Italian All-in-One For Dummies (23 page)

mia figlia
(
mee
-ah
fee
-lyah) (
my daughter
)

mio figlio
(
mee
-oh
fee
-lyoh) (
my son
)

mio marito
(
mee
-oh mah-
ree
-toh) (
my husband
)

mia moglie
(
mee
-ah
moh
-lyee-eh) (
my wife
)

mia madre
(
mee
-ah
mah
-dreh
)
(
my mother
)

mio padre
(
mee
-oh
pah
-dreh
)
(
my father
)

la mia amica
/
il mio amico
(lah
mee
-ah ah-
mee
-kah/eel
mee
-oh ah-
mee
-koh) (
my friend
[feminine/masculine])
Sometimes this term also means
my
girlfriend
or
my
boyfriend.

la mia ragazza/il mio ragazzo
(lah
mee
-ah rah-
gat
-tsah/eel
mee
-oh rah-
gat
-tsoh) (
my girlfriend/my boyfriend
)

la mia fidanzata/il mio fidanzato
(lah
mee
-ah fee-dahn-
zah
-tah/eel
mee
-oh fee-dahn-
zah
-toh) (
my fiancée/fiancé
[feminine/masculine])

The words
fidanzata/fidanzato
and
ragazza/ragazzo
are sometimes interchangeable for Italian people.

il mio collega
(eel
mee
-oh kohl-
leh
-gah) (
my colleague
[masculine])

la mia collega
(lah
mee
-ah kohl-
leh
-gah) (
my colleague
[feminine])

To make life easier, you can use the verb
presentare
(preh-
sehn
-tah-reh) (
to introduce
), as in these examples:

Ti presento mia moglie, Teresa.
(tee preh-
sehn
-toh
mee
-ah
mohl
-yeh, Teh-
reh
-sah.) (
Let me introduce you
[informal]
to my wife, Teresa.
)

Le presento mia suocera, Mary.
(leh preh-
sehn
-toh
mee
-ah
swoh
-chehr-ah,
Meh
-ree.) (
Let me introduce you
[formal]
to my mother-in-law, Mary.
)

Talkin' the Talk

Friends can be informal with one another. Here Teresa bumps into her old friend Marinella. Both are married now and introduce their husbands. (Track 5)