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Romano Italian
The Italian of Rome, close enough to the standard to be understood everywhere and different enough to be recognised in 2 words: er for il, annamo for andiamo.
Rome
5sound rules16words and phrases9everyday lines
Neutral fine anywhere Casual friends, street Vulgar swearing Insult aimed at a person
How it sounds
Left: the sound, in pine. Middle: standard spelling. Right: meaning.
S1L before a consonant becomes r
The best-known Roman sound. The article il becomes er, and any l at the end of a syllable rolls.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| er Colosseo | il Colosseo | the Colosseum |
| artro | altro | other |
| carcio | calcio | football |
| er mejo | il meglio | the best |
NoteStart here. Er is the word every Italian uses to imitate Rome.
S2Nd becomes nn
Inherited from southern Italy. Andiamo becomes annamo, and quando becomes quanno.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| annamo | andiamo | let's go |
| quanno | quando | when |
| monno | mondo | world |
| 'nnamo a magnà | andiamo a mangiare | let's go and eat |
S3Verbs lose their last syllable
Infinitives drop -re, so the stress lands on the last vowel.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| magnà | mangiare | to eat |
| annà | andare | to go |
| fà | fare | to do |
| sò stanco | sono stanco | I'm tired |
S4Double r becomes single, b and g double up
Rome trades doubled consonants: rr goes single, while a b or soft g between vowels gets stronger.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| tera | terra | earth, ground |
| subbito | subito | right away |
| aggile | agile | nimble |
S5Nun and ce
Non shortens to nun, and ci becomes ce. Nun ce sta is the classic Roman "it isn't there".
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| nun ce sta | non c'è | it isn't there, there isn't any |
| nun lo so | non lo so | I don't know |
| ce vado | ci vado | I'm going there |
Words and phrases
16 entries, each tagged by register.
W1Reactions
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| daje! | dai! | come on! go on!casual |
| ammazza! | accidenti! | wow!casual |
| anvedi! | guarda! | look at that!casual |
| aò | ehi | hey (to get attention)casual |
| stacce | accettalo | deal with itcasual |
| sti cazzi | chi se ne frega | who caresvulgar |
| mortacci tua | accidenti a te | damn you (often affectionate)vulgar |
W2People
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| er pischello | il ragazzino | the kidcasual |
| coatto | coatto | tacky, flashy (person)insult |
| 'a fregnaccia | la sciocchezza | nonsensevulgar |
| sbroccà | perdere la pazienza | to lose itcasual |
W3Food and the city
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| er supplì | il supplì | fried rice ball with mozzarellaneutral |
| 'a carbonara | la carbonara | pasta with egg, guanciale and pecorinoneutral |
| er maritozzo | il maritozzo | cream-filled bunneutral |
| er nasone | la fontanella | the street drinking fountaincasual |
| 'a pizza bianca | la pizza bianca | plain oiled flatbreadneutral |
Everyday lines
Scenes and the lines that go with them.
L1At the bar
Pay at the till first, then order at the counter with the receipt.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Un caffè ar vetro | Un caffè al vetro | an espresso in a glass |
| Un cornetto alla crema | Un cornetto alla crema | a custard croissant |
| Pago alla cassa? | Pago alla cassa? | do I pay at the till? |
L2Getting around
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Prendo er 64 | Prendo il 64 | I'm taking the 64 bus |
| La metro A è chiusa | La metro A è chiusa | metro line A is closed |
| Ce sta un traffico… | C'è un traffico… | the traffic is… |
L3Making plans
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Annamo a magnà? | Andiamo a mangiare? | shall we eat? |
| Ce vedemo dopo | Ci vediamo dopo | see you later |
| Daje, annamo! | Dai, andiamo! | come on, let's go! |