Free Italian All-in-One For Dummies by Consumer Dummies

people’s lives, it’s something you may want to be able to talk about when you’re in Italy and getting to know people you’ve just met.
    The verb lavorare (lah-voh- rah -reh) ( to work ) will be useful, as will these other key phrases:
    Che lavoro vuoi fare da grande? (keh lah- voh -roh vwohi fah -reh dah grahn -deh?) ( What work would you like to do when you are older/grow up? )
    Cosa vuoi diventare? ( koh -zah vwohi dee-vehn- tah -reh?) ( What do you want to be? )
    Che lavoro fa/fai? (keh lah- voh -roh fah/fahy?) ( What work/job do you do? [formal/informal])
    Che mestiere fa/fai? (keh mehs- tyeh -reh fah/fahy?) ( What work do you do? [formal/informal])
    You can generally answer this question in two ways (note the verbs and the use of the definite article in the first example):
    Faccio il/la dentista. ( fach -choh il/lah dehn- tees -tah.) ( I’m a dentist. [masculine/feminine])
    Sono dentista. ( soh -noh dehn- tees -tah.) ( I’m a dentist. )
    Discussing your job
    Italian has at least three words for company — la compagnia (lah kohm-pah- nyee -ah), la ditta (lah deet -tah) (which also means the firm ), and la società (lah soh-cheh- tah ). These words are virtually interchangeable.
    L’ufficio (loohf- fee -choh) is Italian for office. The following sentences give you a taste of the phrases you hear in uffici (oohf- fee -chee) ( offices ) everywhere:
    Ãˆ una grande società? (eh ooh -nah grahn -deh soh-cheh- tah? ) ( Is it a big company? )
    Non proprio, diciamo media. (nohn proh -pryoh, dee- chah -moh meh -dyah.) ( Not really, let’s say medium-sized. )
    Lavoro per una piccola agenzia. (lah- voh -roh pehr ooh -nah peek -koh-lah ah-jehn- tsee -ah.) ( I work for a small company. )
    Mi piace il mio lavoro. (mee pyah -cheh eel mee -oh lah- voh -roh.) ( I like my job. )
    Table 4-1 shows some of the professions and careers with which you may be familiar.
    Table 4-1Professions/Jobs
Profession
Pronunciation
Meaning
agronomo
ah- groh -noh-moh
agronomist
archeologo
ahr-keh- oh -loh-goh
archeologist
architetto
ahr-kee- teht -toh
architect
avvocato
ahv-voh- kah -toh
lawyer
bracciante
brach- chahn -teh
farm worker
chirurgo
kee- roohr -goh
surgeon
commesso
kohm- mehs -soh
salesperson
dentista
denhn- tees -tah
dentist
falegname
fah-leh- nyah -meh
carpenter
fornaio
fohr- nah -yoh
baker
giornalista
johr-nah- lees -tah
journalist
impiegato
ihm-pyeh- gah -toh
clerk (white-collar worker)
ingegnere
in-geh- nyeh -reh
engineer
insegnante
in-seh- nyahn -teh
teacher (grades 1–8)
meccanico
mehk- kah -nee-koh
mechanic
medico
meh -dee-koh
doctor
operaio
oh-peh- rah -yoh
factory worker
pasticciere
pah-steech- cheh -reh
baker, pastry baker
psicologo
psee- koh -loh-goh
psychologist
professore
proh-fehs- soh -reh
professor, teacher (grades 6–university)
segretaria
seh-greh- tah -ryah
secretary
stilista
stee- lees -tah
designer
    Some of the following terms may also come in handy when talking about jobs in Italian:
    capo ( kah -poh) ( head; boss )
    direttore (dee-reht- toh -reh) ( manager; director )
    fabbrica ( fahb -bree-kah) ( factory; plant )
    lavoro (lah- voh -roh) ( work; job )
    padrone (pah- droh -neh) ( boss; owner )
    sciopero ( shoh -peh-roh) ( strike )
    stipendio (stee- pehn -dyoh) ( salary )
    tasse ( tahs -seh) ( taxes )
    ti/mi interessa (tee/mee in-teh- rehs -sah) ( you’re/I’m interested in )
    The word sciopero ( shoh -peh-roh) ( strike ) is very important in Italy, because workers go on strike all the time.
    Chatting about the Weather
    Talking about the weather in Italian is as easy as talking about it in English: Is it hot? Is it cold? Is it muggy? Is it raining? It’s snowing. It’s hailing. You can express a great deal about the weather by using one verb, impersonally: fa (Literally: it makes or it does ). Here are some examples for how to answer the question Che tempo fa? (keh tehm -poh fah?) ( What’s the weather like? )
    Fa caldo (statement or question depending on