Rick Steves' Italian Phrase Book and Dictionary

by Rick Steves

Buon giorno! From ordering calamari in Venice to making new friends in Tuscan hill towns, it helps to speak some of the native tongue. Rick Steves, bestselling author of travel guides to Europe, offers well-tested phrases and key words to cover every situation a traveler is likely to encounter. This handy guide provides key phrases for use in everyday circumstances, complete with phonetic spelling; an English-Italian and Italian-English dictionary; the latest information on European currency and rail transportation, and even a tear-out cheat sheet for continued language practice as you wait in line at the Sistine Chapel. Informative, concise, and practical, Rick Steves' Italian Phrase Book and Dictionary is an essential item for any traveler's zainetto.

Genres: Travel, Language, Reference, Italy, Nonfiction, Italian Literature, Dictionaries

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Rick Steves is an American travel writer, television personality, and activist known for encouraging meaningful travel that emphasizes cultural immersion and thoughtful global citizenship. Born in California and raised in Edmonds, Washington, he began traveling in his teens, inspired by a family trip to Europe. After graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in European history and business, Steves started teaching travel classes, which led to his first guidebook, Europe Through the Back Door, self-published in 1980.
Steves built his Edmonds-based travel company on the idea that travelers should explore less-touristy areas and engage with local cultures. He gained national prominence as host and producer of Rick Steves' Europe, which has aired on public television since 2000. He also hosts a weekly public radio show, Travel with Rick Steves, and has authored dozens of popular guidebooks, including bestselling titles on Italy and Europe at large.
Beyond travel, Steves is an outspoken advocate for drug policy reform, environmental sustainability, and social justice. He supports marijuana legalization and chairs the board of NORML. He has funded housing for homeless families and donates to anti-hunger and arts organizations. In 2019, he pledged $1 million annually to offset the carbon emissions of his tour groups.
Steves is a practicing Lutheran with Norwegian ancestry and continues to live in Edmonds. He has two adult children and is in a relationship with Reverend Shelley Bryan Wee. Despite health challenges, including a prostate cancer diagnosis in 2024, Steves remains committed to his mission of helping Americans travel with greater purpose, empathy, and understanding of the world. His work reflects a belief that travel, done right, can be both transformative and a force for peace.

Reviews

[Negin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is a mix of a review of this book and of Duo Lingo, so please bear with me. I love learning languages and often wish that I was a polyglot. Time and practice are my challenges. Before traveling somewhere, I like to learn a few basic phrases. Once we knew that we were traveling to Italy and already being familiar with Duo Lingo French, I started Duo Lingo Italian. For me, Duo Lingo is perfect for long-term, ongoing daily practice. However, I don’t care for it nearly as much when I feel pressed for time as I did before our trip. I found it to be a bit frustrating and a waste of time to learn odd phrases such as “You are either with us or against us,” phrases that I am unlikely to use during a trip. I’d rather spend my time learning how to order in a restaurant, for example. This book and some short You Tube videos were far more helpful with all that.

Most Italians speak English, at least in the major tourist destinations. This is not always the case in the countryside, such as Tuscany and Umbria.



Learning the basics was definitely useful. A few times, I was asked if I was Italian! Some asked if I had been studying the language for a while. Those remarks made me laugh and guess that they were just being polite. I wish that I actually was fluent! Italian is now my second favorite language. French is my all-time favorite.

[Sunny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure how to review a phrase book, so I'm going to try out a style called The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly:

THE GOOD:
Rick Steves is witty, and he adds an element of humor in what would otherwise be a dull, reference material. Consider the section for phrases useful when dining out. Some of the offered phrases are "May I have some water?", "Please bring me the check.", and "I only eat insects." Guess which phrase was the silly one.

THE BAD:
The book attempts to be comprehensive, but really falls short of that mark. It uses the title phrase book AND dictionary, but the dictionary is approximately 30 pages. It assumes you are not interested in using it for translating anything you might see on a sign or around town. There were so MANY words we wanted to translate while we were in Rome that were simply not in this book.

THE UGLY:
The layout of this book was completely useless in a pinch. It is not in alphabetical order... it's in sections. Imagine standing at the counter of a store trying to check out. You want to know how much a scarf behind the counter is. You point to it, but the clerk doesn't understand. Pull out your 'trusty' phrase book. Hmmmm... What section should I look in? Shopping? Go to that section, scan each phrase for a couple of pages... NOPE. How about the counting section? Go there... NOPE. Clerk is annoyed that you're taking so long. Point at the scarf again and the clerk rolls her eyes at you and goes to get her boss. Finally find the section for hotels. THERE'S the phrase. How much is the map? But by then, the manager shows up and she is bilingual. Grrrrr.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not happy with this phrase book. I guess my background in foreign languages spoiled it for me. The pronunciation guide with its corny spelling was especially annoying and distracting. Words like "Kah-pree" -- really!

Plus there were no dialogues to give you a flavor of the language.

Obviously, there's a market for this book. But it's mythical to think you can learn this way.

I couldn't take this book. I went to the library and picked up a beginning Italian course.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Rick Steves series of language books are hard to beat. They're compact and jam-packed with information you can use no matter how sophisticated of a traveler you are. Here's some great words from the book:

Stoned - fatto
Penis - cazzo
Eye shadow - ombretto
Pussycat - gattino
condom - preservativo

This book's a wealth of Italian information. Great stuff!

[Robbie Bashore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the best thing about this book was that it gave me courage to attempt speaking Italian on my trip. I've found that people in other countries really appreciate the effort to speak their language. Maybe that was something I read in "Europe Through the Back Door"?

[I ♥ Bookie Nookie (bookienookiereviews.blogspot.com) · Rating 5 out of 5]

We found that most people spoke English in Italy, but on the rare occasion they did not, we were able to reference our handy Italian phrase book and though we mostly butchered the beautiful language, I think they appreciated our efforts :-)

[Erin Harlander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like that it's not all just word for word Italian to English. There are common phrases for lots of scenarios, tips & tricks, & random strange phrases & songs that are amusing.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't speak any Italian, so this guidebook was a bit of a lifesaver. I don't like to refer to books when I'm trying to experience the culture, but it was nice to be able to review this at the end of the day or in the morning before we started the day. I tried to learn a few important phrases and feel my way through the rest. We visited Venice, and most people in Venice do speak English. While I can confidently speak French, Italian is quite different (more akin to Spanish). I love the pronunciation guides; they were most helpful.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fit in my cargo pants pocket and even taught me how to cuss the cab driver out in Italian when he is trying to rip us off.

[Allison Thurman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things you'll actually USE!

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource when visiting Italy!

[Lauren Wilkinson]

Perfect book for communicating in Italian!

[Doug Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to learn some key phrases in Italian for your next trip look no farther. Language learning apps focus too much on grammar and spelling to be much good at giving you useful phrases. I used this for my trip to Venice, Verona, and Florence in Sept. 2019 with great success.

[Benedetta777 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walk all over Rome. All the Americans had the Rick Steves' book in their hands. The. Phrase book helped a great deal although most Italians know English.

[Gurj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful in learning how to pronounce Italian words and learn basic things to say.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This actually has a lot of useful phrases, and is helpful for tourists with some background studying the Italian language. I think Google Translate has made the dictionary aspect of this book obsolete, though.

[Michael Venzke · Rating 4 out of 5]

very useful for menu translation and navigating trains

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful, covering a variety of topics that would be needed on a trip