Greetings are the very first words we utter when we meet someone. Is the most effective way to introduce one person into the circle of another, in the case of presenting someone else, either momentarily and sporadically, or in a more permanent way, by establishing a closer link with that person.
The most used greeting in the world is the handshake. Greet and shake hands is accepted worldwide, even if there are countries that have their own customs and only use this greeting to deal with foreigners.
In the Italian greeting it’s normal to wave with your hands and then give two kisses on the cheek of the other person. Unlike in Spain, where the right cheek is offered first, Italians offer the left cheek in the first place.
Today we’ll be talking about basic Italian greetings. Learn how to say hello and other greetings in Italian whether for formal or informal situations.
Let’s begin!
How to say “Hello” in Italian
You’re probably already know “Ciao”, the most common and frequent way to say hello Italian! Ciao is used in many situations, meaning both “hello” and “goodbye”, but mainly in informal situations, i.e., among family members, relatives, and friends. It sounds inappropriate in formal contexts, for instance when greeting elder people, your boss at work or someone you don’t know very well.
But it’s not the only way to greet in Italian. In fact, some situations call for other more appropriate ways of saying hello.
Let’s take a look at the different ways to say hello!
Ehilà, Ueilà or Ehi – “Hey”
The definition of ehilà in the dictionary is to strongly recall someone’s attention. Italians usually use these words to greet friends and family expressing a positive surprise.
For example, Ehilà, chi si rivede! – “Hey, look who’s here.”
But they also can serve as a warning: Ehi, chi è entrato in casa mia? – “Hey, who entered my home?”
Come va? – “How’s it Going?”
When you run into a friend, you can say come va?, but be prepared. In Italian it often entails a detailed answer and perhaps several long minutes of storytelling with an espresso coffee at the bar.
If you don’t have time to chat, just stick to ciao!
Salve!
This is a conventional, formal greeting which comes from the Latin word “salvus”, meaning healthy, safe. The tone of this greeting is neutral. It was once used as a way to wish someone good health, while today it is mostly used when the speaker is uncertain about which register to use, formal or informal. It is definitely more formal and can be used at all times of the day with people you don’t know well or you don’t know at all.
Italian greetings for different times of the day
Buongiorno (Good Morning)
Is a very good way to greet someone, because it’s appropriate in both friendly situations and formal contexts. Buongiorno is equivalent to ”good morning” in English, but it’s also commonly used throughout the day to say ”good day” as a formal alternative to ciao.
Buon pomeriggio (Good Afternoon)
When it’s past noon, you can still hear Italians say buongiorno, but the more accurate greeting would be buon pomeriggio which you’re likely to encounter in places like Bologna.
Buon pomeriggio is a formal greeting for the afternoon time. It is not as commonly used as buongiorno and buonasera, many people in fact don’t say it at all and replace it with one of those two greetings.
Buonasera (Good evening)
When the evening comes around you say Buona sera (”good evening”). You can use this greeting as early as 5 p.m and as late as 10 p.m. in formal and informal settings, but only when you’re arriving, not when leaving.
Buona notte (Good Nigth)
The last one is buonanotte (good night): a formal and informal greeting, used to say goodbye before going to sleep.
How to say Goodbye in Italian 
Arrivederci ( Goodbye)
It is a formal way to say goodbye, only used when you leave (and not when you meet a person). Its meaning is that you wish to see someone again soon. You use it with people you are not quite familiar with, or elder people. A variant is “arrivederla”, which is even more formal and expresses a tone of respect.
Ti saluto
It literally means “I salute you” and it’s a quick and informal way to say goodbye to a person you know well.
Ci vediamo
It’s an informal greeting used mostly among young people, which means “see you around”.
Buona giornata
another common way to tell someone goodbye is by saying buona giornata, which literally means “good day” and is the equivalent of the English “have a good day”. You can use it in both formal and informal contexts to sound polite and friendly with anyone you meet. After 4/5 pm, however, the day is almost over so you should use buona serata, which means “have a good evening”.
Alla prossima
It means “see you next time” and is a friendly and casual way to say goodbye to friends, and even to people you’re not familiar with. it means “see you next time” and is a friendly and casual way to say goodbye to friends, and even to people you’re not familiar with.
Addio
has a negative meaning, because it used to greet someone that you know you will never see again. In fact, it means something like “I recommend you to God”. You will probably hardly hear it, as Italian people don’t like to highlight that it’s the last time they see someone for a very long time, perhaps forever.
Asking and replying to “How are you?”
How are you? How’s it going? How many times a day do we hear or say these brief greetings at the beginning of our conversations? So many times, in fact, that half the time, we don’t even pay attention. These pleasantries are common in Italy as well. The most common ways to ask how someone is doing are:
- Come stai? (How are you? [Informal])
- Come sta? (How are you? [Formal])
As you’d expect, when someone asks you how you’re doing, there are many responses.
- Sto bene! (I’m well!)
- Molto bene, grazie. (Very well, thanks.)
- Abbastanza bene, grazie. (Pretty well, thanks.)
- Non c’è male. (Pretty well, thanks.)
- Sto bene grazie, e tu? (I’m well, thanks, and you? [Informal])
- Sto bene, grazie, e Lei? (I’m well, thanks, and you? [Formal])
- Non sto bene.; Sto male. (I’m not well.)
- Malissimo! (Not well at all!)
- Va bene. (Things are going well.)
- Va tutto bene. (Everything’s going well.)
- Va benissimo! (Things are going great!)
- Va male. (Things aren’t going well.)
- Così così. (So so.)
- Non mi posso lamentare. (I can’t complain.)
- Benissimo! (Great!)
How to address people
Italians like titles and tend to use them whenever possible. When addressing someone without using his or her last name, use the entire title as it’s listed here. But when you add the person’s last name to the title, you drop the final -e in the title. Use the Lei form when using any of the following titles:
- Miss (Signorina)
- Mrs.; Madam (Signora)
- Mister; Sir (Signore)
- professore [M]; professoressa [F] (professor)
- ingegnere (engineer)
- dottore [M]; dottoressa [F] (doctor)In Italian, dottore is used if the person has a university degree even though it‘s not a medical degree.
So there you go, now you’ve got lots of Italian greetings, and ways of saying “hello”, “goodbye” and “how are you” in Italian.
If you’re feeling creative you can use a combination of them.
What’s Your Favorite Italian Greeting?
