't) understand	Je (ne) comprends (pas).	(Non) capisco.
Can you help me? (f)	Pouvez-vous m'aider ?	Può aiutarmi?
Can you help me? (inf)	Est-ce que tu peux m'aider ?	Puoi aiutarmi?
Of course.	Bien sûr	Certamente
I would like…	Je voudrais…	Vorrei…
Where is / are … ?	Où est / sont… ?	Dov'è / Dove sono… ?
Excuse me	Excusez-moi	Con permesso
Pardon me	Pardonnez-moi	Mi scusi
I'm sorry	Je suis désolé(e).	Mi dispiace
See you tomorrow	A demain	A domani
See you later / soon	A tout à l'heure / A bientôt	A più tardi / A presto
Mister / Misses / Miss	Monsieur / Madame / Mademoiselle	Signore / Signora / Signorina
Pleased to meet you.	Enchanté(e).	Piacere. / Molto lieto.
Pardon?	Comment ?	Come?
How do you say … ?	Comment dit-on … ?	Come si dice … ?
What's the matter?	Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?	Cosa c'è?
What's happening?	Qu'est-ce qui se passe ?	Che succede?
There is / are…	Il y a…	C'è / Ci sono…
What is it?	Qu'est-ce que c'est que ça ?	Che cosa è?
Right?	N'est-ce pas ?	Vero?
It doesn't matter.	Ça ne fait rien.	Non importa
I have no idea.	Je n'ai aucune idée	Non ho idea
I don't care.	Ça m'est égal.	Non m'importa
I'm tired / sick.	Je suis fatigué(e) / malade.	Sono stanco(-a) / malato(-a)
I'm hungry / thirsty.	J'ai faim / soif.	Ho fame / sete.
I'm cold / hot.	J'ai froid / chaud.	Ho freddo / caldo.
I'm bored.	Je m'ennuie.	Mi annoio.
I forgot.	J'ai oublié.	Ho dimenticato.
I have to go.	Je dois y aller.	Devo andare.
Welcome!	Bienvenue	Benvenuti
Let's go!	Allons-y !	Andiamo!
Good luck!	Bonne chance !	Buona fortuna!
Have fun! (inf)	Amuse-toi !	Divertiti!
Bless you!	A tes souhaits !	Salute!
Cheers!	A la vôtre !	Cincin!
Pay attention! / Be careful! (f)	Faites attention !	Fate attenzione!
Don't worry! (inf)	Ne t'en fais pas !	Non ti preoccupare!
Shut up! (f / inf)	Taisez-vous ! / Tais-toi !	Sta zitto! / Stai zitto!
Congratulations!	Félicitations !	Congratulazioni!
Happy New Year	Bonne Année	Buon Anno
Happy Easter	Joyeuses Pâques	Buona Pasqua
Merry Christmas	Joyeux Noël	Buon Natale
Happy Birthday	Bon Anniversaire	Buon Compleanno
I love you. (singular)	Je t'aime	Ti amo / Ti voglio bene
I miss you. (singular)	Tu me manques	Mi manchi

Adjectives in both languages must agree in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular and plural) with the nouns they describe. For example. if you are a man, you would use je suis fatigué in French and sono stanco in Italian for I am tired. If you are a woman, you would use je suis fatiguée in French and sono stanca in Italian. Vocabulary words are generally given in the masculine form, with the feminine ending in parentheses.(In French, you generally add -e to form the feminine; while in Italian, you change -o to -a). If there is only one form of an adjective given, then it is the same for masculine and feminine (such as malade in French).

There are two ways to say "you" in both languages, formally (f) or informally (inf). The formal you is the polite form and should be used with people you do not know or with people to whom you want to show respect. The informal you should be used with children and animals, and with close friends and family.

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Pronunciation

 

The major difference in pronunciation between the two languages is that French has several silent letters, while every letter must be pronounced in Italian. In addition, French contains four distinctive nasal vowels that do not exist in Italian.

 

Vowels

Vowels in French are somewhat complex (12). Vowels in Italian are much simpler (7). Vowels that do not exist in English are highlighted.

French Vowels		Italian Vowels		English Pronunciation
[i]	vie, midi, lit, riz	[i]	vita	meet
[y]	rue, jus, tissu, usine			ee rounded
[e]	blé, nez, cahier, pied	[e]	vedi	wait
[ø]	jeu, yeux, queue, bleu			ay rounded
[ɛ]	lait, aile, balai, reine	[ɛ]	era	bet
[œ]	sœur, œuf, fleur, beurre			eh rounded
[a]	chat, ami, papa, salade	[a]	kane	not
[ɑ]	bas, âne, grâce, château			ah longer
[u]	loup, cou, caillou, outil	[u]	uva	boot
[o]	eau, dos, escargot, hôtel	[o]	sole	coat
[ɔ]	sol, pomme, cloche, horloge	[ɔ]	modo	law
[ə]	fenêtre, genou, cheval, cerise			rut

I'm using the International Phonetic Alphabet symbols for the vowels and a rough phonetic transcription for those who do not know the IPA.

French has three front rounded vowels that do not exist in English, but you can learn to pronounce them correctly because their unrounded counterparts do exist in English. To pronounce [y], round your lips when saying [i]; to pronounce [ø], round your lips when saying [e]; and to pronounce [œ], round your lips when saying [ɛ]. The distinction between [a] and [ɑ] continues to disappear in modern French, so don't worry about trying to distinguish these two sounds.

Pronouncing Italian vowels is rather easy. The only problems arise when distinguishing the two e's and o's. If the vowel is stressed, then it is always closed [e] and [o]. If the vowel is not stressed, it is always open [ɛ] and [ɔ]. This can change according to regional dialects in Italy, of course, but this is the standard rule.

 

Nasal Vowels, Semi-Vowels/Consonants, & Diphthongs

The four nasal vowels are a distinctive feature of French. There are also three semi-vowels. In Italian, there are two semi-vowels, several diphthongs and a few triphthongs.

French nasal vowels		French semi-vowels		Italian semi-vowels
[ã]	gant, banc, dent	[w]	oui, Louis	[w]	quando, uomo
[ɛ̃]	pain, vin, linge	[ɥ]	lui, suisse	[j]	piano, ieri, piove
[œ̃]	brun, lundi, parfum	[j]	oreille, Mireille
[õ]	rond, ongle, front

The distinction between the two nasals [ɛ̃] and [œ̃] is disappearing in French. Italian semi-vowels are written ua, ue, uo, ui for [w] and ia, ie, io, iu for [j]. If another vowel precedes u or i, then it is a diphthong: ai, ei, oi, au, eu. The combination iu + another vowel creates a triphthong.

 

Consonants

French consonants

ex + vowel	egz	examen, exercice	eg-zah-mawn, eg-zehr-sees
ex + consonant	eks	exceptionnel, expression	ek-sehp-see-oh-nel, ek-spreh-see-ohn
ch (Latin origin)	sh	architecte, archives	ar-shee-tekt, ar-sheev
ch (Greek origin)	k	orchestre, archéologie	ohr-kehs-tr, ar-kay-oh-loh-zhee
ti + vowel (except é)	see	démocratie, nation	day-moh-krah-see, nah-see-ohn

Italian consonant + vowel combinations

c + a, o, u, he, hi	k	amica, amico, amiche	ah-mee-kah, ah-mee-koh, ah-mee-keh
c + ia, io, iu, e, i	ch	bacio, celebre, cinema	bah-cho, cheh-leh-breh, chee-neh-mah
g + a, o, u, he, hi	g	gara, gusto, spaghetti	gah-rah, goo-stoh, spah-geh-tee
g + ia, io, iu, e, i	dj	Giotto, gelato, magico	djoh-toh, djeh-lah-toh, mah-djee-koh
sc + a, o, u, he, hi	sk	scala, scuola, scheda	skah-lah, skoo-oh-la, skeh-dah
sc + ia, io, iu, e, i	sh	sciarpa, sciupato, scemo	shar-pah, shoo-pah-toh, sheh-moh

In both languages, s is generally pronounced the same as in English, except when it is between two vowels, then it is pronounced like z. H is always silent.

Double consonants in Italian must be pronounced individually: il nonno (eel nohn-noh) is pronounced differently than il nono (eel noh-noh)

Liaison in French forces a preceding consonant to be pronounced before the following vowel of the next word. Normally, this consonant is silent, but it must be pronounced at the beginning of the next word: très (treh) and heureux (uh-ruh) become treh zuh-ruh when pronounced together. S and x are pronounced as z, d as t and f as v in liaisons.

 

Stress

In general, stress falls on the last syllable in French and the second-to-last syllable in Italian. If stress falls on the last syllable in Italian, the vowel is written with an accent mark (la città). However, it is also possible for the stress in Italian to fall on the third-to-last syllable (America, telefono) and even the fourth-to-last syllable (telefonano) in third person plural verb conjugations.

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Alphabet

English	French	Italian
A	ah	ah
B	bay	bee
C	say	chee
D	day	dee
E	uh	eh
F	eff	eff-eh
G	zhay	zhee
H	ahsh	ahk-kah
I	ee	ee
J	shee	ee loon-gah
K	kah	kahp-pah
L	ell	ehl-eh
M	emm	ehm-eh
N	enn	ehn-eh
O	oh	oh
P	pay	pee
Q	kew	koo
R	air	ehr-reh
S	ess	ehs-seh
T	tay	teh
U	ew	oo
V	vay	voo
W	doo-blah-vay	dohp-pyah voo
X	eeks	eeks
Y	ee-grek	ee greh-kah
Z	zed	dzeh-tah

 

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Numbers

English	French	Italian	English	French	Italian
zero	zéro	zero
one	un	uno	first	premier (ère)	primo (a)
two	deux	due	second	deuxième	secondo (a)
three	trois	tre	third	troisième	terzo (a)
four	quatre	quattro	fourth	quatrième	quarto (a)
five	cinq	cinque	fifth	cinquième	quinto (a)
six	six	sei	sixth	sixième	sesto (a)
seven	sept	sette	seventh	septième	settimo (a)
eight	huit	otto	eighth	huitième	ottavo (a)
nine	neuf	nove	ninth	neuvième	nono (a)
ten	dix	dieci	tenth	dixième	decimo (a)
eleven	onze	undici	eleventh	onzième	undicesimo (a)
twelve	douze	dodici	twelfth	douzième	dodicesimo (a)
thirteen	treize	tredici	thirteenth	treizième	tredicesimo (a)
fourteen	quatorze	quattordici	fourteenth	quatorzième	quattordicesimo (a)
fifteen	quinze	quindici	fifteenth	quinzième	quindicesimo (a)
sixteen	seize	sedici	sixteenth	seizième	sedicesimo (a)
seventeen	dix-sept	diciassette	seventeenth	dix-septième	diciassettesimo (a)
eighteen	dix-huit	diciotto	eighteenth	dix-huitième	diciottesimo (a)
nineteen	dix-neuf	diciannove	nineteenth	dix-neuvième	diciannovesimo (a)
twenty	vingt	venti	twentieth	vingtième	ventesimo (a)
twenty-one	vingt et un	ventuno	twenty-first	vingt et unième	ventunesimo (a)
twenty-two	vingt-deux	ventidue	twenty-second	vingt-deuxième	ventiduesimo (a)
twenty-three	vingt-trois	ventitre	twenty-third	vingt-troisième	ventitreesimo (a)
thirty	trente	trenta	twenty-fourth	vingt-quatrième	ventiquattresimo (a)
forty	quarante	quaranta	twenty-fifth	vingt-cinquième	venticinquesimo (a)
fifty	cinquante	cinquanta
sixty	soixante	sessanta	one-half	une moitié	un mezzo
seventy	soixante-dix	settanta	one-third	un tiers	un terzo
eighty	quatre-vingts	ottanta	one-fourth	un quart	un quarto
ninety	quatre-vingt-dix	novanta
hundred	cent	cento	once	une fois	una volta
hundred one	cent un	centuno	twice	deux fois	due volte
two hundred	deux cents	duecento	three times	trois fois	tre volte
thousand	mille	mille
million	un million	un milione

 

When writing numbers, switch the use of commas and periods. For example, 4.50 in English would be written as 4,50 in French and Italian. In French, cent has a plural form: cents, but mille is invariable (there is no plural form); while in Italian, cento is invariable and mille has a plural form: mila.

French telephone numbers are ten digits, beginning with zero, and the country code is 33 (Belgium: 32, Switzerland: 41, Canada: 1). Italian telephone numbers are between 8 and 11 digits, most beginning with zero, and the country code is 39.

 

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Articles & Demonstratives

 

Definite Article (the)	French	Italian	Indefinite Article (a, an)	French	Italian
masculine singular	le	il	masculine singular	un	un
begins with vowel	l'	l'	begins with vowel	un	un
begins with s + cons.		lo	begins with s + cons.		uno
masculine plural	les	i	masculine plural	des	dei
plural of l' and lo		gli	plural: di + gli		degli
feminine singular	la	la	feminine singular	une	una
begins with vowel	l'	l'	begins with vowel	une	un'
feminine plural	les	le	feminine plural	des	delle

 

Articles are slightly more complicated in Italian. The rows in italics only concern Italian and not French. If a masculine Italian noun begins with s + consonant, z, gn, ps, x, or i + vowel, you must use lo as the definite article (instead of il). However, la is still used for all feminine Italian nouns that begin with those same letters. Only il changes to i in the plural, while l' and lo change to gli. Feminine articles are more simple: la and l' change to le in the plural. The plural indefinite article can be expressed as some in English, but it is not always used.

 

this / these + noun	French	Italian	that / those + noun	French	Italian
masculine singular	ce	questo	masculine singular	ce	quel
begins with vowel	cet	quest'	begins with vowel	cet	quell'
begins with s + cons.		questo	begins with s + cons.		quello
masculine plural	ces	questi	masculine plural	ces	quei
plural of l' and lo		questi	plural: di + gli		quegli
feminine singular	cette	questa	feminine singular	cette	quella
begins with vowel	cette	quest'	begins with vowel	cette	quell'
feminine plural	ces	queste	feminine plural	ces	quelle

 

In French, ce, cet, and cette can be translated as this or that, while ces can be translated as these or those. If you would like to be precise, you can add -ci to the end of the noun to specify this/these (for what is close to you), and -là to the end of the noun to specify that/those (for what is further away from you). For example, cette chaise-ci means this chair while cette chaise-là means that chair. In Italian, two distinct forms exist to distinguish between what is close and what is far away: quest- for close, and quel- for far away.

In Italian, demonstrative adjectives (which precede nouns) and demonstrative pronouns (which take the place of nouns) have very similar forms. In French, the demonstrative pronouns have different forms. You can add -ci and -là to the French demonstrative pronouns to specify what is close (this/these) and what is far away (that/those): celui-ci means this one, while celui-là means that one.

 

this / these + verb	French	Italian	that / those + verb	French	Italian
masculine singular	celui	questo	masculine singular	celui	quello
masculine plural	ceux	questi	masculine plural	ceux	quelli
feminine singular	celle	questa	feminine singular	celle	quella
feminine plural	celles	queste	feminine plural	celles	quelle

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Nouns: Gender & Number

There are two genders of nouns in both languages, masculine and feminine, and two numbers, singular and plural. Adjectives agree in gender and number with nouns, so you must learn the gender with each noun in order to form grammatically correct phrases. Usually the last letter of the noun will tell you which gender it is.

Gender
In French, masculine singular nouns generally end with a consonant, - age or -ment. Feminine singular nouns generally end with -ure, -sion, -tion, -ence, -ance, -té, and -ette.

In Italian, masculine singular nouns generally end with -o or -ore. Feminine singular nouns generally end with -a or -zione. Nouns ending with -e and -ista can be either gender, so you must learn those individually. A few masculine nouns end with -a: il problema, il tema, il teorema, il poeta, il cinema, il programma; and a few feminine nouns end with -o: la mano, la radio, la foto, la moto.

In most cases, the gender of a noun is the same in French and Italian. But there are some cases in which the genders are reversed. (For example, names of cities and letters of the alphabet are masculine in French, but feminine in Italian.)

Masculine in French / Feminine in Italian			Feminine in French / Masculine in Italian
English	French	Italian	English	French	Italian
air	l'air	l'aria	affair, case	l'affaire	l'affare
art	l'art	l'arte	tooth	la dent	il dente
calm	le calme	la calma	oil	l'huile	l'olio
number/digit	le chiffre	la cifra	limit	la limite	il limite
couple	le couple	la coppia	sea	la mer	il mare
Sunday	le dimanche	la domenica	method	la méthode	il metodo
summer	l'été	l'estate	minute	la minute	il minuto
forehead	le front	la fronte	panic	la panique	il panico
guide	le guide	la guida	period	la période	il periodo
spring	le printemps	la primavera	planet	la planète	il pianeta
sand	le sable	la sabbia	second	la seconde	il secondo
evening	le soir	la sera	attempt	la tentative	il tentativo

 

Number
In French, singular nouns generally add -s (unless the noun already ends in -s, -z, or -x, then they change nothing for the plural), though nouns ending in -au, -eau, and -eu add -x instead (or change -al/-ail to -aux) to form the plural. (Exceptions: festival, carnaval, bal, pneu, bleu, landau, détail, chandail all add -s) There are also seven nouns ending in -ou that add -x instead of -s: bijou, caillou, chou, genou, pou, joujou, hibou

French Irregular Plurals: l'œil - les yeux (eye-eyes); le ciel - les cieux (sky-skies); le jeune homme - les jeunes gens (young man-young men); and three nouns are masculine in the singular, but feminine in the plural: amour, délice, orgue

In Italian, singular nouns that end with -o or -e, whether masculine or feminine, change to -i in the plural. Feminine nouns change -a to -e in the plural. Monosyllabic nouns, nouns that end with an accented letter, with a consonant, and with -i do not change in the plural. Nouns ending in -ca, -go, -ca, and -ga add an -h before the plural ending (as a rule of pronunciation). Nouns that end with -io can either change to -ii in the plural (if the i of -io is stressed), or to -i (if the i of -io is not stressed).

Italian Irregular Plurals: l'uomo - gli uomini (man-men); il dio - gli dei (god-gods); il bue - i buoi (beef); il centinaio - le centinaia (century-centuries); il dito - le dita (finger-fingers); il riso - le risa (laughter); l'uovo - le uova (egg-eggs); l'ala - le ali (wing-wings); l'arma - le armi (weapon-weapons); la mano - le mani (hand-hands)

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Personal Pronouns

Subject Pronouns			Direct Object Pronouns			Indirect Object Pronouns			Disjunctive Pronouns
English	French	Italian	English	French	Italian	English	French	Italian	English	French	Italian
I	je	io	me	me	mi	me	me	mi	me	moi	me
you (s, inf)	tu	tu	you (s, inf)	te	ti	you (s, inf)	te	ti	you (s, inf)	toi	te
you (s, f)	vous	Lei	you (s, f)	vous	La	you (s, f)	vous	Le	you (s, f)	vous	Lei
he / she	il / elle	lui / lei	him / her	le / la	lo / la	him / her	lui	gli / le	him / her	lui /elle	lui / lei
one / we	on	si
we	nous	noi	us	nous	ci	us	nous	ci	us	nous	noi
you (pl, inf/f)	vous	voi	you (pl, inf)	vous	vi	you (pl, inf)	vous	vi	you (pl, inf)	vous	voi
they (m/fem)	ils / elles	loro	them	les	li	them	leur	loro	them	eux / elles	loro

s = singular, pl = plural, inf = informal, f = formal, m = masculine, fem = feminine

There is more than one you in both languages, depending on how many people you are speaking to and how informal or formal you are being. In French, tu is singular and informal (when speaking to one person, such as a family member); while vous is plural, whether informal or formal (when speaking to more than one person) AND singular and formal (when speaking to one person, whom you do not know well or to whom you'd like to show respect). In Italian, tu is informal and singular, while Lei is formal and singular and voi is plural, whether informal or formal. Keep in mind that Lei takes a third person singular form when conjugating verbs (same as for he/she - lui/lei).

On and si are used as an abstract subject meaning one, they, you, we, people in general, etc. There are several translations of this into English where the subject doesn't refer to any person already mentioned: They say it's going to rain today. How are you supposed to do this? What should one do with $10 million? In addition, the French on is very commonly used to mean we instead of nous in everyday conversation. It always take a third person singular form when conjugating verbs, even though it refers to more than one person.

In both languages, if you want to use it to refer to a noun, you must know the gender. For example, il in French can mean he or it, depending on what noun the pronoun refers to. Il est petit, le garçon. He is small, the boy. Il est petit, le lit. It is small, the bed. Notice that they can also be translated in two ways in French (ils and elles), depending on the gender of the noun.

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Verbs: Be, Have, Do

	Present Tense			Past Tense			Future Tense
être / essere - to be	suis	sono		étais	ero		serai	sarò
	es	sei		étais	eri		seras	sarai
	est	è		était	era		sera	sarà
	sommes	siamo		étions	eravamo		serons	saremo
	êtes	siete		étiez	eravate		serez	sarete
	sont	sono		étaient	erano		seront	saranno
avoir / avere - to have	ai	ho		avais	avevo		aurai	avrò
	as	hai		avais	avevi		auras	avrai
	a	ha		avait	aveva		aura	avrà
	avons	abbiamo		avions	avevamo		aurons	avremo
	avez	avete		aviez	avevate		aurez	avrete
	ont	hanno		avaient	avevano		auront	avranno
faire / fare - to do, make	fais	faccio		faisais	facevo		ferai	farò
	fais	fai		faisais	facevi		feras	farai
	fait	fa		faisait	faceva		fera	farà
	faisons	facciamo		faisions	facevamo		ferons	faremo
	faites	fate		faisiez	facevate		ferez	farete
	font	fanno		faisaient	facevano		feront	faranno

Past tense here refers to the imperfect, not preterite.

In French, the subject pronoun must always be used before the verb conjugations. When the verb begins with a vowel, je becomes j' and is connected to the verb (j'ai). In informal situations, the same happens with tu: it becomes t' and is connected to the following verb (t'as). In Italian, you do not have to use the subject pronouns, unless you want to emphasize the subject or to avoid ambiguity.

There are several common and idiomatic expressions with the verbs avoir and avere, which translate to be in English:

to be hungry	avoir faim	avere fame
to be thirsty	avoir soif	avere sete
to be warm	avoir chaud	avere caldo
to be cold	avoir froid	avere freddo
to be right	avoir raison	avere ragione
to be wrong	avoir tort	avere torto
to be sleepy	avoir sommeil	avere sonno
to be afraid (of)	avoir peur (de)	avere paura (di)
to be # years old	avoir # ans	avere # anni
to need	avoir besoin de	avere bisogno di
to want, feel like	avoir envie de	avere voglia di

 

There is another verb in Italian that means to be, stare. But this verb is only used in expressions relating to health and feelings and when expressing the progressive form (be + gerund in English).

	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
stare - to be	sto	stavo	starò
	stai	stavi	starai
	sta	stava	starà
	stiamo	stavamo	staremo
	state	stavate	starete
	stanno	starano	staranno

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Interrogatives / Conjunctions / Adverbs

English	French	Italian	English	French	Italian
who	qui	chi	because	parce que	perché
whose	de qui	di chi	and	et	e
what	qu'est-ce que / quoi	che cosa / che / cosa	or	ou	o
where	où	dove	but	mais	ma
where from	d'où	di dove	if	si	se
why	pourquoi	perché	not	pas	non
when	quand	quando	very	très	molto
how	comment	come	also	aussi	anche
how much	combien	quanto	while	pendant	mentre
which	quel(le)	quale	since	depuis	da
that	que	che	although	bien que	benché

 

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Days / Months / Seasons

English	French	Italian	English	French	Italian
Monday	lundi	lunedì	January	janvier	gennaio
Tuesday	mardi	martedì	February	février	febbraio
Wednesday	mercredi	mercoledì	March	mars	marzo
Thursday	jeudi	giovedì	April	avril	aprile
Friday	vendredi	venerdì	May	mai	maggio
Saturday	samedi	sabato	June	juin	giugno
Sunday	dimanche	domenica	July	juillet	luglio
			August	août	agosto
spring	le printemps	la primavera	September	septembre	settembre
summer	l'été (m)	l'estate (f)	October	octobre	ottobre
autumn	l'automne (m)	l'autunno	November	novembre	novembre
winter	l'hiver (m)	l'inverno	December	décembre	dicembre

 

The days of the week and months of the year are all masculine in both languages (except domenica in Italian). If you want to express an action that happens habitually on a certain day, use the definite article before the day: le lundi / il lunedì (on Mondays). In a season or a month is translated as en in French (except for in spring, which is au printemps) and in in Italian. When writing the date, use the definite article (le or il) plus the number and then the month: le 5 mai / il 5 maggio. For the first day of a month, you must use premier or primo instead of the number.

 

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Time / Weather / Directions

 

What time is it?	Quelle heure est-il ?	Che ora è? / Che ore sono?	What's the weather like?	Quel temps fait-il ?	Che tempo fa?
At what time?	A quelle heure ?	A che ora?	It's nice	Il fait bon	Fa tempo buono
1:00	Il est une heure	È l'una	It's beautiful	Il fait beau	Fa bel tempo
2:00	Il est deux heures	Sono le due	It's hot	Il fait chaud	Fa caldo
3:10	Il est trois heures dix	Sono le tre e dieci	It's cold	Il fait froid	Fa freddo
19:50	Il est vingt heures moins dix	Sono le venti meno dieci	It's sunny	Il fait du soleil	C'è il sole
18:15	Il est dix-huit heures et quart	Sono le diciotto e un cuarto	It's windy	Il fait du vent	Tira vento
7:45	Il est huit heures moins le quart	Sono le otto meno un quarto	It's cool	Il fait frais	Fa fresco
15:30	Il est quinze heures et demie	Sono le quindici e mezzo	It's bad	Il fait mauvais	Fa brutto tempo
noon	midi	mezzogiorno	It's foggy	Il fait du brouillard	C'è la nebbia
midnight	minuit	mezzanotte	It's cloudy	Il fait nuageux	È nuvoloso
exactly	précise	in punto	It's stormy	Il fait orageux	Il tempo è burrascoso
in the morning	du matin	di mattina	It's raining	Il pleut	Piove
in the afternoon	de l'après-midi	del pomeriggio	It's snowing	Il neige	Nevica
in the evening	du soir	di sera	It's freezing	Il gèle	Fa un freddo gelido

 

English	French	Italian	English	French	Italian
afternoon	l'après-midi (m)	il pomeriggio	sunrise	le lever du soleil	il levar del sole
century	le siècle	il secolo	sunset	le coucher du soleil	il tramonto
dawn	l'aube	l'alba	time	le temps	il tempo
day	le jour	il giorno	today	aujourd'hui	oggi
daybreak	le point du jour	la spuntar del giorno	tomorrow	demain	domani
dusk	la tombée de la nuit	il far della notte	week	la semaine	la settimana
evening	le soir	la sera	year	l'an (m)	l'anno
fortnight	la quinzaine	la quindicina	yesterday	hier	ieri
holiday	la fête	la festa	last, previous	dernier (ère)	ultimo
hour	l'heure (f)	l'ora	next	prochain(e)	prossimo
half hour	une demi-heure	una mezz'ora	north	nord	nord
quarter hour	un quart d'heure	un quarto d'ora	south	sud	sud
hour and half	une heure et demi	un'ora e mezzo	east	est	est
leap year	l'année bissextile	l'anno bisestile	west	ouest	ovest
midnight	la minuit	la mezzanotte	northeast	nord-est	nord-est
minute	la minute	il minuto	northwest	nord-ouest	nord-ovest
month	le mois	il mese	southeast	sud-est	sud-est
morning	la matin	la mattina	southwest	sud-ouest	sud-ovest
night	la nuit	la notte	to/on the left	à gauche	a sinistra
noon	le midi	il mezzogiorno	to/on the right	à droite	a destra
season	la saison	la stagione	straight	tout droit	sempre diritto
second	la seconde	il secondo

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Colors & Shapes

 

English	French	Italian		English	French	Italian
red	rouge	rosso (-a)		square	le carré	il quadrato
pink	rose	rosa		circle	le cercle	il cerchio
orange	orange	arancione		triangle	le triangle	il triangolo
yellow	jaune	giallo (-a)		rectangle	le rectangle	il rettangolo
green	vert(e)	verde		oval	l'ovale	l'ovale
blue	bleu(e)	azzurro (-a)		box	la boîte	la scatola
purple	lila / violet(te)	viola		sphere	la sphère	la sfera
brown	brun(e) / marron	marrone		cube	le cube	il cubo
black	noir(e)	nero (-a)		pyramid	la pyramide	la piramide
white	blanc(he)	bianco (-a)		cone	le cône	il cono
gray	gris(e)	grigio (-a)		cylinder	le cylindre	il cilindro
silver	argenté(e)	argento (-a)		heart	le cœur	il cuore
gold	dor	oro (-a)		star	l'étoile (f)	la stella
				diamond	le diamant	il diamante
				crescent	le croissant	la mezzaluna

Remember that colors are adjectives and they are placed after the noun they modify. In French, add -e to form the feminine; in Italian, change the final -o to -a. Adjectives that already end in -e do not change for the feminine in either language. Adjectives that end in -a (such as lila or viola) tend to be invariable and do not change at all, not even for the plural.

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Family

 

family	la famille	la famiglia	stepson	le beau-fils	il figliastro
mother	la mère	la madre	stepsister	la belle-sœur	la sorellastra
mom	maman	mamma	stepbrother	le beau-frère	il fratellastro
father	le père	il padre	half-sister	la demi-sœur	la sorellastra
dad	papa	papà	half-brother	le demi-frère	il fratellastro
parents	les parents	i genitori	mother-in-law	la belle-mère	la suocera
daughter	la fille	la figlia	father-in-law	le beau-père	il suocero
son	le fils	il figlio	daughter-in-law	la belle-fille	la nuora
children	les enfants	i figli	son-in-law	le gendre	il genero
sister	la sœur	la sorella	sister-in-law	la belle-sœur	la cognata
brother	le frère	il fratello	brother-in-law	le beau-frère	il cognato
wife	la femme / l'épouse	la sposa	godmother	la marraine	la madrina
husband	le mari / l'époux	lo sposo	godfather	le parrain	il padrino
grandmother	la grand-mère	la nonna	girl	la jeune fille	la ragazza
grandfather	le grand-père	il nonno	boy	le garçon	il ragazzo
grandparents	les grands-parents	i nonni	baby	le bébé	il bambino
granddaughter	la petite-fille	la nipote	woman	la femme	la donna
grandson	le petit-fils	il nipote	man	l'homme	l'uomo
grandchildren	les petits-enfants	i nipoti	adult	l'adulte	l'adulto
cousin (f)	la cousine	la cugina	relatives	les parents	i parenti
cousin (m)	le cousin	il cugino	twins	les jumeaux	i gemelli
aunt	la tante	la zia	birth	la naissance	la nascita
uncle	l'oncle	lo zio	death	la mort	la morte
niece	la nièce	la nipote	marriage	le mariage	il matrimonio
nephew	le neveu	il nipote	divorce	le divorce	il divorzio
stepmother	la belle-mère	la matrigna	single	célibataire	celibe / nubile
stepfather	le beau-père	il patrigno	married	marié(e)	sposato (-a)
stepdaughter	la belle-fille	la figliastra	divorced	divorcé(e)	divorziato (-a)

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Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns

 

	French	Italian	French	Italian	French	Italian	French	Italian
adjective + noun	masculine singular		masculine plural		feminine singular		feminine plural
my	mon	il mio	mes	i miei	ma	la mia	mes	le mie
your (s)	ton	il tuo	tes	i tuoi	ta	la tua	tes	le tue
his / her	son	il suo	ses	i suoi	sa	la sua	ses	le sue
our	notre	il nostro	nos	i nostri	notre	la nostra	nos	le nostre
your (pl)	votre	il vostro	vos	i vostri	votre	la vostra	vos	le vostre
their	leur	il loro	leurs	i loro	leur	la loro	leurs	le loro

 

In Italian, you must always use the definite article before the possessive adjective, except with singular family members that are not modified in any way. However, loro is invariable and always preceded by the definite article. In both languages, you generally use the definite article instead of a possessive adjective when referring to parts of the body (because it is obvious who they belong to).

In Italian, possessive adjectives (which precede nouns) and possessive pronouns (which take the place of nouns) have the same form. However, in French, there are different words for the possessive pronouns.

 

	French	Italian	French	Italian	French	Italian	French	Italian
verb + pronoun	masculine singular		masculine plural		feminine singular		feminine plural
mine	le mien	il mio	les miens	i miei	la mienne	la mia	les miennes	le mie
yours (s)	le tien	il tuo	les tiens	i tuoi	la tienne	la tua	les tiennes	le tue
his / hers	le sien	il suo	les siens	i suoi	la sienne	la sua	les siennes	le sue
ours	le nôtre	il nostro	les nôtres	i nostri	la nôtre	la nostra	les nôtres	le nostre
yours (pl)	le vôtre	il vostro	les vôtres	i vostri	la vôtre	la vostra	les vôtres	le vostre
theirs	le leur	il loro	les leurs	i loro	la leur	la loro	les leurs	le loro

 

Remember that the forms for her/hers in Italian can also be capitalized and use for the singular formal your/yours: il Suo / i Suoi / la Sua / le Sue.

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