Italian directions

We’re coving the 10 most important things to know to get by in Italian. Last week, we looked at Italian greetings, at the common courtesies, and asking questions. This week, we started with things you will need, and we’ve covered numbers. Now we’re going to talk about directions.

6. Directions

Direction words tell you where things are and where people go. They’re not only cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west) but also prepositions. I’ve already written more detailed posts about regular prepositions and improper prepositions, if you want more detail. Today, I’m just covering basics.

nord

north

sud

south

est

east

ovest

west

a sinistra

left

a destra

right

dritto

straight (ahead)

fino a

up to (ending at)

dentro

inside

fuori

outside

su

up

sopra

above

giù

down

sotto

below

davanti

in front of

dietro

behind

accanto a

next to

vicino

near

lontano

far

qui

right here

qua

here

là

there

questo

this

quello

that

prima

before

dopo

after

poi

then

Putting it together

When you add these direction words to the numbers, you end up with the ability to give, or more likely receive, directions. You can say dritto due isolati e poi a destra — straight two blocks, and then to the right… and more importantly, you can pick those words out of an explanation when you ask dov’è la farmacia?

But these direction words are also useful when you hit the market for souvenirs. When you ask quanto costa quello? (how much does that cost) and the shopkeeper doesn’t know which item you’re talking about, you can guide him a destra, a destra, più a destra… okay… sopra… sì, quello!