How do you say.....?

[Mrs Teapot]

.....when you enter a shop and say good day, and they ask if they can help you, how do you say:

I'm just looking (or browsing or whatever word is appropriate)?

Thanks
Mrs T

[bella_ciao]

Originally Posted by Mrs Teapot

.....when you enter a shop and say good day, and they ask if they can help you, how do you say:

I'm just looking (or browsing or whatever word is appropriate)?

Thanks
Mrs T

Hi Mrs. T,
There's a lot of information on the web that's really helpful but I found this website which is a good one for basic Italian phrases:

Basic Italian phrases. Shopping

Sometimes there's more than one way of saying something, as you might expect, but it's always advisable to carry a good Italian phrasebook with you in your travels, in case you get stuck.
ATB,
Ciao,
Francesca.

[Mrs Teapot]

Thanks Francesa, that is just what I wanted.

I can get by with very basic everyday lingo (with a bit of pigeon thrown in and mixed up Spanish - LOL) but have never conquered that sentence at all and hope to remember it before I go.

Out of interest, the answer to my question was:

Dò solo un'occhiata

Is that pronounced, phonetically:

Doh solo un ock-ee-at-a

?

Mrs T

[bella_ciao]

Originally Posted by Mrs Teapot

Thanks Francesa, that is just what I wanted.

I can get by with very basic everyday lingo (with a bit of pigeon thrown in and mixed up Spanish - LOL) but have never conquered that sentence at all and hope to remember it before I go.

Out of interest, the answer to my question was:

Dò solo un'occhiata

Is that pronounced, phonetically:

Doh solo un ock-ee-at-a

?

Mrs T

Hi Mrs. T,
Glad you found that link helpful. Your pronunciation sounds good to me - for what it's worth, I looked it up and this was the one I found:

"DOH SOH-loh oo-nohk-KYAH-tah", so not a lot of difference, really. I took it from the following link:

Useful Phrases in Italy

It's a very useful website because it gives you the pronunciation as well.

The Italians just love it when you make an effort and will, generally speaking, be happy to 'fill in any gaps' for you! When I'm not in Italy, I just get the odd bit of practise when on the 'phone to the relatives and they are very patient with my while I look up the difficult or unfamiliar words in the dictionary! In between visits, I try to "think in Italian" whenever possible, to keep my albeit basic knowledge of the language alive (goodness knows, it's difficult enough to think in Enlgish at times. Lol!) Anyway, it seems to be sufficient for the purpose of basic communication but you can't beat actually being there and hearing it everyday, as well as being forced to get those brain cells moving!

As I say, you should be OK with a good phrase book but it's always good to try and get some practise in before you go, even if it's only rudimentary. There are some excellent products to be found in the major book stores that have accompanying CD's which you can listen to in the car or while you are pottering about the house, if you are short of time to devote to learning the language. It's amazing how repetition of simple phrases has a way of lodging in your brain (eventually), so it's worth a try. You are fortunate to have some basic knowledge of Spanish, since there are many words that are interchangeable with Italian (though you have to be a bit careful with some of them!) I'm sure you'll be fine.

Hope this helps.

Ciao,

Francesca.

[Mrs Teapot]

Francesa,

Thanks for that - I didn't realise that web link had pronunciation too - oops ops:

I have been learning Italian for a couple of years so am beyond the basics but stuck in various situations.

Thanks so much for the top tips.

Mrs T x

[bella_ciao]

Originally Posted by Mrs Teapot

Francesa,

Thanks for that - I didn't realise that web link had pronunciation too - oops ops:

I have been learning Italian for a couple of years so am beyond the basics but stuck in various situations.

Thanks so much for the top tips.

Mrs T x

Hi Mrs. T,
I know the feeling! I did some basic classes for a couple of years umpty-ump years ago, tried doing a bit of a refresher course at home between visits to Italy but found myself becoming more fluent whilst I was actually there. However, it does leave some gaps in your learning and sometimes even the most basic things can seem to evaporate when you are juggling with a particular dialect, too. Still, at least I can hold some kind of reasonable conversation over the 'phone now (though basic) and can, it seems, be reasonably understood!
I'm sure you'll be OK.
Ciao,
Francesca.

[Margaret]

Ho sentito sulla televisione l'altro giorno la parola 'colf' e sarei interessata a sapere se e usata molto. Sembra che vuol dire qualcuna che aiuta in casa e sarebbe venuta dalla parola 'collaboratrice' e qualcos'altro - ? 'femina'. Forse chi fa lezione d'Italiano poteva chediere?

[Margaret]

Nessun' risposta a quello che ho chiesto l'altro giorno, allora spero che avro' un po piu successo questa volta! In Italia in questi giorni fanno un Referendum - c'e' nessuno chi sa di che cosa si tratta - in parole semplice! - in Italiano, in Inglese o come me in Pidgin!

[Italy4me]

Originally Posted by Margaret

Ho sentito sulla televisione l'altro giorno la parola 'colf' e sarei interessata a sapere se e usata molto. Sembra che vuol dire qualcuna che aiuta in casa e sarebbe venuta dalla parola 'collaboratrice' e qualcos'altro - ? 'femina'. Forse chi fa lezione d'Italiano poteva chediere?

The f stands for familiare, Margaret. A colf is a household cleaning lady from what we have seen in our Italian lessons.
Apologies this is written in English!
Regards, Lesley

[Margaret]

Lesley - tante grazie! Questa risposta e' un po tardi - volevo trovare se "fount of all knowledge" era piu o meno lo stesso in Italiano e sembra di si. Allora, sei veramente la fonte di sapienza! Ho visto un'altra parole nel frattempo che sara piu o meno lo stesso come 'colf' - e quello e' badante. Non lo trovo nel dizionario, allora forse e' solo di uso da un po? Come sento sulla televisione sembra che le badante (?) sono quelle che usanno in Italia invece che le case per i vecchi in Inghilterra! Speriamo che sara'un po di tempo allora prima che ne abbiamo bisogna! Ciao! M