Now you are off to a great start with all things verbs in Italian, it’s time to start learning some words that you can start using from today! Learning new vocabulary can be really fun, but it’s important to go about it the right way.
Needless to say, without vocabulary, you would not speak a language at all – as these are the words that we have learned, know and use on a daily basis. Even among native English speakers, people’s range of vocabulary varies greatly – the same amongst Italians. When learning Italian, you obviously want to increase your vocabulary as much and as fast as possible.
Although the thought of learning enough Italian vocabulary to be able to communicate meaningfully might seem a world away, remember that in our everyday speech we really only use a handful of words.
For example, 90% of Italian conversations are carried out using a measly 2,000 words. This number is far less daunting than the 200,000+ available in the Italian language, right?
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When learning vocabulary you need to be realistic!
Choose a fixed amount of words to learn on a daily basis. A good number could be anything from 5 – 10, but we wouldn’t suggest doing many more than that, unless you feel capable. Can you learn and memorize 20 words in a day? Great!
Create Flashcards to Help You Memorize Lots of Italian Vocabulary
Flashcards are one of the best tools for learning vocabulary. They should be bilingual with English on one side and Italian on the other, but you should only refer to the English translation when you really forget the meaning of a word. There are some great digital flashcard tools available that are both free and will really help you memorize new words.
The two best ones that we recommend are:
◉ Quizlet
◉ Anki
Smartphone Apps are Great for Learning Italian Vocabulary Fast
With the proliferation of smartphone technology, there is literally an app for everything nowadays …Well, for most things! Languages are no exception. Using an app is a convenient way to access language learning resources whenever and wherever you wish. But please remember:
Apps are great for vocabulary, but not much else!
So, when it comes to learning Italian vocabulary, USE APPS! Just don’t rely on them to actually learn to speak the language.
Used consistently, they are an excellent and often fun tool for learning new words and increasing your vocabulary, when used in conjunction with all the strategies we are laying out for you.
Of the many language apps out there, we can highly recommend the ones below, based on our own personal experience.
Apps with free plans:
◉ Duolingo
◉ Memrise
◉ Quizlet
Paid Apps:
◉ FlashAcademy
◉ Babbel
Use Mnemonics to Easily Remember New Italian Words
Many Italian words aren’t that easy to recognize and remember for English speakers. Repetition can also become tiresome. That’s when Mnemonics are a very useful tool. This is a technique that involves creating a short, simple story or association that helps you memorize a word. Usually it can be related to what the word sounds like.
Example: The word Schiena (pronounced Skyeh-nah) means Back – the part of the body. When the word is said quickly, it vaguely sounds like skin in English. You could say that the back has the largest expanse of skin on the body and hence associate the word skin with schiena, which means back.
Now, the real trick here is to make your stories as crazy, colorful and funny as possible. We want our mnemonics to be… memorable! Could you add your grandma to the story? Could she have tons of excess skin on her back, that she might fold, and then throw back, behind her?
Remember, the purpose here is not to recall the story! In fact, you may very quickly forget the details of the story! But, having spent a good ten minutes coming up with the story, your brain will always make a subconscious link between the concept of “back (of the body)” and SKIN-NAna, which you will for sure for sure know how to pronounce correctly, in Italian (Skyeh-nah).
Try to incorporate all of these tools and strategies into your Italian learning to maximize your retention of new Italian vocabulary. You’ll be amazed at how many words you’re able to learn over a short period of time.