How do you greet people in Italian?
Here a non-comprehensive list!
- Ciao – “hello” / “hi” / “bye”; it is the most common and informal way of greeting people: you can say it when you meet a friend or when you are parting away!
- Buongiorno – “Good morning”; you can say “buongiorno” basically to everyone, to your mom or the Italian Republic President but only up until lunch hours; after lunch, switch to number 3 of the list!
- Buonasera – “Good evening”; as “buongiorno” but after lunch!
- Buon pomeriggio – “Good afternoon”; not very usual but if you want you can use it after lunch and before the happy hour (and yes, in Italy we count hour with meals)
- Buonanotte – “Good night”: very informal; you use it at home or with your closest friends before going to bed.
- Arrivederci – “Goodbye”: between formal and informal but you can only say it when you are parting away.
- Addio – “Farewell” (più formale o definitivo): uncommon and old style: if you use it you appear as a romantic figure of the 17th-18th century. It means literally “to God” and it was used when people despaired to see each other ever again.
- A presto – “See you soon”: informal and used usually instead of “arrivederci”.
- Buona giornata – “Have a good day”: it is not “buongiorno”! You can say “buona giornata” only when you are leaving, not when you meet someone.
- Buona serata – “Have a good evening”: as “buona giornata” but after lunch.
