Dialogue: A Candlelight Dinner (Cena a lume di candela)

Posso consigliarle questo Chianti Riserva?

I believe the only way you can truly learn a language is by using it in real life. (I also believe that spaghetti cacio e pepe is a dish of magic.)

To help you get that real-life experience, we put together this dialogue for you.

It’s about a couple — one Italian and one from somewhere else — who go on a romantic date.

Unlike other dialogues made for students, this one is full of language that Italians use every day, and it doesn’t simplify the conversation.

If you’re a beginner, you’ll notice that a lot of the language is complex, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it to learn. Don’t let the length or the big words intimidate you. What’s more, you’ll notice that the translation from Italian to English is not literal. That’s on purpose because there are words / phrases that don’t directly translate in the same way.

At the end of the dialogue, you’ll see that I’ve broken down other resources to review based on your level.

Finally, in this dialogue, the names of food can’t always be translated, so I encourage you to look them up, e.g. pappardella + ricetta.

If you need help translating any of the vocabulary, I recommend checking out Context Reverso and Wordreference.

---

This was written by a previous contributor - Carlotta Macchini. Carlotta is from Florence, and she’s the founder and lead designer of Bianca. You can find her clothes and learn more about her on Instagram @atelier_bianca.

---

DIALOGUE

This is written from the perspective of a female.

On the phone

(1) Marco: Ti passo a prendere alle otto, così prima di cena facciamo due passi! – I’ll come pick up at eight, that way we can take a walk before dinner.