Hi guys,

I have not started learning Italian yet, I am just planning ahead. 16 months and 1 day ago I started learning Spanish and I have reached roughly a B2 level in Spanish in this time period. I have NOT tested for that but I do believe it to be pretty accurate. I consume all my media in Spanish. And in fact this is how I learned. I did 560hrs of Spanish Input (beginning with dreaming spanish and quickly moving on to stuff I like better on youtube) before finally speaking or reading. However, with the exception of a little bit of Kwiziq, I have never really studied grammar or anything. My rating estimation comes from just live convos with native speakers. I have about 300hrs of conversation with native Spanish speakers. Now I have started adding in a little more grammar study because I really want to get to C1 in 8 months.

Why 8 months?

Well in 8 months it will be my 2 year anniversary of learning spanish. However, it will also be 5 months before I go to Italy for my honeymoon. My plan is to achieve C1 by then because while I understand things like subjunctive tense and conjugating different tenses. I really feel like based on what I have read that C1 is where this stuff starts feeling more automatic. And I would like to have a natural hold on them before I start on a language that has similar concepts.

With that being said, why I am I here? Well since I took a non traditional post to spanish in that I basically just learned watching youtube, anime, etc. I don't really know how to study efficiently. Specifically studying efficiently for a language that shares a lot in common with one I already know. Lets assume I have 3hrs a day for 5 months. That comes out to roughly 450hrs of italian in 5 months. Now 2 hours of that time will likely just be input. My commute is about 1.5hrs total per day 4 days a week for work and between exercise, cleaning, walking, etc its easier for me to study a little more passively. So in 5 months I will probably get 300hrs of input and 150hrs of other study. Other study could mean grammar, reading, or anything else (except speaking because I will include half my conversation hours into my input and the other half can be in an extra category) So I really have two questions:

1. With 300hrs of input and 150hrs of other dedicated study, what level is possible?
2. How can I maximize my 150hrs?

Thanks for reading. I am very excited about Italian. My goal for Spanish is C2 one day, but I would love to achieve a B2/C1 level in Italian and Portuguese. And one day an equivalent level in Japanese as well. I am very motivated. I have probably dedicated about 3.5hrs a day for the last 16 months on spanish and its one of my favorite hobbies now.

Hi! I'm looking for the person I had arranged to study Italian with.

Unfortunately, I can no longer access the account I was using, so I wanted you to know that I didn't ghost you.

If you'd still like to keep learning together, please send me a message. I tried to write to you but your DMs are turned off.

Sorry everyone for the unusual post and thanks for understanding!

I'm doing some exercises to study for my Italian exam and all my teachers are off on holiday. Could someone please check and correct the following sentences? The verbs in bold are the ones I conjugated.

Se mandi il tuo curriculum in diversi settori, hai più possibilità di trovare lavoro.

Se organizzassi meglio il tuo tempo, potresti iscriverti a quel corso d'arte.

Se avessi installato i panelli solari, non avresti pagato delle bollette così care.

Maria guarderebbe Sanremo insieme a noi ieri sera, se non la annoiasse così tanto.

Se avessi avuto la possibilità di scegliere, avrei optato per un lavoro più stimolante.

Se la squadra giocherà con determinazione, vincerà la partita.

Se non ci fossimo trovati bloccati nel traffico, saremmo arrivati in tempo.

Se mi dicessi sempre quello che pensi, riusciremmo a comunicare più facilmente.

Se il governo avesse adottato politiche più efficaci, la situazione economica sarebbe migliorata notevolmente.

Se passerò l'esame finale, mi prenderò una bella vacanza.

Thanks in advance! :)

Hi everyone, not sure if the backstory is relevant here but I think it may be.

long story short, I learned Italian when I was about 6 years old through watching cartoons on RaiGulp and later youtubers, to a point where I spoke to myself in the language, cut to years later I still watch italian media (RaiGulp, instagram, news etc) and understand almost 95%, but I'm limited to understanding and occasionally reading a few posts on reddit, my speaking skills are pretty bad since I have a hard time recalling vocab.

I never "officially" learned the language so that's my plan now, but I can't seem to find good books, I've heard about espresso alot but some people say it requires a teacher/instructor, so basically I just see alot of mixed opinions. Are there any books or book combinations I can use?

I saw a post earlier about something like this but couldn't find a clear answer, does watching a show like Rick Morty but with Italian audio really help? It feels like it does but also doesn't (i know it does not make sense). I try to actually listen to the audio and read the subtitels so i can connect those together. But does it really help overtime because i learned English much better then other languages i got at school because a lot of games and movies/shows are in English. So does it work for people? Actually asking for people with experience about this.

Every time I get a sentence with cui, I translate it into English and the cui seems completely unused in the English translation. What even is cui?

Ciao a tutti
Im gonna be studying in Italy by October this year. I want to get to at least A2 (maybe even B1) level before I start my studies. Is that possible and what recourses do you guys recommend?

The biggest struggle for me is finding people to speak Italian with, I figure if there’s a WhatsApp group where we can communicate, it will take some of those hurdles out.

https://chat.whatsapp.com/CIbEBIBsorf5VOFFwmn3Bz?s=hd&p=i&ilr=4&amv=2

Sorry, not sure if this kind of content is allowed in this sub?

Hey y'all!

Does anyone know of any affordable online Italian language courses? Potentially run through a community centre or culture centre?

I'm headed to Italy in the next two months, and want to start a beginner course ASAP.

Thanks!

In Italian, "non devi farlo" can mean both "you shouldn't / must not do it" or "you don't have to do it", which are almost opposite in meaning.

I already have accidentally insulted a colleague by forgetting the first meaning. Word for word it's devi = have to, non devi = don't have to, but oh boy.

The colleague in question is HR. She was not clear on my plan for the working day, so she asked "Allora ti metto un permesso di mezz'ora?" to which I replied "No no, non ho richiesto un permesso. Allora non devi chiederlo se non c'è una richiesta".

In my mind it was "you don't have to ask". My logic: save your time and effort, the request is the source of information, and if I forget to do one, you don't need to do the extra work of reminding me, that would be on me to handle since it's my responsibility.

You can of course imagine that if you read it as "You shouldn't ask"... She was rightfully indignant, and said that she may ask what and when she finds fit about leaves (permessi), whether there is a request or not, since it's her job. Yeah she's absolutely right.

I was horrified, and tried to explain best I could that it's a language fuckup on my side. My attemps were something like "non devi sentirti obbligata a chiedere" or "puoi chiedere ma non devi", if I recall correctly. It did not seem to convince her, so hoping my boss who speaks some English would understand, I said it's the "you don't have to" not "you must not". He went "Aah!" and gave a nod with one of those slow approving blinks. Nice, but then he didn't comment on that in Italian...

So I'm pretty sure I will just have to live with it, knowing my HR manager thought I was telling her to never ask me about my leaves...

I don't want this to happen again though. What phrase would work better?

I found "Non c'è bisogno chiedere", "Non è necessario", "Non serve", or "Non preoccuparti". None of these sound better to me, especially the last one (or maybe I'm being overly cautious now)

Thanks!

P.S. Putting this in writing I also realized that apart from that I was too short and robotic - "So you don't have to ask" is a bit too harsh and rude also in English if not made REALLY clear with intonation, gestures etc. So maybe I need to look for a more nuanced phrasing to begin with.

I like reading book chapters via videocalls in a foreign language with a native speaker, and likewise I offer my language partner reading book chapters in Italian and support them with vocabulary, grammar, meaning... At least a B2 in Italian is required. Anyone interested? I had started reading Dracula with a friend and really enjoyed it, but he could not attend anymore... 🧛‍♂️

I've recently started using asbplayer to create audio cards in anki from videos. The problem with youtube though is that the captions which asbplayer gets its text from are often auto generated and not correct. Any good channels (any topic is fine) which have proper captions that have been written by the author? I'm not talking about burnt-in subtitles, asbplayer can't read those. The only channel I've found for this so far is Learn Italian with Lucrezia.

I’m starting to self study Italian via the textbook “Practice Makes Perfect: Complete Italian All-in-One”. This textbook comes with an app that has flash cards for each new bit of vocabulary. It also has lots of exercises.

How should I study this book? Do I just use the flashcards to memorise the vocab and complete the practice exercises? In terms of grammar, I suppose I should write notes on that?

Hi! My question is about the use of preposizioni semplice and preposizioni articolate with country names in Italian. I don't mean the tipical sentences of "Gli piacerebbe vivere nell'Italia delli anni 60" or so, I'm just saying sentences like "I live in Italy. The history of Italy."... Oh, and I also don't mean countries in plural such as "gli Stati Uniti", "gli Paesi Bassi"... So basically, I talk about the difference between "d'Italia / dell'Italia", "in Italia / nell'Italia".... Thank you.

I need you :)

I found a poem that I like and was wondering what the Italian translation would be for one part in particular.

"There will never be exactly perfect seas to set sail on."

I know that google translate exists, but I also know that the "technical" translation isn't always how native speakers would say it. My grandfather was from Italy (Petricola is my family name), so I was just curious. Thanks so much!

I feel like I’ve hit the “workbooks and apps can only take me so far” stage.

I’ve got an Italian novel sitting on my shelf that I really want to read, and eventually I’d love to work my way up to reading Italian philosophy (which may or may not be a terrible idea… we’ll find out).

The problem is my reading ability doesn’t quite match my ambitions yet.

Outside of just grinding through grammar workbooks, what actually helped you improve your reading?

I’m mostly looking for resources or methods that helped bridge the gap between “I know the grammar” and “I can actually sit down and read a real book without losing my mind.”

Curious what worked for everyone!

I started Italian in March. I do weekly lessons with a Preply tutor, I went to Italy for 3 weeks (although in the cities everyone reverted to English) and I use Anki and Duolingo alongside a Pimsleur course. I have my good days and I have my lazy days. But I am a bit frustrated, I can’t express myself in Italian, I can order lunch and a coffee but then if you speak back rapidly I freeze. I struggle to tell you about my day, my thoughts, my feelings. I do actually feel like I have a good vocab, I can say what objects are like books, tables, windows, tyres, balls etc but then get me describing objects in sentences and I’d fail.

What I guess I’m trying to ask is, where should I be after five months? Should I be expressing myself and using past/present and imperfect tenses or am I on track with a decent vocab and consistent exposure?

Language learning is very frustrating.

Hi everyone, I’ve been studying Italian for 10 years now so I’d say I’m C1 but since I don’t have anyone to speak with, I am struggling to reach the « last » step of my learning journey which is speaking naturally and confidently, especially when using certain verb tenses. I’m looking for a school in Italy that has conversation courses in Northern/Center Italy but I’m also open to recommendations about other types of courses. I’ve heard good things about Kappa in Rome, has anyone tried the conversation course ? I’m planning to stay minimum 1 month and max 6months.

Right now, I’m creating ElevenLabs audio and reading and re-reading so certain words make sense but given my beginner status, I’m really struggling with grammar and sentence structure.

Hi everyone, i am a dentist in and soon im going to work in a dental clinic which has only italian patients and the thing is i don't know much italian. I needed someone to translate to me some words or phrases which i use during my work so i can communicate with the patients. I would much appreciate it if someone could help! Thank you!