How to say good morning in Italian?
If you want to translate good morning into Italian, the word you are looking for is buongiorno. Yes, that’s not a literal translation.
“Morning” should be translated with mattina, but nobody says “buona mattina” in Italy.
If you want to use that word, then you should say something like: “passa una buona mattinata“, which means “have a nice morning”, but it’s still an uncommon phrase.
Buongiorno means “Have a good day!” and can be used as a general greeting on any occasion. Some people shorten it to buondì (as dì is an archaic synonym for “day” in Italian), which has a more cheerful sound.
Here’s how to pronounce buongiorno:[IPA: /bwonˈd͡ʒor.no/]
This is only one of the many greetings you can use when traveling through Italy. Let’s see when it’s best to use it.
When to say good morning in Italy
Unlike ciao, which you should say only to people you know, buongiorno is a catch-all greeting that you can say to everyone regardless of age, class, or level of acquaintance.
Weirdly enough, although giorno means day, Italians tend to say it only in the morning. After that, they use other generic greetings like buon pomeriggio, buonasera or buonanotte.
Tip: use buongiorno when entering a bar or a shop. It’s the proper way to say good morning in Italian to people you don’t know. You can also use it to greet co-workers when going to work. When you’re departing, change it into buona giornata.
Buon pomeriggio is the most common way of saying good afternoon in Italian. It’s very formal and can be used from noon to sunset.
After 6 pm, you can also say buonasera, which means good evening in Italian.
Finally, if you’re parting with someone before going to bed, you can say buonanotte (good night in Italian).
Here’s how to pronounce each of these Italian greetings:
- buon pomeriggio: [IPA: /ˌbwɔn po.meˈrid.d͡ʒo/]
- buonasera: [IPA: /ˌbwɔ.naˈse.ra/]
- buonanotte: [IPA:/ˌbwo.naˈnɔt.te/]
Trivia:
If you’ve watched The Truman Show, you can repeat the protagonist’s catchphrase to remember some of these words: “E casomai non vi rivedessi, buon pomeriggio, buonasera e buonanotte!”
Spread some kindness in the world
Now you know how to say good morning in Italian as well as many other generic greetings.
Italians love greeting each other. People in small towns will often salute everyone they meet, even without them.
Don’t be rude and do the same, using the words you’ve just learned.
And if you want more options, check our post about Italian greetings to learn them all.
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