Is Italian Hard to Learn? 7 Common Italian Mistakes [& How to Avoid Them]

Want to learn Italian? Is Italian hard to learn? The verdict is in. Plus you’ll learn how to avoid the 7 common Italian mistakes students make and you’ll get my top 5 language resources for learning Italian in record time.

When I first started learning Italian, I notice a few linguistic quirks that I’d never seen before. Whilst learning Italian isn’t the most difficult language out there, there is definitely a small collection of common pitfalls that English-speaking students tend to struggle with. Myself included.

When it comes to language learning, what does ‘hard’ really mean?

The feeling of a language being hard is very subjective and depends a lot on your mother tongue, other foreign languages you may know, and what proficiency you want to achieve.

How long it takes to get fluent depends on several factors. According to the FSI (Foreign Service Institute), they have divided languages into four groups of difficulty for speakers of English and have calculated how long it takes them to reach minimum professional proficiency (ILR 3, CEFR C1). Italian falls into Group 1, which is essentially the ‘easiest’ group as you only need to spend 24-30 weeks (600-750 class hours) to reach such an advanced level.

Italian is from the group of Romance languages which include Spanish, Portuguese, and French. So, if you have any knowledge of these languages, it will make learning Italian a bit easier. ‘Related’ languages that belong to the same group often have quite a lot of shared vocabulary and their grammatical structures are similar in some way, too.

For an English speaker, Italian is relatively easy to learn (unlike Russian or Japanese). These two languages belong to different groups (English is a Germanic language), but still, share some similarities. Find out how long it takes to learn different foreign languages here.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

Why learning Italian is easier than you think
How to Master Italian grammar
7 common mistakes in Italian and how to avoid them
9 misconceptions about learning Italian that are holding you back
WHY do you want to learn Italian?
The Verdict: Is Italian hard to learn?
How to learn Italian: Top 5 Best Resources for Learning Italian

Why learning Italian is easier than you think

1. Italian is a phonetic language

Italian is a phonetic language which means that it sounds more or less like it is written and all of the syllables are pronounced. This makes a language easier in terms of identifying what is being said, since you can easily identify the words being spoken whereas French or Portuguese tend to be trickier since the words don’t always look the way you would expect them to sound or vice versa.

2. You already know some Italian

Italian is actually easier to learn than you may think. You’d be surprised by just how many Italian words look and sound familiar to you. In fact, there are a few thousand words which, when modified slightly in spelling and pronunciation, will give you the same word and definition in Italian. That alone should set your mind at ease.

It may also come as a surprise to know that an active vocabulary ranges between only 500-1500 words. Not thousands. A study showed that a full-length New York Times article used on average 600 unique words.

Popular Italian Loan Words

While Italians are quite proud of their language, they have allowed several English words into their bella lingua. Generally, they are pronounced the same way as in English with a couple of exceptions. They say, for example, words such as gadgets, jogging, feeling, shock. You’ll even hear them use the word okay.

Since Italian doesn’t have a word for privacy, they use the English word instead! It’s no wonder then that the Italians were the first paparazzi and the ones who invented the term!

Since the digital age, Italian’s now say things like cliccare sul mouse (kleek-kah-reh soohl mouse), meaning ‘to click (on) the mouse’ and lo zapping (loh zahp-ping), for changing TV channels with the remote.

Consider the following list of words. Each is shown with the appropriate Italian definite article or better known as the word ‘the’.

la radio (lah rah-dee-oh)
l’autobus (laho-toh-boos)
l’antenna (laan-tehn-nah)
l’hotel (loh-tell)
l’area (lah-reh-ah)
l’idea (lee-deh-ah)
l’hamburger (laam-bur-gerh)
il cocktail (eel kok-tail)
il jazz (eel jazz)
il cinema (eel chee-neh-mah)
il computer (eel kom-poo-ter)
il bar (eel bar)
il blues (eel blues)
il film (eel film)
il rock and roll (eel rock and roll)
il weekend (eel weekend)
il camping (eel camp-ing)
i jeans (ee jeans)
lo snob (loh snob)
lo shock (loh shock)
lo shopping (loh shop-ping)
lo sport (loh sport)
lo shampoo (loh sham-poo)
lo zoo (loh zoh)

These are only a few of many English words that have entered the Italian language. In the same way, many Italian words are used in English-speaking countries including:

la pizza (peet-tsah)
la pasta (pahs-tah)
gli spaghetti (spah-geht-tee)
i tortellini (tohr-tehl-lee-nee)
la mozzarella (moht-tsah-rehl-lah)
l’espresso (ehs-prehs-soh)
il cappuccino (kahp-pooh-chee-noh)
il panino (pah-nee-noh) – a sandwich
i panini (pah-nee-nee) – sandwiches
i biscotti (bees-koht-tee) – cookies
il biscotto (bees-koht-toh) – cookie
il tiramisù (tee-rah-mee-sooh) – Fun fact: Did you know the word tiramisù literally means ‘pick me up’ or ‘pull me up’? This refers to the fact that this famous dessert made with strong Italian espresso gives you a nice boost of energy.

Cognates

In addition to the words outlined above that have made their way into both Italian and English, both languages also share several cognates. A cognate is a word that shares the same origin as a word in another language. They are often spelt similarly and/or sound alike. Here are some examples:

airport – l’aeroporto (lah-eh-roh-pohr-toh)
attention – l’attenzione (laht-tehn-tsyoh-neh)
communication – la comunicazione (lah koh-mooh-nee-kah-tsyoh-neh)
important – l’importante (leem-pohr-tahn-teh)
incredible – l’incredibile (leen-kreh-dee-bee-leh)

How to Master Italian Grammar

Gender

Like other Romance languages, Italian uses grammatical gender, even for inanimate nouns. Italian nouns are either masculine or feminine. This is purely a grammatical category that doesn’t depend on any physical characteristics of objects. The gender of nouns is important to remember because it influences the parts of speech that agree with the noun: articles, adjectives, and sometimes verbs.

For example:

il gatto nero — the black cat (masculine)
la porta nera — the black door (feminine)

Pronunciation

Italian pronunciation is quite logical and regular, with very few exceptions. It is phonetic: the words are read pretty much just as they are written, and all the syllables are pronounced. This makes listening comprehension relatively easy to master. Learning to speak may be a bit harder as there are sounds in Italian that are different from English (for instance, the rolled Rs). Here are a few words that you can read quite easily even if you don’t know Italian pronunciation rules:

Poeta — poet
Problema — problem
Senso — sense
Finale (the final ‘e’ is pronounced as well) — final
Melodia — melody

Articles

Articles in Italian are a bit different from the ones in English: they definitely inflect much more. Like English, Italian has indefinite and definite articles, but they inflect according to the gender and number of the noun and are also affected by the first letter of the word that follows them.

Here are a few examples:

una candela — a candle (feminine)
un’arancia — an orange (feminine, starting with the letter ‘a’)
un momento — a moment (masculine)
il pollo, i polli — the chicken, the chickens (masculine)
l’ombrello, gli ombrelli — the umbrella, the umbrellas (masculine, starting with the letter ‘o’)
lo studente, gli studenti — the student, the students (masculine, starting with ‘s+consonant’)
la zuppa, le zuppe — the soup, the soups (feminine)
l’ora, le ore — the hour, the hours (feminine, starting with a vowel)

To learn more about grammatical gender in Italian use my step-by-step guide here.

Prepositions

Prepositions are one of the trickiest parts of speech to learn in any foreign language. There seems to be very little logic behind their use and they mostly have to be memorized if you want to use them correctly.

One of the trickier things about the Italian prepositions is that, when used with articles, they are blended together to make dozens of new forms. Here are some examples:

in + il = nel
in + l’ = nell’
in + lo = nello
in + la = nella
in + i = nei
in + gli = negli
in + le = nelle
a + il = al
a + lo = allo
a + l’ = all’
a + la = alla
a + i = ai
a + gli = agli
a + le = alle

Italian prepositions are the most complicated of all the Romance languages but they follow a consistent pattern which makes them easy to remember. New to prepositions or need a refresher? Here’s everything you need to know Italian prepositions plus tonnes of examples.

Nouns

As mentioned above, Italian nouns have a category of grammatical gender that doesn’t exist in English. Each Italian noun is either masculine or feminine. In some animate nouns, the grammatical gender matches the actual one: la madre (mother) is feminine and il padre (father) is masculine.

The ending of a noun can indicate its gender: nouns ending in ‘a’ are usually feminine (la mela, the apple), and nouns ending in ‘o’ are usually masculine (il vaso, the vase). There are exceptions, however: il problema (the problem) is masculine and la mano (the hand) is feminine.

Nouns ending in ‘e’ can be both feminine and masculine: il ponte (the bridge), la notte (the night).

Adjectives

In Italian, adjectives are normally placed after the nouns they modify and they agree with the nouns in gender and number, which leads to many more adjective forms than there are in English. Just take a look at the word ‘red’ – rosso – in these examples:

il libro rosso — the red book (masculine, singular)
i libri rossi — the red books (masculine, plural)
la ciliegia rossa — the red cherry (feminine, singular)
le ciliegie rosse — the red cherries (feminine, plural)

Verb conjugation

Italian verbs have a very high degree of inflection and change according to the mood, person, tense, number, aspect, and occasionally gender. Based on the ending of their infinitive form, Italian verbs are divided into three distinct conjugation patterns – verbs ending in -are, -ire, and -ere). However, there are also verbs that don’t follow these patterns at all. These are considered irregular.

Because of all this, mastering the Italian verb conjugation system is not necessarily hard, but definitely time-consuming, because of the sheer number of forms. For instance, the verb ‘to love’ in English has just three forms: love, loving, loved. Compare with Italian: amo, ami, ama, amiamo, amate, amano, amavo, amavi, amava, amavamo, amavate, amavano – and that’s not even half of the possible forms.

The Subjunctive tense

One of the most difficult tenses in Italian is ‘congiuntivo’, or the subjunctive. The subjunctive tense is used to express opinion, possibility, desire, or doubt and use various Italian conjunctions to connect these ideas. Even Italians themselves occasionally make mistakes with the subjunctive!

Compare these two phrases with the verb avere (to have)

You are right. — Hai ragione (indicative).
I think you’re right. — Credo che tu abbia ragione (subjunctive).

The subjunctive is used a lot in the Italian language. However, sometimes you can avoid using it. For instance, instead of saying ‘credo che’ (I think that) you can say ‘secondo me’ or ‘per me’:

I think you’re right. — Secondo me, hai ragione.

Here are a few examples of subjunctive forms of the verb piovere (to rain) after the verb sperare (to hope) followed by che (that):

Spero che oggi non piova (present subjunctive) — I hope that it won’t rain today
Spero che non abbia piovuto a Roma (past/perfect subjunctive) — I hope it hasn’t rained in Rome
Speravo che non piovesse (imperfect subjunctive) — I hoped it wouldn’t rain
Speravo che non avesse piovuto (pluperfect subjunctive) — I hoped it hadn’t rained

7 Common Mistakes in Italian and How to Avoid Them

Here are some of the most common grammar mistakes learners of Italian make.

1. Using definite masculine articles il-lo and i-gli

Articles in Italian have more forms than those in English. To refresh:

Lo is used instead of il before singular nouns starting with s + consonant, ps, gn, x, y, z.
Gli is used instead of i before plural nouns starting with a vowel or s + consonant, ps, gn, x, y, x.

2. Using definite articles with family names

In Italian, words denoting family members take no article in the singular but do take the definite article in the plural form.

Mia sorella (sister) — le mie sorelle (my sisters)
Mio cugino (cousin) — i miei cugini (my cousins)
Mio nonno (grandfather) — i miei nonni (my grandparents/grandfathers)

However, there are exceptions to this rule. Family names in expressions with ‘loro’ (their) take the definite article in the singular.

il loro nonno — their grandfather
la loro cugina — their cousin
la loro madre — their mother

3. Mixing up prepositions a and in with and are

The Italian verb ‘andare’ (to go, walk) can be used with two different prepositions: ‘a’ and ‘in’. Here are a few simple rules to help you remember when to use which:

andare in – is used for countries, states, regions, continents and big islands. It can also be used for stores and nouns of places ending in -ia, e.g. pizzeria, macelleria, pasticceria.
andare a – for cities and small islands

For more, don’t miss my guide to how to say 170+ countries and nationalities in Italian

4. Choosing the correct auxiliary in compound tenses

Most Italian verbs use the auxiliary verb ‘avere’ (to have), but there are some (very few) that use the auxiliary ‘essere’ (to be) – to avoid confusion, it is better to memorize them. Here are the verbs that use the auxiliary ‘essere’ in compound tenses:

venire – to come
andare – to go
tornare – to return
rimanere – to stay
restare – to remain
arrivare – to arrive
uscire – to go out
diventare – to become
nascere – to be born
morire – to die
salire – to go up
scendere – to get off
cadere – to fall

All reflexive verbs, such as divertirsi (to enjoy oneself), lavarsi (to wash oneself) also use ‘essere’ in compound forms.

5. Mixing the imperfect tense with the present perfect

It is very common for learners of Italian to misuse the imperfect tense with the present perfect

Use the Italian imperfect tense if you want to:

describe the ongoing status of people, objects, and places or a habit or repetitive action in the past – Da bambina ero brava in matematica (As a child I was good at math)
talk about two things that happened at the same time – Mentre studiavo, ascoltavo musica (While studying, I listened to music).
to describe how a person was feeling – Ieri mi sentivo male, ieri avevo mal di testa (Yesterday I felt unwell, yesterday I had a headache)
talk about a past action with the following time expressions:
- da bambino – as a child
- da piccolo – when I was little
- mentre – whereas
- solitamente – usually
- ogni volta che – every time that

Use the Italian present perfect tense if you want to:

describe a non-repetitive action that happened in the past – Ieri sera sono andata al cinema (Last night I went to the cinema)
talk about an action that has finished and you know exactly when it happened – Nel 2010 mi sono trasferita a Roma (In 2010 I moved to Rome)

6. The difference between the words gente and persone

The words gente and persone both mean ‘people’. However, it is important to remember that the word ‘gente’, despite its plural meaning, is grammatically a singular noun and the verbs following it are conjugated in the third person singular.

Le persone sono felici — People are happy. (‘le’ and ‘sono’ are plural)
La gente è felice — People are happy. (‘la’ and ‘è’ are singular)

7. The use of ed and ad

Don’t we all like it when what we say sounds good? In Italian, the so-called D eufonica is used after the prepositions ‘e’ and ‘a’ when they are followed by words that start with the vowels ‘e’ and ‘a’ to make things sound a bit more harmoniously. For example:

Io vado ad Ancona — I go to Ancona
Vittoria ed Enrico sono italiani — Maria and Enrico are Italian

9 misconceptions about learning Italian that are holding you back

1. ‘Italian is harder to learn than English’

Some research suggests that Italian is actually easier than English. But why does it feel so hard? It may be because you are used to speaking English fluently as your native language. Learning anything new feels challenging at the start since the learning curve is always steep. This is absolutely natural. But once you reach a certain level, things before easier. Remember, we were all beginners once!

2. ‘I won’t be able to roll my Rs’

You may be surprised to find out that not all Italians can roll their Rs either. There are quite a few regional dialects that use ‘la erre moscia’ (soft r).

If you do want to roll your Rs but are struggling with it, try repeating the English words ‘ladder’ or ‘butter’ quickly a few times. If that doesn’t help, try implementing the tips in this video.

3. ‘There are no Italian schools where I live’

Who needs a school in the modern digital age? Nowadays, there are many great ways to learn and practice Italian online: you can take an online course like my Intrepid Italian course, find a highly qualified Italian teacher on italki, listen to a podcast, watch videos on YouTube, or chat with people on language exchange platforms like HelloTalk and much more. The internet is a vast learning resource – don’t be afraid to make the most of it! Here are my favourite language learning resources to get you started.

To supplement my own language learning I personally use italki multiple times every week. This is where I get 1-to-1 support and speaking practice with a qualified teacher or community tutor. You can read my full italki review here and book your first italki lesson here.

4. ‘I won’t use Italian in the future’

No matter why you started learning Italian, new exciting opportunities for using the language can (and probably will, especially if you are open to it) come up in the future: work, travel, Italian-speaking friends, good movies and TV-shows, Italian literature and art…

5. ‘I’m too old to learn Italian’

No one is too old to learn a new language, including Italian. While it is true that children’s brains are more flexible and better at absorbing new things, adults often have more motivation and dedication to learning and are better at analyzing what they learn. So, actually, you have the upper hand. No matter how old you are, you can learn Italian – so, stop making excuses and start learning!

6. ‘No one I know speaks Italian, I won’t be able to practice’

Depending on where you live, you can probably find a variety of events dedicated to Italian in your local area such as language club meetups, events organized by the Italian embassy, movie screenings, wine tastings, Italian restaurants…

The internet can also be a great alternative to in-person events. Platforms such as italki are my favourite because I can either choose to learn to book either a lesson with a qualified teach or a conversation session with a native. Finding someone to practice with has never been easier. Plus it’s a great way to make friends and learn more about Italian culture.

7. ‘Native speakers won’t understand me’

Italians are actually very friendly and welcoming towards anyone trying to speak their language. They are very forgiving and don’t mind you butchering the pronunciation or making grammar mistakes. Do your best to speak to the best of your abilities but don’t overthink every word, and you’ll be fine. Talking to native speakers is a great way to practice Italian, and the more you do it the better you will get – and the more fun it will be.

8. ‘I’m only going on a short trip to Italy, why bother?’

Even on a short trip, some knowledge of the language can come in handy. You can chat with the locals, order your meal in Italian, ask for recommendations, get off the beaten path and discover some hidden gems. Start by learning the basics then slowly expand your vocabulary. With my online course Intrepid Italian, you can become conversational in Italian with my 80/20 method in just 2 weeks.

9. ‘Learning Italian requires a textbook, and I don’t like them’

Fortunately, the years of having only one textbook and having to use it even if you hate it are long gone. There is a vast variety of resources available nowadays, and you can choose what works for you based on the type of language learner you are: take an online course, listen to Coffee Break Italian or another podcast, check out my favourite language learning app Mondly, chat with native speakers on italki, play language games…

It is important to find a resource that fits you best – it will make the learning easier, more fun, and more effective.

WHY do you want to learn Italian?

Think about why you want to learn Italian and let this be your motivation to keep going when the road gets rough. If it’s because you simply want to learn for the sake of learning – fantastico! If it’s because it sounds beautiful or gives you a sexy accent – bravo! If you have a trip to Italian coming up and don’t want to fall into tourist traps and want to have an authentic experience – perfetto!

Once you know your ‘why’ everything becomes easier. When you are passionate about learning, you’ll enjoy the challenges because you know they’re helping you to grow and achieve your goals.

So, is Italian hard to learn?

Nope! Italian is actually one of the easier languages for English speakers to learn. You may come across some difficulties, for instance, the grammatical aspects mentioned above are prone to causing difficulties for learners. However, with a bit of patience and ample practice you can easily overcome the difficulties and master the Italian language.

My tip? Start speaking Italian from the very beginning!

Don’t wait too long to start speaking Italian, even if you are just a beginner. Speaking is great practice for the language material you have already learned, but it can also help you understand your weaknesses and what you have yet to learn. Through speaking comes a lot of enjoyment and a wonderful sense of achievement.

Even if you know just a handful of words in Italian, you can start speaking. Here are a couple of helpful tips:

Start with simple phrases and topics. Even if you are just greeting someone in Italian
Be creative with the words you already know.
Get some help and feedback from a good teacher – It can go a long way.
Making mistakes is expected and even accepted!
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Language learning is fun if you’re kind to yourself.

How to learn Italian: Top 5 Best Resources for Learning Italian

What is the easiest way to learn Italian? By enjoying the process and having fun! Winston Churchill nailed it when he said:

Personally, I’m always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.

And as Leonardo da Vinci once said:

Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.”

Here are 5 ways to get started learning Italian, today!

Want the best way to learn Italian? Join my online Italian courses and learn Italian with my 80/20 method – If you have a trip coming up and only have a short amount of time, I recommend joining Intrepid Italian for Travel but if you want to become more fluent and reach an intermediate level then start with Intrepid Italian for Beginners (A1).
Go on a language holiday like I did. Study abroad and make a holiday of it!
Use a language app like Mondly to mix things up and keep you motivated
Listen to a podcast like Coffee Break Italian
Book a lesson on italki with a qualified teacher

Already know some Italian but aren’t sure where to start? Take the Italian level test

Got a trip to Italy coming up? Enrol in my popular travel Italian course here.

Travelling to Italy? Don’t be treated like a tourist! Live your best travel experiences and learn Italian for less than the cost of eating at a tourist trap restaurant or a taxi driver who has “taken you for a ride”. In addition to my free Italian travel phrase guides, I’ve made it even easier for you to master the Italian language so you can create lifelong memories as you mingle with locals, get local tips, avoid tourist traps, and make new friends. Who knows you, you might even be invited over for afternoon tea by a lovely Sicilian family like I was! Read all about how speaking Italian changed my life and check out The Intrepid Guide Languages courses here.

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Intrepid Italian was created with YOU in mind. I use my working knowledge of the English language to help you get into the ‘Italian mindset’ so you can avoid the common pitfalls and errors English speakers make – because I made them once too! I break everything down in such a way that it ‘clicks’ and just makes sense.

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Over to you!

Are you learning Italian? Which of these common Italian mistakes do you make? What would you add to this list?
Let me know using the comments section below or join me on social media to start a conversation.

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