Italian 101 · Lesson 2
Introducing Yourself
Say your name, where you come from and where you live.
Begin ↓01 / 08
Your name
Mi chiamo Alex.
mee KYAH-moh
My name is Alex.
Sono Alex.
SOH-noh
I’m Alex.
Mi chiamo is the everyday way to introduce yourself. Put your own name after it.
02 / 08
Ask and respond
Come ti chiami?
KOH-meh tee KYAH-mee
What’s your name?
Piacere.
pyah-CHEH-reh
Nice to meet you.
These questions are informal, useful when meeting a friend of a friend. Listen for chiamo: ch before i keeps a hard k sound.
03 / 08
Your nationality
Sono canadese.
SOH-noh kah-nah-DEH-zeh
I’m Canadian.
Sono italiano. / Sono italiana.
I’m Italian. (man / woman)
Nationalities normally have a lower-case first letter. Canadese works for a man or a woman.
04 / 08
Where you are from
Vengo dal Canada.
VEN-goh dal KAH-nah-dah
I come from Canada.
Di dove sei?
dee DOH-veh say
Where are you from?
Learn the whole phrase dal Canada. Country names and their prepositions do not follow one universal pattern.
05 / 08
Where you live
Vivo a Roma.
VEE-voh ah ROH-mah
I live in Rome.
Vivo in Italia.
I live in Italy.
Use vivo a with a city. Your home now can be different from your country of origin.
06 / 08
Keep it short
Sono canadese, ma vivo a Roma.
I’m Canadian, but I live in Rome.
Italian often leaves out io, meaning I: the verb already tells us who is speaking. You do not need io before every sentence.
07 / 08
Meeting someone
Ciao, mi chiamo Alex. E tu?
Hi, my name is Alex. And you?
Mi chiamo Giulia. Piacere!
My name is Giulia. Nice to meet you!
Notice how the second speaker returns the question with e tu: and you?
Remember this
Takeaway
Mi chiamo Alex. Sono canadese. Vivo a Roma.
My name is Alex. I’m Canadian. I live in Rome.
Build your introduction from three pieces. Replace the name, nationality and city with your own details.