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### Saying Hello — and Choosing Your Register

Italian greetings come in two registers, and picking the right one matters as much as the words themselves. With friends, family, and children you use **tu**-register greetings; with strangers, officials, and anyone you address as **Lei**, stay formal.

### Ciao — hello AND goodbye

**Ciao** works both when you arrive and when you leave — but only informally.

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### The formal set

**Buongiorno** (morning and early afternoon) and **buonasera** (from late afternoon on) are the safe formal greetings. **Buonanotte** is different: it is only a *parting* word, said when someone is heading to bed.

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### Leaving politely

**Arrivederci** ("until we see each other again") is the standard goodbye that works with everyone.

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### Benvenuto — welcome

**Benvenuto** agrees like an adjective with the person you welcome: *benvenuto* to a man, *benvenuta* to a woman, *benvenuti* to a group.

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### Scusa vs scusi

You already know formal **scusi**. The informal counterpart is **scusa** — same apology, tu-register.

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### Your Greeting Toolkit

| situation | informal | formal |
|---|---|---|
| hello | **ciao** | buongiorno / **buonasera** |
| goodbye | **ciao** | **arrivederci** |
| going to bed | **buonanotte** | **buonanotte** |
| sorry / excuse me | **scusa** | scusi |
| welcoming someone | **benvenuto / benvenuta** | **benvenuto / benvenuta** |

Greetings and farewells (ciao, arrivederci)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (io sono)

Singular definite articles (il, la)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Formal address (dare del Lei)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

The verb to know (sapere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Question	Answer
hi, bye (informal)	ciao
Hi! This is my sister.	Ciao! Questa è mia sorella.
goodbye	arrivederci
Goodbye, madam.	Arrivederci, signora.
Goodbye, doctor, and thank you.	Arrivederci, dottore, e grazie.
good evening	buonasera
Good evening, sir.	Buonasera, signore.
Good evening, doctor.	Buonasera, dottoressa.
good night	buonanotte
Good night, grandma.	Buonanotte, nonna.
It is night. Good night!	È notte. Buonanotte!
welcome	benvenuto
Hi, welcome!	Ciao, benvenuto!
Welcome, madam!	Benvenuta, signora!
sorry, excuse me (informal)	scusa
Sorry, I don't have time today.	Scusa, non ho tempo oggi.
Excuse me, is the cat yours?	Scusa, il gatto è tuo?
hello (formal or informal)	salve
"Hello, madam!" "Good morning!"	Salve, signora! Buongiorno!
"Hello! Is the shop open?" "Yes, welcome!"	Salve! Il negozio è aperto? Sì, benvenuto!
how are you? (informal)	come stai
"Hi! How are you?" "I am tired, but happy!"	Ciao! Come stai? Sono stanco, ma felice!
Hi, auntie! How are you?	Ciao, zia! Come stai?
not bad	non c'è male
"How are you?" "Not bad, thanks!"	Come stai? Non c'è male, grazie!
"Is the restaurant good?" "It is not bad!"	Il ristorante è buono? Non c'è male!

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