How to ask someone to speak slowly in Italian

'Can you speak slowly, please' in Italian

You just arrived in Florence, the city is beautiful and you feel like visiting Palazzo Vecchio, one of the most famous civil buildings in the world.
You decide to ask for directions.

A nice Florentine (of course, they all are :) ) answers you.
You already know some Italian and, proud, you pretend you understood everything he said.

There is one problem though; he spoke so fast you actually didn’t understand anything.
Today, you are going to learn how to ask someone to speak more slowly in Italian and this won’t happen again!

How to say “please speak slowly” in Italian?

Non capisco, può parlare più lentamente, per favore?(formal)

Non capisco
I don’t understand

Può
Can you

Parlare più lentamente, per favore
Speak more slowly, please.

How to say “please speak slowly” in Italian in an informal way?

If you use the sentences above to ask a friend or a relative to speak more slowly in Italian, you can easily transform them into informal sentences.
You only need to change one element:

Può (Lei)

In informal sentences, you would rather use the verb conjugated at the second person singular: “tu”.
To say “please speak slowly” in Italian or “can you please speak slowly” in Italian in an informal way, you can use :

Puoi (tu)

Non capisco, puoi parlare più lentamente, per favore?
I don’t understand, can you speak more slowly please.

After hearing this, Italians will be happy to speak more slowly so you can understand.
And always remember, there is no shame in not understanding, because someone spoke too fast. At some point, you won’t need this sentence anymore.

Choose your schedule!