Hello and Goodbye Word Buongiorno Meaning Good morning/Good day Buona sera Good evening Buonanotte Goodnight Salve Ciao Hello Hello/Goodbye Arrivederci A domani A presto Pronto! Goodbye/See you See you tomorrow See you soon Hello Use formal and informal greeting and leave-taking, used until 4-5pm formal and informal greeting and leave taking, used from 4-5pm until late at night. formal and informal leavetaking, used late at night especially upon leaving or going to bed formal and informal greeting formal and informal greeting and leave-taking formal and informal leave-taking formal and informal leave-taking Formal and informal leave-taking Used only to answer the telephone Meeting people Word Meaning Benvenuto/Benvenuta/Benvenuti Welcome Come sta? Come stai? Come state? How are you? How are you? How are you? Come va? (Sto) Bene, grazie. E lei? (Sto) Bene, grazie. E tu? Va bene. How’s it going? (I’m) Fine, thanks. And you? (I’m) Fine thanks. And you? It’s going well Use To one male/to one female/to more than one person formal, to one person informal, to one person formal/informal, to more than one person informal formal informal Answer to “Come va?,” can also mean “It’s okay” or “It’s good.” Other Politeness Phrases Word Per favore/Per piacere/Per cortesia Grazie/Mille grazie Prego Meaning Please Use same as English Thank you/Thank you very much You’re welcome same as English Used in response to “Thank you.” Also used often to be generally polite. It might be used Mi dispiace I’m sorry Scusi Excuse me Scusa(mi) Excuse me Permesso Excuse me Salute! To health! Buon compleanno! Buon Natale! Buon viaggio! Buon appetito! Happy Birthday! Merry Christmas! Have a nice trip! Enjoy your meal! to give a stranger permission to pass on the street, or by a waiter after someone has ordered. Used to apologise for annoying someone or for doing something wrong. It’s not used to empathize like it is in English. formal, used to beg someone’s pardon or get someone’s attention informal, used to beg someone’s pardon or get someone’s attention formal and informal, used to let someone pass or to ask someone if you can pass Said when someone sneezes, or when toasting drinks