Addresses and finding the door

Key words

Read these before you listen: you will hear most of them.

• l'indirizzothe address

  Mi scrivi il tuo indirizzo?

  Masculine, spelled with one d and a double z — the opposite of English. In an Italian address the number comes after the street: via Garibaldi 15.

• la viathe street (in an address)

  Abito in via Garibaldi 45.

  Feminine. In addresses it comes first and takes no article after in: abito in via Roma. La strada is the general word for a road.

• il numero civicothe house / street number

  Ho sbagliato a scrivere il numero civico: è il 21, non il 12.

  Masculine, often shortened to il civico. It follows the street name: via Dante 21. Each building has one; the flat has its own interno.

• il citofonothe intercom / entry buzzer

  Al citofono non trovo il suo nome.

  Masculine. The panel of buttons at the street door, usually with surnames only. Citofonare is to buzz someone: citofono io quando arrivo.

• la scalathe staircase / entrance (of a block)

  Io sono nella scala B, interno 7.

  Feminine. In big blocks each stairwell has its own letter and entrance: scala A, scala B. Le scale, plural, are the stairs you climb. A ladder is also una scala.

• l'internothe flat / apartment number

  Suoni Ferrero, interno 7.

  Masculine, written int. in addresses. It is the number of the flat, not the floor. As an adjective it means inside or internal.

• il pianothe floor (storey)

  Abito al quinto piano.

  Masculine. Italians count floors the British way: il piano terra is the ground floor, il primo piano the one above. Note al: al terzo piano. As an adverb, piano means slowly or quietly.

• l'ascensorethe lift / elevator

  L'ascensore funziona, ma è molto piccolo.

  Masculine despite the -e: l'ascensore è rotto. You go in ascensore, with no article, or a piedi, on foot.

Practise it out loud