Learn Italian
Italian, built on essere and avere.
A 1,000-word frequency course. Almost every Italian tense is assembled from two irregular verbs, so this course drills essere and avere before it teaches anything elegant.
Designed by linguists and built with data.
Read the whole course freeOne Plus subscription covers all 11 languages, not just Italian, and the full Learn IPA course See what Plus adds
Try Italian now - no sign-up
Quick taster
3-word session
A quick mix of exercises - recognise, recall, type and build each word. Miss one and it comes back round until it sticks.
Graded reader
Tutto va bene
Only words the course has taught
. : . .
The uncle is at home. A man says: everything is fine. But I have no time.
Tap any word for its word page
Read Italian from the first week.
46 graded readers, each written only from words the course has already taught. Italian frequency is steep, so the first few hundred words go further here than you would expect.
Browse Italian storiesGrammar that treats you like an adult.
Sono andato is right and ho andato is wrong, and the reason is not arbitrary. Which auxiliary a verb takes tracks whether its subject acts or is acted upon.
Explore Italian grammarPresent tense
essere
to be - Irregular, and unavoidable
- io
- sono
- tu
- sei
- lui / lei
- e
- noi
- siamo
- voi
- siete
- loro
- sono
Essere is irregular in every person, and almost every Italian compound tense is built from it. There is no way around learning it cold.
Built for Italian, specifically
Not one course photocopied eleven times. Each language gets the tools its own difficulties actually call for.
The Learn IPA course comes with it
One Plus subscription gets you the Italian course and the full Learn IPA course: ten lessons, every drill, and the same words heard in two English accents, General American and British RP. The Italian IPA chart then covers open and closed e and o, hard and soft c and g and the double consonants, so you can read any Italian pronunciation in a dictionary.
Italian by the numbers
Counted from the course, not rounded up for the brochure.
- words in the course
- 1000
- grammar guides
- 47
- graded readers
- 46
words in the course
grammar guides
graded readers
Certification
Prove your Italian
A timed exam on the words that matter most: recognition, listening, recall and a reading passage. Pass with 80% and the certificate is yours, with its own verification link for LinkedIn or a CV.
Every way to learn Italian
The course is the spine, but every part of it stands on its own.
Courses
- Online AppThe course as a game: a trail, streaks and XP
- Online Coursebook1,000 words in order: words, grammar, stories
- Just DrillPick a word list, or build your own, and drill it
- IntroductionHow the course works, and where to begin
- GCSE journey mapThe GCSE course as a trail
- GCSE coursebookThe GCSE specification, in its own order
- What is a GCSE?The exam, its tiers, and how it compares to CEFR
Read
Words and sounds
Play
Teach and print
Read real Italian stories from chapter 1
Graded stories, a grammar article and drill for every point, a whole games arcade, printable worksheets and lessons by email. One account, every language.
Chapters 1 and 2 free, forever. Plus: 7 days free, then $5 a month for all eleven languages.
Start Italian at word one.
Every word and grammar lesson is free to read, and stays that way. Plus adds every graded reader past chapter 2, the story drills, grammar practice, games, printables and lessons by email: free for a week, then $5 a month - one subscription for every course on the site, not just Italian, and the full Learn IPA course with it.