How do you say “good” in Italian?

Let’s start the new year by learning a positive word: how do you say “good” in Italian?

You might already know that there are different ways to express “good” in Italian depending on the context. In this blog post, we’ll explore the four Italian words for “good” and give you examples of when to use each one.

From the adjectives buono and bravo to the noun bene, and the phrases molto bene and va tutto bene, we’ll cover everything you need to know to express yourself correctly in Italian.

So let’s dive in and discover how to use “good” in different contexts.

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translate good to italian

Good in Italian: translation and examples

There are actually 4 Italian words for “good”, depending on how you’re going to use it.

English speakers use “good” as:

  • An adjective, i.e., “a good school” or “a good movie“;
  •  A noun, i.e., “Good vs. Evil“;
  •  An adverb or to express appreciation, i.e., “Oh, good, you’re back!

Let’s see the right words to use in each situation, but very often in Italian Greetings.

As an adjective

In the first case, there are two words for “good”: buono and bravo.

Let’s start with the former. It’s a masculine singular adjective and it is pronounced bwo-no – with an open O on the first syllable, as in “clock”.

Its other forms are buona (f.s.), buoni (m.p.)  and buone (f.p.).

Sometimes you can shorten the masculine form to buon, as in buongiorno (“good morning”) or:

Questo dolce è davvero buono!

This dessert is really good!

When speaking about the qualities of a person or an animal, you can also use the word “bravo“.

Giorgio è proprio un bravo allenatore!

Giorgio is such a good coach!

In other cases, when you would use it as a synonym of “nice”, you can translate “good” to “bello” (beautiful) or its feminine and plural forms bella, belli, and belle.

As for buono, you can shorten its masculine singular form to bel.

For instance, in the example above, I translated “such a good coach” with “un bravo allenatore“.

But if I wanted to say something like: “I had a really good day“, in which “good” can easily be replaced by “nice“, the right translation would be: “Ho avuto proprio una bella giornata”

E’ proprio un bel film.

It is such a good movie.

nice in italian

As a noun, an adverb, or to express appreciation

Sometimes, “good” is used as a noun. In those cases, the right translation is bene

È una battaglia fra Bene e Male.

It is a battle between Good and Evil.

Dovresti usare le tue abilità per il bene dell’umanità.

You should use your ability for the good of mankind.

This also applies to those situations in which you would use “good” to express your appreciation or happiness for something.

Bene! Ora che sono arrivati tutti, posso cominciare a servire il pranzo.

Good! Now that everyone has arrived, I can start serving lunch.

how to say all good and very good in italian

Very good / all good

Let’s move to the next level. How do you say “very good” in Italian? There are two ways to translate the word “very”, and they are both used in this situation.

So, you can either say:

  • molto bene, or
  • davvero bene.

And what if you want to say “all good” in Italian? In that case, the right words are va tutto bene.

a good beginning bodes well

Start this new year the good way.

Here in Italy, we have a proverb that says: “Il buongiorno si vede dal mattino“, which can be translated as “You can tell a good day by its morning“.

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It’s our equivalent of “a good beginning bodes well”. 

If your New Year resolutions included improving your Italian, make sure to start on the right foot!

Check your current level with our free Italian test, or go see all our grammar resources from the menu on the footer below.

Oh, and don’t forget to check this blog regularly. We publish new posts about Italian words and culture every week.

Ci vediamo!

Still translating in your head? Wanna speak Italian for real? Check out Stefano's courses to think directly in Italian and become fluent fast!

FAQs on How do you say “good” in Italian?

How do you use Molto Bene?

In general, you would say "molto bene" to express "very good" in Italian. However, there are also popular informal and/or slang terms, such as benissimo or che bello, that express the same meaning.

What is the Italian word of OK?

"Ok" in Italian is equivalent to "Va bene." Despite being an English term, "Ok" has gradually gained popularity among Italian speakers. 

What does Tutto bene mean?

Tutto bene is a colloquial expression meaning "everything is good".

Stefano

Italian language tutor, course author, and polyglot. After learning 12 languages, I can tell you that we all master languages by listening and mimicking. With my method, you'll be speaking Italian from Lesson 1.

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