☕ Italian: Ordering at the Cafe

Pandi has walked into an Italian cafe. Pengu is the waiter! Pengu says hello in Italian: Buongiorno! It means “Good morning, good day!”

Pengu asks: Che cosa desideri? It means “What would you like?” Pandi is thinking: ice cream, a sandwich or tea?

The cafe menu: un gelato (an ice cream), un panino (a sandwich), una fetta di torta (a slice of cake), un tè (a tea), un succo di frutta (a fruit juice), un bicchiere di latte (a glass of milk).

Pandi asks politely: Vorrei un gelato, per favore. Vorrei means “I would like” and per favore means “please”. Ordering like this is very polite!

Pengu hands over the ice cream: Ecco a te. (Here you are.) Pandi says thank you: Grazie! Pengu answers: Prego! (You’re welcome!)

To ask the price we say Quanto costa? Pengu answers: Un gelato costa due euro. The tea is one euro and the sandwich is three euros.

The money in Italy is the euro. Let’s count the coins: un euro, due euro, tre euro, quattro euro, cinque euro.

Pandi wants two things: Vorrei un gelato e un panino, per favore. (e = and) The ice cream is two euros and the sandwich is three euros. Pengu: Sono cinque euro. Pandi pays with two 2-euro coins and one 1-euro coin.

Pandi is leaving. Grazie! Arrivederci! he says, which means “Thank you! Goodbye!” Pengu waves back: Ciao, Pandi!

To sum up: say hello with Buongiorno!, ask with Vorrei ..., per favore., say Grazie!, ask the price with Quanto costa? and say goodbye with Arrivederci! Now try it in the game Caffè della Fattoria!