How to Say 'I'd Like to Send This Letter' in Italian and Understand Postage
Learn to mail a letter in Italian: say 'Vorrei spedire questa lettera,' ask about postage and stamps, and handle a post office interaction with confidence.
By SofiaGetting around · Yapr Learn
Sending a letter in Italy means knowing a few precise phrases: how to say you'd like to send it, how to ask for stamps, and how to talk about postage. This lesson focuses only on letters, not parcels or packages. You'll learn the polite conditional vorrei, the verb spedire, and the nouns francobollo and affrancatura. By the end, you'll be able to walk into a post office (ufficio postale) or a tobacconist (tabaccheria) and complete the transaction in standard Italian.
By the end, you can…
- say 'I'd like to send this letter' politely in Italian.
- ask how much postage costs and request the right stamps.
- understand and respond to basic questions about a letter at the post office.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Vorrei spedire questa lettera.
I'd like to send this letter.
vor-RAY speh-DEE-reh KWEH-stah LET-teh-rah
Standard polite request. Use vorrei (conditional of volere) rather than voglio, which sounds abrupt.
Quanto costa l'affrancatura?
How much is the postage?
KWAHN-toh KOH-stah lah-frahn-kah-TOO-rah
Affrancatura means the postage or franking cost. Common at the counter.
Mi serve un francobollo per l'Europa.
I need a stamp for Europe.
mee SER-veh oon frahn-KOH-bohl-loh pehr leh-OO-roh-pah
Francobollo is the physical stamp. Use per plus destination to specify the rate zone.
Dove posso imbucare la lettera?
Where can I mail the letter?
DOH-veh POHS-soh eem-boo-KAH-reh lah LET-teh-rah
Imbucare means to drop a letter into a mailbox (buca delle lettere).
La lettera è per l'estero.
The letter is for abroad.
lah LET-teh-rah eh pehr LEH-steh-roh
Use this to clarify that the destination is international, which affects the rate.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The core pattern is vorrei + infinitive: Vorrei spedire questa lettera. You can swap the infinitive to fit the task: Vorrei comprare un francobollo (I'd like to buy a stamp), Vorrei imbucare questa cartolina (I'd like to mail this postcard). To ask about cost, use Quanto costa...? Quanto costa un francobollo per gli Stati Uniti? For the verb spedire, the present tense first-person form is spedisco, but the polite request uses the conditional vorrei. Note that lettera is feminine, so use questa lettera, not questo lettera.
When to use it
Use vorrei at the post office counter or in a tabaccheria (tobacconist, where stamps are also sold). If you simply state Voglio spedire questa lettera, it can sound demanding; vorrei is the standard polite form. When asking for stamps, you can say Mi dà un francobollo? (Can you give me a stamp?) or the more formal Potrebbe darmi un francobollo? Use imbucare when you just want to drop the letter in a mailbox, and spedire when you hand it to a clerk. For registered mail, say Vorrei spedirla raccomandata.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Buongiorno, vorrei spedire questa lettera per la Francia.
Good morning, I'd like to send this letter to France.bwohn-JOHR-noh vor-RAY speh-DEE-reh KWEH-stah LET-teh-rah pehr lah FRAHN-chahCerto. È una lettera normale o raccomandata?
Of course. Is it a regular letter or registered?CHEHR-toh eh OO-nah LET-teh-rah nohr-MAH-leh oh rahk-koh-mahn-DAH-tahNormale. Quanto costa l'affrancatura?
Regular. How much is the postage?nohr-MAH-leh KWAHN-toh KOH-stah lah-frahn-kah-TOO-rahSono due euro e venti. Le serve altro?
It's two euros and twenty. Do you need anything else?SOH-noh DOO-eh EH-oo-roh eh VEHN-tee leh SER-veh AHL-trohA little context goes a long way
In Italy, stamps (francobolli) are sold not only at post offices but also at tabaccherie, recognizable by a black-and-white T sign. Post office hours vary: many are open weekday mornings and close early, while some larger offices stay open in the afternoon. For ordinary letters, you can often just drop them in a mailbox (cassetta delle lettere), but for anything important, handing it to a clerk and asking for raccomandata ensures a receipt.
One thing to watch for
Using 'Voglio spedire questa lettera' as a polite request.
Try this instead: Voglio is direct and can sound rude. Use the conditional vorrei: 'Vorrei spedire questa lettera.' If you want to be even more formal, 'Desidererei spedire questa lettera' works, but vorrei is the everyday polite choice.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you say 'I'd like to send this letter' in Italian?
Show a sample answer
Vorrei spedire questa lettera.
Vorrei is the polite conditional of volere, and spedire means to send. Questa lettera agrees with the feminine noun lettera. You could also say Vorrei inviare questa lettera, though spedire is more common for mail.
2Ask how much the postage is for a letter to Europe.
Show a sample answer
Quanto costa l'affrancatura per l'Europa?
Quanto costa asks the price, and l'affrancatura is the postage. Adding per l'Europa specifies the destination. You could also ask Quanto costa un francobollo per l'Europa? which asks about the stamp itself.
3You want to drop the letter in a mailbox. What verb do you use?
Show a sample answer
Imbucare, as in 'Dove posso imbucare la lettera?'
Imbucare specifically means to put a letter into a mailbox (buca delle lettere). Spedire is more general and can be used when handing the letter to a clerk. Both are correct depending on context.
Use vorrei spedire questa lettera for polite requests, ask Quanto costa l'affrancatura? for postage, and remember that francobollo is the stamp and imbucare means to mail it in a box.
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