Ciao! Today we’ll look at the best known Italian greetings.
We will see how to greet people in the Italian language and which kind of greeting the Italian culture tends to use in different situations.
Are you ready? Let’s start!
Italian greetings
We have FORMAL greetings and INFORMAL greetings in Italy.
Among the informal Italian greetings, we find the popular “Ciao”.
Whereas the English language uses “hello” (when you meet someone) and “bye” (when you go away), Italian people say “hello” and “goodbye” using a single word: Ciao. There is only “ciao” in the Italian language, both for when you meet and when you go away.
Ciao, come stai? / Hello, how are you?
Allora ci vediamo domani, ciao / So I’ll see you tomorrow, bye
Easy, don’t you think?
Now we’ll see the Italian formal hello and other useful greetings in Italy:
- In the morning we say “Buongiorno” (“Good morning” in Italian)
Buongiorno, mi dà due biglietti del treno? / Good morning, can I get two train tickets?
- After midday the expression changes. It becomes “Buon pomeriggio” (“Good afternoon in Italian”). The rule is that it’s said at 12:00, but usually Italians say it around 13:00/14:00.
Buon pomeriggio, posso portare il mio cane al campo per i cani? / Good afternoon, can I take my dog to the dog camp?
- At about 6:00 pm the sun goes down and when we meet each other during the evening we say “Buonasera” (“Good evening” in Italian)
Buonasera, ha già un tavolo prenotato? / Hello, do you have a table booked yet?
Have you already had a look at our article “How to say hello in Italian”?
?? https://italianlesson.it/en/how-to-say-in-italian/hello-in-italian-how-to-say-it/
- “Buonanotte” (“good night” in Italian) is the last Italian greeting that we use at the beginning of a meeting. We use it if we leave each other during late nights or if you say goodbye e before going to bed.
Buonanotte, ci vediamo domani in palestra / Good night, see you tomorrow at the gym
We have said that we can also say “ciao” to say goodbye. But “ciao” is a colloquial expression that we use with our friends. The formal Italian greetings that we use when we leave are:
Arrivederci (“Goodbye” in Italian)
Non dimentichi di portare le analisi, arrivederci. / Don’t forget to bring the test results, goodbye.
Then, a polite expression is to wish someone a nice day. We use it especially when dealing with the public .
The formula to wish a nice day in Italian is:
– During mornings:
Le auguro una buona giornata! / Have a nice day!
Or we can wish someone a “great day” in Italian as in the example below:
Si goda il nostro tour per la città e le auguro di passare una fantastica giornata! / Enjoy our city tour and have a great day!
– During evenings:
Vi auguriamo una buona serata! / We wish you a nice evening!
The last greeting is “Addio” (“goodbye”), but this is a more permanent goodbye:
Non ci vedremo mai più, addio! / We’ll never see each other again, goodbye!
Now it’s time for us to say goodbye. But I hope to see you soon for other interesting facts about Italy and Italian culture. So, let’s not finish with final farewell, but a goodbye for now.
Take a look at:
?? https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saluto
See you soon!