Italian quotes are an easy and interesting way to learn and retain Italian vocabulary.
How to learn Italian with quotes
- Read each quote out loud, then read the English translation.
- Look at the vocabulary under the quote and pick one new word.
- Choose your favorite quote, write it on a sticky note and put it where you’ll see it every day.
- After a week, try to say it from memory. You’ll be surprised how much sticks!
Why?
Quotes are like songs, they pass on meaningful messages to us, that our minds can quickly absorb and make ours.
Our minds remember more easily what makes us feel something.
Ideas for learning
An excellent website that serves this purpose is www.frasimania.it
On frasimania you can find plenty of Italian aforismi (aphorisms), citazioni (quotes) e proverbi (proverbs) related to various aspects of life.
Choose one or two Italian sentences that you like and hang them somewhere you see it every day. Repeat this habit regularly and use Italian as a tool to stay inspired.
Non sempre le nuvole offuscano il cielo: a volte lo illuminano
Elsa Morante
Clouds don’t always darken the sky: sometimes they light it up.
- offuscare → to blur, to dim
- illuminare → to light up
Ricordati che l’uomo non vive altra vita che quella che vive in questo momento, né perde altra vita che quella che perde adesso.
Marco Aurelio (Marcus Aurelius)
Remember that we live no other life than the one we are living now, and lose no other life than the one we are losing now.
Non potrai mai attraversare l’oceano se non hai il coraggio di perdere di vista la riva.
André Gide (often attributed to Christopher Columbus)
You will never cross the ocean if you don’t have the courage to lose sight of the shore.
- attraversare: to cross
- perdere di vista: to lose sight of
- la riva: the seashore
Non ci si libera di una cosa evitandola, ma soltanto attraversandola
Cesare Pavese
You don’t free yourself from something by avoiding it, but only by going through it.
- liberarsi → to free one’s self
- evitare → to avoid
- soltanto → only
Essere se stessi è una virtù esclusiva dei bambini, dei matti e dei solitari.
Fabrizio De André
Being yourself is a virtue that belongs only to children, madmen and loners.
- essere se stessi → to be one’s self
- matto → insane person
La mattina, quando ti alzi, non ti chiedere che cosa devi fare, ma che cosa puoi fare per essere felice
Gianfranco Funari
In the morning, when you get up, don’t ask yourself what you have to do, but what you can do to be happy.
Prendete la vita con leggerezza, che leggerezza non è superficialità, ma planare sulle cose dall’alto, non avere macigni sul cuore
Italo Calvino
Take life lightly, because lightness is not superficiality, but gliding over things from above, with no boulders on your heart.
- prendere la vita con leggerezza → to take life not too seriously
- un macigno sul cuore → a huge weight on the heart
La vita è un viaggio. Le fermate migliori sono le persone speciali
Angelo de Pascalis
Life is a journey. The best stops are special people.
- le fermate → the stops
Ti insegneranno a non splendere. E tu splendi invece
Pier Paolo Pasolini
They will teach you not to shine. And you shine instead.
- splendere → to shine
Per anni ho aspettato che la mia vita cambiasse, invece ora so che era lei ad aspettare che cambiassi io
Fabio Volo
For years I waited for my life to change; now I know it was waiting for me to change.
Se non decidi della tua vita, qualcun altro deciderà per te
Leo Buscaglia
If you don’t decide about your life, someone else will decide for you.
Le nuvole non possono annientare il sole
Franco Battiato
Clouds cannot destroy the sun.
- annientare → to destroy
La Vita ha quattro sensi: amare, soffrire, lottare e vincere. Chi ama soffre.
Oriana Fallaci
Chi soffre lotta. Chi lotta vince. Ama molto, soffri poco, lotta tanto, vinci sempre.
Life has four meanings: to love, to suffer, to fight and to win. Whoever loves suffers. Whoever suffers fights. Whoever fights wins. Love a lot, suffer little, fight hard, always win.
Non dir di me finché di me non sai
pensa di te poi mi dirai
Often attributed to Dante Alighieri
Don’t speak about me until you know me. Think about yourself, then tell me.
Imparerai a tue spese che nel lungo tragitto della vita incontrerai tante maschere e pochi volti
Luigi Pirandello
You will learn the hard way that on the long journey of life you will meet many masks and few faces.
- il tragitto della vita → the journey of your life
- la maschera → the mask
- il volto → the face
Finirai per trovarla la Via… se prima hai il coraggio di perderti.
Tiziano Terzani
You will end up finding the Way… if first you have the courage to lose yourself.
- finire per → to end up
- trovare la via → to find your way
- perdersi → to lose one’s self
Essere se stessi è una missione, la più difficile. Ti allontanerà da tante persone ma ti lascerà accanto quelle che valgono davvero.
Vincenzo Cannova
Being yourself is a mission, the hardest one. It will take you away from many people, but it will leave next to you the ones who are truly worth it.
- essere se stessi → to be one’s self
- allontanare → to drift apart, to distance yourself
- accanto → next
- valere davvero → to be really worth
Frequently asked questions
What is a famous Italian quote about life?
One of the most loved is by Italo Calvino: “Prendete la vita con leggerezza, che leggerezza non è superficialità, ma planare sulle cose dall’alto, non avere macigni sul cuore” (Take life lightly, because lightness is not superficiality, but gliding over things from above, with no boulders on your heart).
Can I learn Italian with quotes?
Yes. Quotes are short, memorable and emotional, so new words stick more easily. Read the quote aloud, check the translation, learn one or two new words and try to repeat it from memory.
Did Christopher Columbus say “you can never cross the ocean”?
Probably not. The quote about having the courage to lose sight of the shore is usually traced back to the French writer André Gide, even though in Italy it is often attributed to Columbus.
Practice with my stories
If you love beautiful Italian sentences, the next step is a whole story. My graded readers are written to be enjoyed, not just studied. Here are three to start with:
Piazzetta Italiana
Level A2/B1
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