Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Default greeting
• Method 2 of 3: Greet someone at a specific time of the day
• Method 3 of 3: Other greetings

If you want to greet someone in Italian, you can say “ciao” or “salve”, but did you know there are many more ways to say “hello” in Italian? The best way to use it depends on the situation in which you greet someone. Below we've outlined some of the most commonly used Italian greetings for you.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Default greeting

1. In informal situations you usually say "ciao". This is one of the most common ways to say "hello" or "hi" in Italian.
   • It is good to know that "ciao" can also mean "bye" or "goodbye" depending on the context in which it is said.
   • Ciao is very often used as a greeting in Italian, but it sounds quite informal and is usually only used among family and friends.
   • The pronunciation of ciao is chau.
2. In neutral situations it is best to say "salve". This is the second most common way to say “hello” in Italian.
   • "Salve" is not used as often as "ciao," but is more suitable for greeting people you don't know very well. The most polite way to say “hello” is to use a greeting that is appropriate for the time of day, but with salve you are in the right place in most cases.
   • In Dutch, "ciao" is best translated as "hi", while "salve" is closer to "hello."
   • Salve is a loan word from Latin. This greeting was widely used by the Romans in the era of Julius Caesar.
   • Depending on the situation you can salve also use to say hello, in the same way as ciao.
   • You speak salve out as sal-veh.

Method 2 of 3: Greet someone at a specific time of the day

1. When you greet someone in the morning you say "buongiorno". Translated, this means "good morning" or, literally, "good day."
   • Buon is derived from the Italian adjective "buono," which means "good".
   • Giorno is an Italian noun and means "day."
   • Like many other greetings in Italian it is possible buongiorno also mean "goodbye", depending on the context.
   • Buongiorno Like other time-of-day greetings, it is seen as a polite way to greet someone. But you can also greet your friends or family with it.
   • The pronunciation of buongiorno is bwon dzjor-noo.
2. To greet someone in the afternoon, say "buon pomeriggio". "Buon pomeriggio" means "good afternoon" and you can use it to greet someone or to say goodbye.
   • You can still hear people in the afternoon buongiorno say, but buon pomeriggio is more correct and somewhat more common.
   • Buon means "good" and pomeriggio is a noun and means "noon."
   • You pronounce this greeting as bwon poo-me-rie-djoo.
3. To greet someone at night, say "buonasera". As a polite greeting or to say goodbye in a polite way after about 4 PM, say buonasera.
   • Buona means "good" and sera is an Italian noun and means "evening." Because the word sera feminine, the masculine adjective "buon" is given the feminine ending "buona."
   • You speak buonasera out as bwo-na se-raa.

Method 3 of 3: Other greetings

1. You answer the phone with "pronto?This is another way of saying “hello” in Italian, but this greeting is only used during a phone call.
   • You can pronto use as a greeting when you receive a call, but also when you call someone yourself.
   • Pronto is actually an adjective and means "ready". If you say this while answering the phone, you are basically saying that you are ready to listen to what the other person wants to say, or you are actually asking if the other is ready to talk.
   • The pronunciation of pronto is pron-too.
2. To a group of people you say "ciao a tutti.“You can say this to greet a group of friends, so you don't have to say hello to everyone separately.
   • Remember, "ciao" is a casual or casual way of saying "hi."
   • A tutti means "for everyone." The word "a" means "for" or "on" and "tutti" means "all" or "everyone."
   • Loosely translated, it means "hello everyone."
   • You pronounce the sentence as chau aa toe-tie.
3. Someone you meet for the first time greets you with "piacere di conoscerti.""Translated into Dutch, this means" nice to meet you. "
   • Piacere is derived from an Italian verb that means "to please" or "to give birth". It can also be used independently as a greeting, but that is not often done.
   • Di is a preposition that can mean "from," "to," or "for", among other things.
   • Conoscerti is an informal form of the Italian verb "conoscere," which means "to get to know" or "to meet". The more polite version would be "conoscerla."
   • The pronunciation of piacere di conoscerti is pja-chee-re die ko-no-sjer-tie.
   • Piacere di conoscerla you pronounce as pja-chee-re die ko-no-sjer-laa.
4. instead you can also say "incantato."Incantato" is used to say in a more popular, even more informal way that you really enjoy meeting the other person.
   • In Dutch you can best translate this as "very pleasant" or "how nice to meet you."
   • You pronounce this greeting as ten-kan-taa-too.
5. To welcome someone, say "benvenuto.When you receive someone, use this phrase to say that the other is "welcome".
   • Ben is derived from the Italian word "buon," which means "good".
   • Venuto is derived from the Italian verb "venire," which means "to come."
   • More literal translated means benvenuto so basically "good that you came."
   • You speak benvenuto out as ben-vee-noe-too.