Around 1000 words are enough to understand roughly 85% of everyday speech. That is exactly what 1000 Words focuses on: instead of endless grammar tables, you first learn the Italian vocabulary you will actually meet in real life – nouns, verbs, adjectives and full sentences, each with translation, example sentence and audio.
Learn the way that fits your day: as a video to read along, as an audiobook for your commute or for falling asleep, as an ebook, or with the built-in vocabulary trainer that shows you every word again at the scientifically optimal moment (spaced repetition). Everything is available on the website and in the free app for iOS and Android.
You will start with everyday Italian words like the food (il cibo), the drink (la bevanda), the cup (la tazza) — the vocabulary that appears most often in real conversations.
| English | Italian | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| the food | il cibo | The food is delicious. Il cibo è delizioso. |
| the drink | la bevanda | I want a drink. Voglio una bevanda. |
| the cup | la tazza | The cup is full. La tazza è piena. |
| the bottle | la bottiglia | The bottle is empty. La bottiglia è vuota. |
| the plate | il piatto | The plate is clean. Il piatto è pulito. |
| the spoon | il cucchiaio | I use a spoon. Uso un cucchiaio. |
| the fork | la forchetta | I eat with a fork. Mangio con una forchetta. |
| the knife | il coltello | The knife is sharp. Il coltello è affilato. |
| the breakfast | la colazione | I eat breakfast. Faccio colazione. |
| the lunch | il pranzo | We have lunch at noon. Pranziamo a mezzogiorno. |
| the dinner | la cena | They eat dinner together. Cenano insieme. |
| the bread | il pane | I buy bread. Compro il pane. |
| the butter | il burro | I put butter on the bread. Metto il burro sul pane. |
| the cheese | il formaggio | I eat cheese. Mangio formaggio. |
| the milk | il latte | I drink milk. Bevo latte. |
| the coffee | il caffè | I drink coffee in the morning. Bevo caffè al mattino. |
| the tea | il tè | I like tea. Mi piace il tè. |
| the juice | il succo | I drink juice. Bevo succo. |
| the soda | la soda | I drink soda. Bevo soda. |
| the rice | il riso | I eat rice. Mangio riso. |
Every word explained individually – with example sentence: Browse all 1000 words →
The 100 most important Italian words →
The 100 most important Italian verbs →
| to borrow | prendere in prestito |
| to buy | comprare |
| to clean | pulire |
| to close | chiudere |
| to cook | cucinare |
| to do | fare |
| to drink | bere |
| to eat | mangiare |
| to find | trovare |
| to get | ottenere |
| She is my friend | Lei è la mia amica. |
| They have fun together | Loro si divertono insieme. |
| We eat lunch together | Mangiamo il pranzo insieme. |
| She smiles a lot | Lei sorride molto. |
| He tells funny jokes | Lui racconta barzellette divertenti. |
| I visit my friends | Vado a trovare i miei amici. |
Every word narrated and illustrated – read along and repeat.
All vocabulary as audio – including a 3x repetition version, perfect for listening before you fall asleep.
All words and sentences to look up and read offline.
Spaced-repetition system like flashcards – reviews exactly when you need them.
Type your own words – AI translates them, adds example sentences and the trainer practises them with you.
Short stories built from the words you already know, with audio and tap-to-explain.
Download Premium content and keep learning without internet.
With the 1000 most frequent words you understand about 85% of everyday spoken language. That is why 1000 Words focuses exactly on this core vocabulary – organized into nouns, verbs & adjectives and full sentences.
Research shows the brain consolidates previously learned material during sleep. Our audiobooks with triple repetition are made for this: listen in the evening, relax, and anchor what you learned. Read more in our article on learning while you sleep.
Yes, getting started is free: parts of the videos and audiobooks, the vocabulary trainer, the matching game and previews of all content. Premium unlocks everything – including downloads for offline mode.
For beginners and returners (level A1–B1) who want to build a usable Italian vocabulary fast – without grammar overload, with audio.