Good morning, and in case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!

the truman show

From a simple ‘Ciao‘ to a heartfelt ‘Buonasera‘, every greeting in Italy reflects the vibrant and warm spirit of its people.

Greetings have a special importance, the greeting is a highly symbolic gesture that communicates a welcome towards the other person, an acknowledgement of the other person and giving them dignity. The first thing that is denied if there has been an argument is in fact the greeting, it is a very significant gesture in the relationship with other people.

Needless to say, like any “ritual”, it can be profoundly different depending on the culture to which it belongs. There are some cultural contexts where greetings are used a lot and others where greetings are more limited. Generally Western cultures limit greetings only to acquaintances or in certain special situations where it is good manners to greet.

Whether you’re strolling through the bustling streets of Rome or enjoying an aperitivo with your Italian buddies, the art of greeting is an essential part of the Italian way of life. In Italy, a simple ‘hello’ does more than just start a conversation; it opens a door to a rich cultural exchange and builds instant rapport.

This article explores the charming nuances of Italian greetings, offering you a guide to mastering the perfect ‘Ciao‘ and beyond.

Learn how to greet like a local and enrich your interactions on your next Italian adventure!

Ciao!

Let’s start with the most famous among Italian greetings: Ciao!

We use Ciao both when we meet someone and when we leave. In other words, it can mean both “hello” and “bye”. Nevertheless, we use Ciao ciao to say goodbye only.

italian greetings

Ciao is actually an informal greeting. You can use it with your friends and family and also with your acquaintances. We use to be more formal with elder people, adult strangers in general but especially with professors, doctors, lawyers etc.

An even more colloquial Italian greeting is Ehilà. You could use it with your closest friends or even with your crush. Yes, because Ehilà implies that you are happily surprised to see the person you’re greeting. You can also use it to draw someone’s attention.

How are you?

I still remember the first time I went to England. I was taking a walk and a man said hello to me and then added “How are you?”. I was naively trying to answer what I thought was an actual question but he left without paying attention. And this is the way I learned that “How are you” is an English greeting.

When you greet someone in Italian and ask ‘Ciao, come stai?‘ or ‘Ciao, come va?‘, expect a real answer— and Italians will actually expect you to listen!

Salve

Salve is a more formal than Ciao. Let’s put it this way, Salve has the formality of Hello, meanwhile Ciao is informal just like Hi.

So, in a nutshell, you can safely use Salve with strangers, elder people and in every formal or ambiguous situation!

Buongiorno, Buon pomeriggio, Buonasera e Buonanotte!

As you can see, all these greetings – except for buon pomeriggio – are a single word! It isn’t officially incorrect to say buon giorno, although for aesthetic reasons and especially in formal letters, the single-word form is preferable. The same goes for buonasera and buonanotte.

But when and how to use these Italian greetings? Let’s have a look!

Buongiorno

We use Buongiorno from sunrise until lunchtime, that is to say approximately between twelve and 1 pm.

This is both a formal and informal greeting. We use it in formal context in place of Ciao but we can greet everybody using this word, especially if we are talking to someone right after we have woken up.

In a less formal way we can use the alternative Buondì (‘dì‘ is a synonym of ‘giorno‘).

In Italy, sometimes we can use Buongiorno in a sarcastic way. Let’s make an example.

Put you have a friend with a huge crush on someone and you have been telling him/her for a very long time that this person is a scoundrel. Finally one day your friend come to you and tell you that you were right all along. In Italian you could say “Eh, buongiorno!”, implying that he/she has finally awaken and found out the truth.

Italian cat saying Buongiorno 🙂

Buon pomeriggio

Buon pomeriggio is a bit more formal and could result strange or even unnatural to use it with family and friends. Of course, it can be also a way to be kind and considerate.

You can use this Italian greeting from 1 pm until 5 pm – ish.

Buonasera

Just like Buongiorno, Buonasera can be used in formal and informal occasions. You can safely use this word in place of Buon pomeriggio, in fact it is actually used from 1 pm until 11 pm – ish.

I leave you the link of a spot that has become very famous here in Italy. I think almost every Italian think about this spot sometimes when they hear the word.

I leave here for you a link to an old spot Fiat. I think almost every Italian – except for the younger generations – will remember this Italian spot. I too believe that a lot of Italians actually think about this spot every time they hear the word buonasera.

Context: the lady is on the phone with her boyfriend/suitor, with whom she gets angry because he tells her that he would not meet her. In the meantime her neighbor is listening and when he hears her shout “Sai cosa ti dico? Che adesso esco e vado col primo che incontro!” – “You know what? That I’m going to go out now and go with the first guy I meet!”, he runs toward her front door. When she opens it, he’s there in front of her and in a flirty way he says “Buuonaseeera…”.

The spot ends with the voice-over sayin “Cogli l’attimo!” – “Seize the moment!”.

Buonanotte

This is the easiest one. We say Buonanotte when we – or the person we are talking to – are going to sleep! You can also say just “Notte” or “Notte notte“, in a friendly way.

A sweeter alternative is Sogni d’oro – sweet dreams (literally ‘golden dreams’).

There are two more uses of buonanotte:

  1. Joking, with reference to sth. that one has deliberately abandoned or that one concludes drastically: ‘Per l’esame leggerò un solo libro e buonanotte‘ – ‘For the exam I will only read one book and goodnight’, or ‘Lo hanno licenziato e buonanotte‘ – ‘They dismissed him and goodnight’.
  2. Spec. to express scepticism: Person A: ‘Per l’esame dovresti leggere sei libri’ – ‘For the exam you should read six books’, person B: ‘Sì, buonanotte!’ – ‘Yes, goodnight!’.

Italian farewell greetings

Formal

Arrivederci

This is the most used Italian farewell greeting in formal context. It is important to point out that in Italy the rule of thumb is to be formal in every situation between adult strangers. That is, with the waitress in a restaurant, with the cashier of the supermarket, with the elder man on the bus… you get the idea. You can use Arrivederci with one or more people at a time. If you need a more official and formal variation when you are talking with just one person you can use:

ArrivederLa

In this case you should be talking with a single person. In fact arrivederLa could literally be translated “see her* (again)”. | N.B. *her means ‘you’. In Italian we use the polite Lei when we have to be formal with someone, instead of the informal tu. We call it Forma di cortesia or, more colloquially, Dare del Lei.

Buona giornata / Buona serata

The rules regarding the time of the day are the same as for Buongiorno and Buonasera: Buona giornata is used from dawn until 12-1 pm. Buona serata from 1 pm until 11 pm… -ish. Both can be used in combination with Arrivederci and ArrivederLa.

Informal

Ciao / Ciao ciao

As I’ve said, Ciao is used both to greet and to give farewell to someone. Ciao ciao, on the other hand is used to say goodbye only – in a friendly way.

Ci vediamo! / Ci vediamo (…)

The informal alternative way to say goodbye in Italian is Ci vediamo – ‘See you’. You can use this farewell greeting just as it is, Ci vediamo, in a generic way – when it doesn’t really matter when we are going to see each other.

If, on the other hand, you already have arrangements with your interlocutor you can say ‘Ci vediamo + the moment you’ve arranged to see them again‘. Let’s see some examples. Ci vediamo domani; ci vediamo la settimana prossima; ci vediamo lunedì; ci vediamo tra due mesi; ci vediamo alle otto, ci vediamo dopo, ci vediamo presto… – See you tomorrow; see you next week; see you on Monday; see you in two months; see you at eight; see you later…

A variation for these last examples is made by replacing Ci vediamo with ‘A(lla)‘: A domani; alla prossima settimana; a lunedì; a dopo; a presto – ‘See you tomorrow’; ‘see you next week’; ‘see you on Monday’; ‘see you later’; ‘see you soon’. But beware, it is way more natural if you use this formula just referring to a single (part of the) day or a week.

In conclusion

Embracing Italian greetings is about more than learning a language; it’s about connecting with a culture known for its passion and warmth. Now that you’re familiar with the nuances of ‘Ciao’, ‘Buonasera’, and others, I invite you to use them. Whether you find yourself wandering the streets of Venice or chatting with your Italian friend over an aperitivo, these greetings will enrich your interactions.

Do you want to deepen the Italian greetings topic? Discover how we use our hands and body during different “greetings situations and contexts”, some colloquial expressions and more.