How to Say "Italian" in Chinese

意大利语

yìdàlìyǔ

The Chinese word for the Italian language is 意大利语 (yìdàlìyǔ).

意大利语 is used specifically to refer to the Italian language.

Meaning: language (name)

What does it mean word for word?

The term consists of 意大利, which is a phonetic transliteration of 'Italy' and the suffix 语, which means 'language'.

While 意大利语 refers to the language, you should use 意大利人 when referring to the people of Italy.

yìdàlìyǔ

When Chinese speakers describe 意大利语 as a language, they often associate it with 'musicality' using the term 像唱歌一样, meaning 'like singing'.
In Chinese, the character 语 is used for spoken languages, but if you are referring to the written Italian script, you might see the term 文 used instead.
The character 利 in 意大利 is frequently used in names and words meaning 'profit' or 'benefit', making the name of the language look quite 'beneficial' on paper.

意大利语不难。
Italian isn't difficult.
This sentence is useful for describing the difficulty level of 意大利语.
Tatoeba #10648758 by GlossaMatik, translation #1361102 by CN
他说意大利语。
He speaks Italian.
This sentence is useful for describing the ability to speak 意大利语.
Tatoeba #12947983 by strawberz, translation #5086390 by CarpeLanam
你在哪里学的意大利语？
Where did you learn Italian?
This sentence is useful for asking about the location where one learned 意大利语.
Tatoeba #1366224 by sadhen, translation #3255176 by CN
这部电影是意大利导演拍摄的。
This movie was directed by an Italian director.
14 more sentences on Tatoeba

Rainy is asking Junjie about his language studies at a cafe.

雨婷 Yuting

你会说意大利语吗？
Nǐ huì shuō Yìdàlìyǔ ma?
Can you speak Italian?
俊杰 Junjie

我会一点点意大利语。
Wǒ huì yīdiǎndiǎn Yìdàlìyǔ.
I can speak a little bit of Italian.
雨婷 Yuting

俊杰，你真厉害！
Jùnjié, nǐ zhēn lìhai!
Junjie, you are really amazing!
俊杰 Junjie

哪里哪里，还在学习中。
Nǎlǐ nǎlǐ, hái zài xuéxí zhōng.
Not at all, I am still learning.

Sources

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