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Before arriving, my mother and I were taking the train from Firenze, and we had a stopover
in Bomarzo.
In true Italian train system reliability, our train to Viterbo never came.
We had to wait another hour and a half for the next train to Viterbo and then I had to let
the host’s wife, Nicoletta, who was picking us up from Porta Fiorentina train station, know
that we would be delayed.
I called her on my phone (the TMobile Simple Plan for International service is genius), and
this is how our conversation went.
Cher: Pronto?
Nicoletta: Pronto?
Cher: Ciao Nicoletta, sono Cher!
Nicoletta: Ciao Cher, come stai?
Cher: Sto benissimo, e lei?
Nicoletta: Sto bene, sto bene.
Cher: Senta. Il treno è in ritardo.
Nicoletta: (groan of understanding at the oh-so-reliable train system)
Cher: Penso che arriveremo alle 15.30, ma non ne sono sicura.
Nicoletta: Non preoccuparti, mandami un messagio quando sali sul treno.
Cher: Va bene. Ciao ciao.
Nicoletta: Ciao ciao.
When you call someone on the phone, Italians will most likely say “Pronto?” where we say
“Hello?”
Then I introduce myself to her seeing that she knows that I have her number and would be
in touch.
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She starts with standard greetings (come stai?), and I answer (sto benissimo, e lei?).
A�er she answers (sto bene, sto bene), I start talking about why I’m calling.
Conversations like this, where the information to be relayed is straightforward, are going to
be simple.
Below are some other phrases that you might need during a phone conversation:
— Vorrei prenotare un tavolo per due stasera alle 20. – I would like to reserve a table for
two tonight at eight.
— È caduta la linea. – The line has been cut o�. (We were disconnected.)
— Ti richiamo dopo – I will call you later (in case the other person needs to know
something else/needs to verify something in between)
— Ti disturbo / La disturbo – Am I interrupting you? (polite way to ask if the person can
talk at that moment or he/she is busy)
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— A dopo! – Later!
If someone doesn’t answer, you might hear a standard message from the “segreteria
telefonica”.
Here are a couple phrases you might need during a Skype conversation:
— È caduta la linea. – The line has been cut o�. (We were disconnected.)
Is there a phrase you still want to know? Leave it below, and I’ll add it.
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