In this post, we’re going to teach you some useful Italian vocabulary.
You’ll learn how to say hello and goodbye in Italian, how to introduce yourself in Italian, and some common Italian words.
Let’s get started!
Greetings in Italian
Here are the most common greetings in Italian:
ciao
hello (informal) and goobye
The most popular “hello” in Italian is ciao. It can be used at any time of the day.
Interestingly, it can also mean “bye”.
Another option is salve, but it’s more formal.
It’s a safe choice whenever you don’t know whether to sound formal or informal. For instance, you would say salve to the cashier at a shop.
salve
hello (formal)
There are other ways of saying “hello” depending on the time of the day:
Buongiorno means “good morning” or “good day”. Buon pomeriggio means “good afternoon”, but it’s pretty formal. Buonasera can be used as a good evening greeting.
a domani
see you tomorrow
A domani literally means “until tomorrow”, so we use it like “see you tomorrow.”
You can use it when you’re leaving the office.
ci vediamo
see you (informal)
Ci vediamo literally means “see each other”, so you can use it as “see you”.
You can combine this expression with a time expression, as in the examples below:
Then there’s this formal farewell greeting:
arrivederci
see you (formal)
Arrivederci literally means “until we meet again”.
We use it to say “goodbye” in a formal way, for instance when you want to say goodbye to your teacher.
If you’re with a friend you can just say ciao, ci vediamo domani!
Learn more about how to say “hello” in Italian and how to say “goodbye” in Italian.
Introducing yourself in Italian
Let’s now focus on words and expressions you can use to introduce yourself:
Piacere.
Nice to meet you.
Mi chiamo Eleonora.
I’m Eleonora.
Io sono Francesco.
I’m Francesco.
Ho vent’anni.
I’m 20.
Ho trentacinque anni.
I’m 35.
Sono di Roma.
I’m from Rome.
Sono nigeriana.
I’m Nigerian.
Sono dottoressa.
I’m a doctor. (female)
Sono insegnante.
I’m a teacher.
Mi piace leggere romanzi in inglese.
I like to read novels in English.
Mi piace ballare il tanto.
I like to dance tango.
Here’s an example of someone introducing themselves:
Ciao, (io) mi chiamo Elena. Ho 25 anni e sono di Torino. Sono biologa e mi piace cucinare.
Hello, my name is Elena. I’m 25 and I’m from Turin. I’m a biologist and I like to cook.
Learn more about how to introduce yourself.
Common words in Italian
Here’s a list of the most common Italian words:
cosa
thing
giorno
day
grazie
thanks
prego
scusa
sorry (informal)
scusi
sorry (formal)
tempo
time or weather
Learn more common Italian words.
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