Word TrainerLearn Italian words that you actually need
Italian is friendly to read and then surprises you with its details: seven forms of 'the', double consonants that change the meaning, verbs that change with every person. Word Trainer keeps the words from your course, your job and your neighbourhood together and trains them until the details are automatic.
What makes Italian vocabulary tricky
The definite article has seven forms, chosen by gender, number and the first letters of the word that follows: il libro, lo studente, l'amico, la casa, i libri, gli studenti, le case. The plural changes the ending of the noun itself: libro, libri; casa, case.
Double consonants matter: pala is a shovel, palla is a ball; nono is ninth, nonno is grandfather. Stress is normally written only when it falls on the last vowel, as in città or perché, so àncora (anchor) and ancóra (still) are both spelled ancora and differ only in speech.
Verbs have a form for every person, and many irregular ones are among the most common: andare, fare, essere, avere. Politeness has its own grammar: with strangers you use Lei and the third person.
How Word Trainer helps with Italian
Word Trainer has no ready-made Italian deck. Your dictionary is the list of words you decided to learn: from your course, your textbook, your job, the shop on the corner. Type them, paste a whole list, photograph a page or, on Android, share text from another app, and the missing translations fill in automatically.
Every word then goes through the full cycle. The Learn tab shows it next to its translation and hides more of its letters at each level until you recall the whole word. Flashcards follow, and then training: you type or say the translation, and spaced repetition decides when the word comes back. Words you get wrong return sooner, words you know fade to rare refreshers.
The app pronounces every Italian word with a natural voice, plays your list as an audio playlist in Listen mode, and in hands-free mode listens to your spoken Italian and checks it, so you can train on a walk with nothing in your hands.
Three tips for your Italian entries
- Add nouns with the article, and the plural as its own entry: 'il ragazzo', 'i ragazzi'. The article rules become habit through the entries.
- Add the verb in the form you heard: 'vado', 'facciamo', not only the infinitive. Real speech is forms, not infinitives.
- Play your list in Listen mode: double consonants and stress live in the sound, not on the page.
A few Italian words worth adding
| Word | In English | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| il permesso di soggiorno | residence permit | The document every newcomer from outside the EU needs |
| la spesa | grocery shopping | fare la spesa: to go shopping for food |
| il bancomat | cash machine, debit card | Both, depending on the sentence |
| magari | maybe, if only | A word with a mood inside |
| il codice fiscale | tax ID number | Needed for a phone contract and a gym card |
| sbagliare | to make a mistake | You will use it about yourself, cheerfully |
Learn Italian from any language
Word Trainer supports 17 languages in any pair, in both directions. Learn Italian from English, Spanish, German, Ukrainian or any of the others, and the interface itself is available in 16 languages, so you can use the app in your own language while you learn Italian.
Frequently asked questions
Is Italian easy if I know Spanish or French?
Reading is easy, and that is the trap: the words look familiar, so you skip them, and then they do not come when you speak. Add the words you recognize but do not use to your dictionary anyway, and let spaced repetition make them active. False friends deserve their own entries: for a Spanish speaker, burro is butter, not a donkey, and salire is to go up, not to go out; for a French speaker, fermare is to stop, not to close.
Can I use the word list from my Italian course or textbook?
Yes. Paste the list into Bulk import, one word per line or 'word - translation' pairs, or photograph the page: the pairs are recognized and the missing translations are filled in. Folders keep the lessons apart, and you can train one folder or everything at once.
Does the app pronounce Italian words?
Yes. Every word in the Learn tab, in the list and on the flashcards, has a play button with a natural Italian voice, Auto-speak pronounces the words during training, Listen mode plays your whole list as a playlist, and hands-free mode understands your spoken Italian answers.
Is Word Trainer free?
There is a free plan with everything you need to learn: a dictionary of up to 150 words, training, and the Learn tab with flashcards and listening. Hands-free voice practice, word recognition from photos and translation come with monthly allowances, the paid plans raise them and remove the word limit, and Pro adds detailed progress. Sign up and start, no card needed.
Start your Italian dictionary
Add the first ten words now, and the trainer will tell you when it is time to repeat them. Free to start, no card needed.
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