Learn the bricks. Build your sentences.
Instead of memorising lists of phrases, you learn reusable words and the rules that put them together. You build, transform and listen to sentences you have never seen before.
Six families of bricks
Every word comes with its stressed syllable, its audio and a meaning in context.
Subject pronouns, often left out: the verb ending is enough.
Common verbs, conjugated according to the person.
With their article, which changes with gender and number.
Negation, yes, and words for asking or adding.
The rules for putting bricks together. Nothing is glued word for word.
Regular spelling: a few rules are enough to read everything.
The same bricks, everywhere
At a restaurant, on the move or meeting someone new, a few bricks are enough to make yourself understood.
Where is Italian spoken?
Standard Italian comes from the Tuscan of Florence, the language of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio. An official language of Italy, San Marino, Vatican City and Switzerland, it was carried by 19th- and 20th-century emigration across Europe, the Americas and Australia.
- Italy — Florence: standard Italian comes from Tuscan
- Vatican City
- San Marino
- Switzerland — national language: Ticino and southern Graubünden
- Istria (Slovenia, Croatia) — co-official in bilingual municipalities
- France
- Belgium
- Germany
- United States — New York
- Argentina — Buenos Aires
- Brazil — São Paulo
- Australia — Melbourne
Homeland or official language Community · Approximate positions. Natural Earth.
The sentence builder
Every combination is checked against the grammar. Bricks marked ≠ don’t go with your choice: pick them to find out why.
Fifteen minutes a day
Adjustable from 5 to 30 minutes. Missing a day costs you nothing: your progress waits for you.
Eight weeks of discovery
A path, not a promise of a level. Each week targets a skill you can see for yourself.
Everything is read as it is written, or almost.
A few letter combinations, double consonants and the stressed syllable: that’s all you need to read Italian aloud.
Learn the pronunciationLearning Italian with KilaTalk
What is KilaTalk, and what does learning “by construction” mean?
KilaTalk is a language-learning app. Instead of memorising lists of phrases, you learn reusable words — people, actions, things, places — and the rules that put them together, then you build, transform and listen to your own sentences.
Do I need an account? Is it free?
The sentence builder and the method, pronunciation and reading pages are open to everyone, with no account. The eight-week course, reviews and your word list require an account, which is free to create.
How much time does it take each day, and what is in the eight-week course?
A session lasts fifteen minutes, adjustable from 5 to 30: the day’s reviews, new bricks, sentences to build and a listening task. The eight weeks go from the first sounds to real-life dialogues, through negation, questions, numbers and polite requests; it is a discovery path, not a promise of a level.
How is pronunciation taught?
Every word and sentence has audio you can play at normal speed or slowly (0.5×, without distorting the voice). Words come with a transcription suited to the language: pinyin for Mandarin, Yale romanisation for Cantonese, rōmaji for Japanese, Revised Romanization for Korean, the International Phonetic Alphabet for Vietnamese and most European languages, and a transliteration for Russian.
Which languages can I learn from?
The interface is available in six languages: English, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Chinese and French. Explanations and translations are written for each of them, with comparisons drawn from the learner’s own language.
Who is behind KilaTalk, and can I trust the sentences?
KilaTalk is designed and published by SDiTech, a software publisher based in France. Every sentence in the builder is checked by a grammar engine: a combination that doesn’t work is refused, with the rule explained and correct alternatives offered.
Lay your first brick.
Choose your goal and your pace, and the first lesson starts straight away.