/invece di/ : in place of; origin: in-vece, where /vece/ means 'substituting something or somebody' examples: -- potrei avere un gelato alla crema invece del caffe` ? -- ho chiesto una tinta (paint) verde e invece questa e` rossa, dovro` tornare al negozio. -- (in the car) guarda bene la strada per favore, invece di parlare al telefonino! /anzi/ : this introduces a second sentence which is not secondary to the primary, but has a contrast in meaning (with the first sentence), or emphasizes the meaning. Examples: -- domani non vado al lavoro, anzi andro` al mare per fare una bella gita in barca! (contrast in meaning) -- sto pensando di comprare una macchina nuova, anzi, - perche` no - anche una casa piu` grande e piu` luminosa. (original meaning "expanded") -- vieni da me stasera ?, anzi, perche` non vieni a cena con la tua famiglia ? E` da tanto che non ci incontriamo. /piuttosto che/ : Eng. : rather than may be used like /invece di/ A word of caution: since approx. 15 years ago, in Italy has been a wide spread of the use of /piuttosto che/ with the simple meaning of /o, oppure/ (or); television is the cuplrit, as speakers enjoy filling their mouth with the more sounding /piuttosto che/ rather than the humble /o/. This is not good Italian usage, as /piuttosto che/ has a contrast in its meaning, and /o, oppure/ usually join two similar things and completely lack the "contrast" meaning. Please don't follow this usage; it creates confusion into people who want to follow the meaning of a conversation and are not satisfied with just the sound of words.

"Anzi" could be translated as "on the contrary", "invece di" (or "invece che", more used) and "piuttosto che" as "rather than". "Anzi" is used to argue, express disagreement or strengthen what one is saying, whereas the other two are used to express a preference or suggest an alternative. Use depends on context and can be learnt by practice. Examples: Non amo viaggiare, anzi credo sia pericoloso Invece di (or Piuttosto che) restare zitto, avresti dovuto intervenire Preferisco il mare piuttosto che la montagna (although personally I'd rather say "Preferico il mare alla montagna")