Episode 25 · Real Italian Conversations
Permesso! How to get off a crowded bus in Italy
Daniel missed his bus stop three times, because he kept saying mi dispiace. To get through a crowd in Italy, you say permesso.
Daniel tells Laura why he keeps missing his stop. She helps him find the one word that makes a crowded Italian bus open up.
Laura ·
In this lesson
| Italian | Word for word | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Permesso! | permission! | excuse me, let me through |
| Scendo alla prossima | I get off at the next | I'm getting off at the next stop |
| Scende alla prossima? | do you get off at the next? | are you getting off at the next stop? (polite) |
| Mi dispiace | it displeases me | I'm sorry - for regret or bad news, not to get past |
Permesso is the word for squeezing past people: on a bus, in a shop, between tables. Italians also say Permesso? when they walk into someone's home.
SOURCES - https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/permesso2/ - https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/dispiacere/ - https://italian.joyoflanguages.com/podcast/excuse-me-in-italian - https://www.thinkinitalian.com/excuse-me-in-italian - https://dailyitalianwords.com/italian-word-permesso/
Have you ever missed your stop because you didn't know what to say? Tell me in the comments!
The dialogue
Every line from the video, with the English meaning under the Italian.
Daniel
I missed my bus stop. Third time this week!
Laura
Di nuovo? Cosa dici quando devi scendere?
Again? What do you say when you need to get off?
Daniel✗ Mistake
Mi dispiace! Mi dispiace!
I'm sorry! I'm sorry!
Laura
Vuoi solo passare. Cosa chiedi?
You just want to get through. What do you ask for?
Daniel✓ Correct
Oh! Permesso! Scendo alla prossima!
Oh! Excuse me (let me through)! I'm getting off at the next stop!
Laura
Bravo! Così tutti si spostano.
Well done! That way everyone moves aside.
Daniel
Wait... I apologised to strangers all week?
Laura
Sì. E ti hanno perdonato!
Yes. And they forgave you!
The voices in this video are synthetic and the on-screen host is generated. The Italian itself is written and checked by a native speaker.
Ready to speak, not just watch?
Practise these phrases out loud with Laura in a small group or a private lesson.
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