Prima di partire, dice: «Arrivederci!»

Because Italian normally uses prima di + infinitive to mean before doing something.

So:

• prima = before / earlier / first, depending on context
• prima di partire = before leaving / before setting off

The di is required here before the infinitive partire.

Examples:

• Prima di mangiare, si lava le mani. = Before eating, he/she washes their hands.
• Prima di uscire, chiudi la porta. = Before going out, close the door.

Because after prima di, Italian uses the infinitive when the action is expressed in a general way and not with a fully conjugated clause.

So:

• prima di partire = before leaving
• literally: before to leave

English also often uses a non-finite form here: before leaving.

If you want a full clause instead, Italian can use something like:

• prima che parta = before he/she leaves
• prima che io parta = before I leave

So partire is infinitive because it follows the pattern prima di + infinitive.

Dice is the third-person singular present tense of dire = to say / to tell.

It can mean:

• he says
• she says
• sometimes it says depending on context

Italian often leaves out the subject pronoun, so dice by itself does not tell you whether it is he, she, or it. You understand that from the context.

Because Italian is a pro-drop language, which means subject pronouns are often omitted when the verb ending already makes the person clear.

So instead of saying:

• Lui dice
• Lei dice

Italian very often just says:

• Dice

The verb form itself tells you it is third person singular. Context tells you whether it is he, she, or something else.

Yes, and Italian can also do that depending on context. Here, the present tense may be used for:

• a general statement
• a habitual action
• a narrative present (telling events as if they are happening now)

So dice can sound natural in Italian even where English might prefer he/she says or sometimes he/she said, depending on the style and wider context.

If the sentence were clearly in the past, you might also see:

• Prima di partire, disse: ...
• Prima di partire, ha detto: ...

The comma separates the introductory phrase prima di partire from the main clause dice.

So the structure is:

• Prima di partire = introductory time expression
• dice = main verb

In English, you often do the same:

• Before leaving, he says: ...

The comma helps readability. In short sentences, punctuation can vary a little, but this comma is completely normal.

The colon introduces direct speech.

So the sentence works like:

• He/she says: Arrivederci!

Italian often uses a colon before quoted speech, especially in writing and narration.

You may also see other punctuation styles in different texts, but this one is very standard.

They are quotation marks used in Italian, often called guillemets or caporali.

So:

• «Arrivederci!» = “Arrivederci!”

Italian can also use other quotation styles, such as:

• "Arrivederci!"
• sometimes ‘Arrivederci!’ in certain contexts

But « » are very common in printed Italian.

Arrivederci is a normal, polite way to say goodbye. It is generally more neutral or polite than ciao.

Very roughly:

• ciao = informal hi/bye
• arrivederci = goodbye, polite/neutral
• a presto = see you soon

So Arrivederci is a good choice when you want to sound respectful or not too casual.

Yes, it is written as one word: Arrivederci.

It comes historically from an expression related to seeing each other again, but in modern Italian you simply learn it as a fixed farewell expression meaning goodbye.

So write:

• Arrivederci

not:

• arriveder ci

Because it begins the quoted speech.

After the colon, the direct quotation starts with Arrivederci, so it is capitalized just as English would capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence.

So:

• dice: «Arrivederci!»

That capitalization is standard.

Dice is pronounced roughly DEE-cheh.

A few helpful points:

• di sounds like dee
• ce sounds like che in check, but softer and with an eh vowel

So:

• dice ≈ DEE-cheh

It is pronounced roughly ah-ree-veh-DER-chee.

Helpful breakdown:

• A = ah
• rri = ree
• ve = veh
• der = DER
• ci = chee

The stress is on DER:

• arriveDERci