Click play on the player at the bottom to listen to this podcast or listen to it on Stitcher or Apple Podcasts.

“Where are you from? – Di dove sei?”

It has to be one of the top ten most frequently asked questions when you meet somebody while abroad in Italy.

And while you could just simply say, “Colorado” or “Gli Stati Uniti” and end the conversation, what else could you say to describe where you’re from AND get more language practice in?

Let’s pretend that someone asks me, “Com’è Coeur d’Alene? – What is Coeur d’Alene like?”

I might say: La città è bellissima! È una destinazione turistica e molte persone famose vivono qua durante l’estate. Abbiamo una lago… che si chiama il lago Coeur d’Alene…  hahah… molto creativo / fantasioso come nome, lo so. E poi, che altro? È molto verde, una cosa fantastica perché io sono ossessionata dagli alberi. Oh e ci sono molti sentieri per fare trekking. Vivere là durante l’inverno non è facile, però a me non importa tantissimo. – it’s a beautiful city! It’s a tourist destination and lots of famous people live here during the summer. We have a lake that’s called Lake Coeur d’Alene… ahaha… a really creative name, I know. And then, what else is there? It’s really green, which is great for me because I’m obsessed with trees. Oh and there are lots of hiking trails. Living there during the winter isn’t easy but I don’t mind very much.

I would say a lot because I LOVE where I live, haha.

But, enough about me, the real question is about what YOU would say, and while I can’t give you all of the vocabulary words you might need, I’ll do my best.

Useful Phrases

È vicino (allo stato di Washington) e (Oregon). – It’s near (Washington state) and (Oregon).

È nel (nord-ovest). – It’s in the northwest.

…l’ovest – west

…il sud – south

…l’est – east

…mid-ovest – midwest

— Devi fare un giro durante… – You should visit during…

….l’estate – summer

…la primavera – spring

…l’autunno – autumn

….l’inverno – winter

— È molto… – It’s really…

… verde – green

… secco – dry

… noioso – boring

… piccolo – small

…particolare – peculiar / interesting

— È un paesino. – It’s a tiny town.

— È una città grande. – It’s a big city.

— Non mi trasferirei  mai. – I would never move.

— Voglio trasferirmi! – I want to move.

— Non c’è niente da fare. – There’s nothing to do.

— Ci sono molte cose da fare! – There are so many things to do.

— In generale, la gente ha una mentalità … – In general, the people have a …. mentality

…chiusa – closed

…aperta – open

— La mia cosa preferita (nella mia città) da fare è andare in spiaggia. – My favorite thing to do in my city is go to the beach.

— Abbiamo una gelateria BUONISSIMA. Devi per forza assaggiare il gusto al / di mirtillo. – We have a REALLY DELICIOUS ice cream shop. You have got to try the huckleberry flavor.

— In questa stagione tutti vanno  in montagna per sciare. – In this season everyone goes to the mountains to ski.

— Il posto migliore per ….è… – The best place to…. Is…

E.g. il posto migliore per fare trekking è il Glacier National Park. – The best place to go hiking is Glacier National Park.

— Si mangia davvero bene a Beverly’s. – You’ll eat really well at Beverly’s.

Hopefully those phrases help keep your conversation going and give you plenty to work with so you can describe where you live. 🙂

Listen now 

Have questions? Leave a comment below!

Like the podcast? Leave a review in Apple Podcasts!

If you like the podcast, I would appreciate it a TON if you left a review. You can hit a star rating in your Podcasts app on your iPhone or go to the iTunes store and click Leave a Review on the show page.