What is the most important thing you should learn before you go to Italy? To greet and say goodbye, of course! You don’t want to be rude, do you? Let’s learn useful Italian greetings and goodbyes.
Italian greetings and goodbyes
1. Say hello
| Greeting | Formality | When? | |
| Ciao! | informal | any time | Hi! Hello! |
| Salve! | formal | any time | Hello! |
| Buon giorno! | formal | informal | morning, afternoon, after waking up | Good morning! | Good afternoon! |
| Buona sera! | formal | afternoon, evening | Good evening! |
| Buona notte! | formal | informal | Night before going to bed | Good night! |
The time when you start say buona sera depends on the region. The further south, the earlier. For example, in the north you’ll hear buona sera from about 5 p.m., in the south already after lunch.
You can write the buon greetings both as one word and separated: buongiorno | buon giorno; buonasera | buona sera; buonanotte | buona notte.
2. Pleased to meet you
– Piacere, Valentina.
– Piacere, Matteo.
Piacere is something you say when you first meet someone, usually when shaking hands, to express your pleasure. You could also add a few words:
| Piacere | formal | informal | It’s a pleasure (Pleased to meet you) |
| Piacere di conoscerti | informal | Pleased to meet you |
| Piacere di conoscerla | formal | Pleased to meet you |
When you leave
When you’ve just met someone and then you leave, you can say:
– È stato un piacere conoscerti.
– Anche per me!
| È stato un piacere conoscerti | informal | It was a pleasure meeting you |
| È stato un piacere conoscerla | formal | It was a pleasure meeting you |
| Anche per me | informal | formal | For me, too |
3. How are you?
– Ciao Emma, come stai?
– Bene, grazie! E tu?
There are a few way to ask how you are and to reply. Let’s learn some of the most common:
| Come stai? | informal | How are you? |
| Come sta? | formal | How are you? |
| Come va? | formal | informal | How’s it going? |
Answers
| Bene, grazie! | Good, thanks! |
| Benissimo Molto bene | Very good |
| Non male Non c’è male | Not bad |
| Così così | So so |
| Male Molto male | Bad Very bad |
4. Say goodbye
– Arrivederci, signor Rossi!
– Arrivederci, signora Bianchi!
The most common expressions for saying goodbye are:
| Ciao! Ciao ciao! | informal | Bye! Bye bye! |
| Arrivederci! | formal | Goodbye! |
| Arrivederla! | more formal | Goodbye! |
5. See you!
– Ciao Emma, a presto!
– Ci vediamo!
When leaving, you may also say something else than just goodbye. Here you’ll find some common expressions:
| Buona giornata! | Have a nice day! |
| Buona serata! | Have a good evening! |
| A presto! | See you soon! |
| A dopo! A più tardi! | See you later! |
| A domani! | See you tomorrow! |
| Ci vediamo! | See ya! |
How to reply
– Ciao Emma, buona giornata!
– Grazie, altrettanto!
Of course, if someone wish you a good day, you should reply accordingly:
| Grazie, altrettanto! | formal | informal | Thank you, the same to you! |
| Grazie, anche a te! | informal | Thank you, you too! |
| Grazie, anche a Lei! | formal | Thank you, you too! |
Esercizi
1. Rispondi
2. Ciao ciao!
3. Buon giorno e buona giornata
Illustration credits: Freepik
