Learn Italian
Updated October 29, 2026
WanderMundo is an AI language learning app where you learn Italian with short lessons, real conversations with an AI tutor and graded stories. Start on the free plan in your browser, with no download and no credit card, and say your first sentences today.
What you'll learn in the first 30 days
The Italian course has 10 units from A1 to A2. You learn essere and avere, say what you like with mi piace, order with vorrei, and by unit 5 tell what you did yesterday with ho mangiato and sono andato/a. A2 adds possessives, everyday verbs, the passato prossimo, the imperfetto and plans.
Each unit has four lessons of 3 to 5 minutes, so one lesson a day takes you through the first five A1 units in about a month. The table below lists them exactly as they appear in the course, with the grammar tip card each unit teaches and one of its lesson titles.
Italian course, A1 (your first month)
| Unit | Topic | Grammar tip | Sample lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Hello and who I am | Meet essere: sono, sei, è | Meet sono |
| Unit 2 | What I like | Likes with mi piace and mi piacciono | Several: mi piacciono |
| Unit 3 | Numbers, age and having | Have and be an age: avere | Say ho vent’anni |
| Unit 4 | Ordering and asking | Order politely: vorrei | Ask quanto costa |
| Unit 5 | Telling what happened yesterday | Yesterday: ho mangiato, sono andato/a | Go with sono andato/a |
Italian course, A2 (what comes next)
| Unit | Topic | Grammar tip | Sample lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 6 | Family and possessives | My family: mio, mia, miei, mie | Say la mia famiglia |
| Unit 7 | Everyday present verbs | Daily verbs: -are, -ere, -ire | Finish with finisco |
| Unit 8 | Telling my day in the past | Build the passato prossimo | Turn parlare into parlato |
| Unit 9 | Describing the past | Background versus events: imperfetto | Set scenes with era |
| Unit 10 | Going to and making plans | Plans with penso di and the present | Use domani + present |
Unit names are taken from the WanderMundo course. Content may grow over time.
How a lesson works
Every unit opens with a tip card: one grammar point in plain English, plus one memorable trick for remembering it. In unit 2, for example, the tip card shows that mi piace works like "it pleases me": mi piace la pizza for one thing, mi piacciono gli spaghetti for several. The trick: look at the thing you like, not at yourself, to choose the verb.
Then you practice with eight exercise types, mixed so you read, listen, write and speak in every lesson:
- Tap the pairs: match words to their meaning.
- Build the sentence: put word tiles in order.
- Listen and pick: hear a sentence and choose what it means.
- Listen and type: write what you hear.
- Say it: read a sentence out loud with the microphone.
- Fill the blank: complete a sentence with the missing word.
- Fix the mistake: spot and correct a typical learner error.
- Translate: turn an English sentence into Italian.
Practice chat at the end of each lesson
Each lesson ends with a short practice chat with the AI tutor, built around what you just learned. You answer by typing or speaking, and when you make a mistake you see a correction card with the right sentence and a one-line reason in your own language.
There are no hearts or lives. Mistakes never block you; they come back later and are saved to Review, where saved words also become flashcards. Path lessons are free and unlimited on every plan.
Speak from day one
Italian is spelled almost exactly as it sounds, so you can speak with confidence early. In Talk you chat with the tutor by text, microphone or a live voice call. You can pick a scenario like ordering at a restaurant, checking into a hotel or asking directions, or just have a free conversation. Beginners get tap-to-answer reply ideas and slow audio.
Walk & Talk works in Italian too: a hands-free spoken lesson of 10 to 60 minutes with headphones, with warm-up, grammar, drills, a short story and a role play. Voice commands like "slower", "repeat that", "pause" and "how do you say..." keep it going without touching your phone.
Listen to graded Italian stories
Listening trains your ear for double consonants like the difference between nono and nonno. Listen has podcast-style story episodes graded by level, with a read-along transcript in Italian, English or both, and speeds from 0.6x to 1.25x. Beginner episodes include English support that fades as your level goes up.
Track your level
Not sure where to start? Take the free placement test (about 8 minutes). It gives an estimated level from A1 to C2 and drops you at the right place in the course. It is an estimate, not an official certificate. You can also simply pick your level and start.
6 Italian starter phrases
The guide is approximate: capitals show the stressed syllable, "ch" before e or i sounds like the ch in "church", and double consonants are held a little longer. Scusi is the polite form for strangers.
| Italian | Say it like | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ciao! / Buongiorno! | CHOW / bwon-JOR-no | Hi! / Good morning! |
| Mi chiamo Sam. | mee KYAH-mo sam | My name is Sam. |
| Piacere. | pyah-CHEH-reh | Nice to meet you. |
| Grazie mille. | GRAHT-tsyeh MEEL-leh | Thanks a lot. |
| Vorrei un caffè, per favore. | vor-RAY oon kahf-FEH pair fah-VO-reh | I would like a coffee, please. |
| Scusi, dov’è la stazione? | SKOO-zee doh-VEH lah stah-TSYO-neh | Excuse me, where is the station? |
Free vs Pro
The free plan includes every Path lesson, unlimited, plus 15 tutor messages and 3 minutes of live voice a day, one 10-minute Walk & Talk session a day, Listen, Review and the placement test. You do not need a credit card to sign up and there are no ads.
Pro adds unlimited text conversation with the tutor, 30 minutes of live voice a day and Walk & Talk sessions up to 60 minutes. See pricing.
Want a full plan? Read best way to learn italian, see best app to learn italian, or start with how to learn a new language.
Who it's for
- Total beginners
- Travelers planning a trip to Italy
- People with Italian family who want to talk with them
- Busy people with 5 to 15 minutes a day
Who it's not for
- People who need an official certificate (levels are estimates)
- Learners who want a human teacher
- Anyone looking for a course beyond A2 in Italian today
Frequently asked questions
Can I learn Italian for free?
Yes. WanderMundo's Italian course lessons are free and unlimited, and the free plan adds 15 tutor messages and 3 minutes of live voice a day. No credit card, no ads, nothing to download.
How long does it take to learn Italian?
The US Foreign Service Institute estimates about 24 to 30 weeks (600 to 750 class hours) for English speakers to reach professional working proficiency in Italian. Simple conversation comes much sooner with daily practice.
Is Italian hard for English speakers?
Italian is one of the easier languages for English speakers: the FSI puts it in its fastest group, spelling is regular and many words share Latin roots with English. The main challenges are verb endings, gendered nouns and the choice between avere and essere in the past.
Can I learn Italian with an app?
An app can take you a long way if you speak every day. WanderMundo combines short lessons, a tutor that corrects you and graded listening; adding real conversations with people later makes it even stronger.
What should I learn first in Italian?
Start with greetings, essere and avere, mi piace and ordering with vorrei, then the past with ho mangiato and sono andato/a. That is the order of units 1 to 5 in the course.
Related guides
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