15 essential Italian cooking words (+ order of dishes)

Opening a menu in Italy is like encountering a ballet of words: antipasto, primo, secondo, contorno, dolce. If you already know these terms, everything becomes easier. Here are the 15 Italian culinary words I see most often — useful in restaurants as well as at home.

The 15 words to know

Each entry lists the word, its IPA, followed by an Italian sentence (with a quick translation).

• aperitivo — /aperiˈtivo/ — "Shall we have an aperitif at seven?"
• antipasto — /antiˈpasto/ — "Let's order a mixed antipasto to share."
• primo — /ˈprimo/ — "For the first course, I'll have spaghetti with tomato sauce."
• secondo — /seˈkondo/ — "Today's second course is grilled chicken."
• contorno — /konˈtorno/ — "I would like a side of grilled vegetables."
• dolce — /ˈdoltʃe/ — "What dessert do you recommend?"
• digestivo — /diʤeˈstivo/ — "Let's have a digestif after dessert." (We have a digestif after dessert.)
• coffee — /kafˈfɛ/ — "A coffee, please." (An espresso, please.)
• pasta — /ˈpasta/ — "The pasta must be cooked al dente." (The pasta must be cooked al dente.)
• al dente — /al ˈdɛn.te/ — "I prefer pasta al dente." (I prefer firm pasta.)
• sauce — /ˈsuɡo/ — "This sauce is homemade." (This sauce is homemade.)
• ragù — /raˈɡu/ — "Tagliatelle with ragù, thank you." (Tagliatelle with ragù, thank you.)
• extra virgin olive oil — /ˈɔljo ekstraˈverdʒine doˈliva/ — "Season with extra virgin olive oil." (Season with extra virgin olive oil.)
• cover charge — /koˈpɛrto/ — "The bill includes the cover charge." (The bill includes the cover charge.)
• sparkling water — /ˈak.kwa fritˈtsante/ — "Do you prefer still or sparkling water?" (Vous préférez de l’eau plate ou pétillante ?)

The order of dishes in Italy

The classic restaurant structure generally follows antipasto → primo → secondo (+ contorno) → dolce, sometimes with an aperitivo at the beginning, then caffè and digestivo at the end — a structure commonly described in Italian cultural resourcesaccording to Treccani.

1. Aperitivo (optional) to stimulate the appetite.
2. Antipasto, small bites or shared plates.
3. Primo: pasta, risotto, soup — the "starch dish".
4. Secondo: meat, fish, or main dish, often with a separate contorno.
5. Dolce, then caffè; digestivo optional to finish.

To place this vocabulary in its Italian cultural context, you can browse the dedicated page: Italian language.

Traps and nuances

Some habits often surprise at first. Knowing them avoids misunderstandings in the dining room… and overcooked pasta in the kitchen.

• Antipasto ≠ primo: antipasto precedes the "first" dish; they are not interchangeable starters.
• Separate contorno: the side dish sometimes arrives on a separate plate; it is ordered in addition to the secondo.
• Al dente is not "undercooked": it refers to firmness at the center. Asking for "ben cotta" will yield the opposite.
• Caffè after meals: an espresso, yes; a cappuccino is mainly consumed in the morning.
• Coperto: fixed fee per person (bread, table setting). It is not a tip; service may be indicated separately ("servizio").
• Ragù: the term varies by region (alla bolognese, alla napoletana…). Don’t expect a single recipe.

My experience

At first, I got confused between primo and secondo. I would order pasta thinking I had "the whole meal"… and I was still hungry when the neighbor received their secondo. The breakthrough came when I started mentally formulating my order in Italian: "Come primo… come secondo…". It helped me visualize the order of service and identify when to add a contorno. Since then, I almost always ask if the dish of the day has a homemade sauce, and I specify "pasta al dente" when I'm unsure about the cooking. Small phrases, big impact on the experience.

How to practice

You can create a small personal list of these words and review them in the vocabulary module of Discus: the algorithm spaces out reminders based on what you know and the time elapsed, and you can add your own expressions (like "conto separato", "vino della casa"). If needed, generate the IPA of a word with a tap and activate the global display if you want to keep the transcription visible. To start, go through the vocabularyand record two or three standard phrases that you will say to the waiter.

Learning these key phrases really changes how you read an Italian menu. Next time, try: a shared antipasto, a primo al dente, a secondo with contorno, and then a caffè. All clear.