Learn how to say hello to friends and acquaintances in polite Italian
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| Ciao a tutti! Sono Consuelo. Hi everybody! I’m Consuelo. |
| Welcome back to ItalianPod101.com’s Italiano in tre minuti, the fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Italian. |
| In the last lesson, we learned how to be grateful to people by saying grazie. Today we’ll learn some of the most common greetings used in Italy. |
| Pronti? Are you ready? Allora cominciamo, so let’s start! |
| The most used informal greeting is: |
| Ciao! |
| (One more time, slowly: Ciao). |
| Ciao means “hi,” “hello,” or "goodbye." That’s why we use it when we meet but also when we leave. We should only use this greeting with friends or relatives. |
| And now let’s continue discussing the formal way to greet people. |
| The one you are used to hearing in Italy and at Italianpod101.com is: |
| Buongiorno! |
| (One more time, slowly: Buongiorno). |
| Literally, buongiorno means "good day"; however, we may also interpret it as "good morning" or "good afternoon." As a rule of thumb we can use buongiorno only during the daytime—from morning until evening. |
| During the evening we say: |
| Buonasera! |
| (One more time, slowly: Buonasera). |
| So, since sera obviously means “evening,” buonasera stands for good evening. |
| Buongiorno and buonasera are used when we meet someone, but when we leave, we don’t say them again. In this formal situation Italians use: |
| Arrivederci! |
| (One more time, slowly: Arrivederci). |
| Arrivederci means “good-bye.” |
| Finally, in Italian we use an expression meaning “see you soon” that can be considered both formal and informal. That is: |
| A presto! |
| (One more time, slowly: A presto). |
| Now you can greet people in many different ways in Italian! |
| Let’s say them all again. When meeting and leaving friends, we use: |
| (background changes, on the street) |
| Ciao! |
| When meeting older people or someone we don’t know: |
| Buongiorno or buonasera! |
| When leaving in a formal situation, we say: |
| Arrivederci! |
| When leaving, no matter whether it's a formal or informal situation: |
| A presto! |
| It’s easy, isn’t it? |
| Now it’s time for Consuelo’s tips. |
| In formal situations, Italians commonly greet each other by shaking hands. On the other hand, if we meet someone we are very friendly with, we kiss each other on both cheeks. Don’t be afraid to do it with your Italian friends—it’s normal! |
| (someone enters, we say ciao and kiss each other on cheeks.) |
| During the next lesson we’ll learn the meaning of the phrase parla inglese? Do you already know it? We'll be waiting to talk about it with you in our new Italiano in tre minuti lesson. |
| Ciao, a presto, alla prossima lezione!! |
Comments
HideCiao everyone!
How do you usually greet your friends?
Ciao Patricia,
in Italian you can say "come vanno le cose?", which literally means "how do things go?"
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Ciao! Sono Patrizia.
In inglese, di solito dico come stanno le cose? In English, I usually say: How are things?
Is this expression commonly used in Italian? Are there other variations as well?
A presto
Patricia
Hi everyone! Ciao a tutti!
@Meier, Grazie e benvenuto! :) If you have any question, please let us know!
@Katie, Thank you! What do you mean with "pronunciation key"? We have a short series about pronunciation: https://www.italianpod101.com/index.php?cat=27
But if you meant something else, please let us know: we are very interested in your feedback!
Grazie e arrivederci!
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
I LOVE this website! The only problem I have is that I don't think you have a pronunciation key for the letters. If there is, I just can't find it. :sweat_smile:
I like the examples Consuelo gives, when she pauses and the box comes up for different situations when she acts out the phrase.:smile::innocent::heart:
I am finally starting to learn italian! Properly! Thankyou ItalianPod101.com!
Ciao! A Presto! :thumbsup:
Ciao Ron,
Thank you for your comment.
Buongiorno, buonanotte and buonasera can be written in both ways!:thumbsup:
Grazie mille,
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Hi Eman,
Thank you for your comment!
We are glad to hear that you are interested in Italian language and culture.
Please, let us know if you have any question.
Cheers!
Laura
Team ItalianPod101.com
Same question for buona sera and buna note.
Grazie tante,
(Thanks a lot)
- Ron
Shouldn't buon giorno be two separate words? Or is the phrase treated as one word?
Grazie tante!
- Ron
I love Italian
Hi Gladys,
"A presto" means "see you soon", while "A piu' tardi" means "see you later".
Grazie!
Ciao,
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Could you tell me the difference between "A presto" and "A piu tardi", please?
Hi Ashley,
Thank you for your positive feedback!
Regards,
Laura
Team ItalianPod101.com
Hi Antonio,
Yes we can say "Buon pomeriggio", but it's not as common as "buon giorno".
Grazie e ciao!
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Buon giorno.
Can't we say "Buon pomeriggio" for good afternoon???
Grazie.
Antonio
Wow this is the best site for italian ever! :)
Hi Mike!
Yes, "ArrivederLa" is the most formal greeting and it is better to use it when you want to express your respect for the other one. But also "Arrivederci" can be used in a formal situation, especially if you are talking to a group of people and not a single one.
Grazie e ciao!
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
You mention that arrivederci is used for goodbye in more formal settings, but isn't ArrivederLa more formal and arrivederci more more informal settings?
Ciao John,
welcome!
the correct sentence is "Ciao Curtis, buongiorno! Come stai?"
"piacere di conoscerti nuovo"what do you whant to say?
"nice to meet you, I'm new" or " "nice to see you again" ?
Chiara C.
Team ItalianPod101.com