Italian 101 · Lesson 9
At the Supermarket
Find food, ask for quantities and understand the checkout.
Begin ↓01 / 08
Find one thing
Dov’è il latte?
doh-VEH eel LAT-teh
Where is the milk?
Use dov’è for one item or a category treated as singular. Il latte means milk.
02 / 08
Find several things
Dove sono le uova?
DOH-veh SOH-noh leh WOH-vah
Where are the eggs?
Dove sono i pomodori?
Where are the tomatoes?
With plural items, use dove sono. Listen for the difference between è and sono.
03 / 08
Ask a price
Quanto costa al chilo?
How much is it per kilo?
For one item, quanto costa is enough. For a price per kilo, add al chilo.
04 / 08
At the deli counter
Un chilo di patate.
oon KEE-loh dee pah-TAH-teh
A kilo of potatoes.
Mezzo chilo di pomodori.
MED-dzoh KEE-loh
Half a kilo of tomatoes.
Chilo has a hard k sound, despite the spelling ch. Ask for the amount followed by di and the food.
05 / 08
Smaller quantities
Duecento grammi di formaggio, per favore.
Two hundred grams of cheese, please.
Basta così, grazie.
That’s enough, thanks.
Grams are common at food counters. Duecento is two hundred; you may also hear due etti for 200 grams.
06 / 08
A bag and a receipt
Un sacchetto, per favore.
oon sak-KET-toh
A bag, please.
Lo scontrino.
loh skon-TREE-noh
The receipt.
Sacchetto has a hard k sound and a held t. Lo scontrino is the receipt.
07 / 08
At checkout
Ha la carta fedeltà?
Do you have the loyalty card?
No, grazie. Un sacchetto, per favore.
No, thanks. A bag, please.
The cashier may ask about a loyalty card. A simple no is fine; carta fedeltà is not your payment card.
Remember this
Takeaway
Vorrei mezzo chilo di pomodori.
I’d like half a kilo of tomatoes.
Match dov’è to singular and dove sono to plural. At the counter, start with the quantity.