Every phrasebook teaches you to ask. Almost none prepares you for a rapid reply involving a roundabout, a church and a hand gesture.
Asking
- Scusi, dov'è la stazione? Excuse me, where is the station?
- Scusi, come arrivo al Duomo? How do I get to the cathedral?
- È lontano? Is it far?
- Quanto ci vuole a piedi? How long does it take on foot?
- Sono perso. I'm lost. Disarmingly effective.
The words in the answer that matter
- sempre dritto — straight on. You will hear this constantly.
- a destra / a sinistra — right / left.
- gira / giri — turn.
- al semaforo — at the traffic light.
- alla rotonda — at the roundabout.
- di fronte a — opposite.
- accanto a — next to.
- dietro — behind.
- in fondo — at the end.
- la prima / la seconda — the first / the second (street).
- attraversa — cross.
- vicino — near.
Twelve words. With those you can reconstruct almost any set of directions even if half the sentence goes past you.
You do not need to understand the sentence. You need to catch four words and the direction of the hand.
The rescue phrases
- Più lentamente, per favore. More slowly, please.
- Quindi, sempre dritto e poi a destra? "So, straight on then right?" Repeating the plan back is the single most useful habit — it confirms you understood and invites a correction.
- Me lo può scrivere? Can you write it down for me.
Two practical notes
Italians orient by landmarks rather than street names and distances, so expect churches, bars and squares rather than "two hundred metres north". And in the south you will often simply be walked there. Accept; it is meant kindly.
This kind of thing is exactly what we rehearse in conversation lessons: not the question, but surviving the answer.