Italian greetings: how to say 'hello' and 'goodbye'

First things first.

When first learning a language we usually begin with greetings. We learn how to say "hello" and "goodbye" to new people from another culture.

So, this article will show you the most common Italian greetings.

Are you ready to go?

Here they are:

CIAO: it’s the most common Italian greeting. We use it both during the day and the evening, and both to say 'hello' and 'goodbye'. We use it with friends and family and, more in general, in informal contexts.

BUONGIORNO: we use it to say hello during the day in formal situations. You can use it with strangers, with your boss, or when you want to keep a distance.

BUONASERA: we use it to say hello during the evening in formal situations. If you don't know someone well, or if you want to keep a distance, you can say buonasera.

SALVE: Some people dislike it, but you can still use it. We use it to say hello during the day or the evening, and when we want to be polite but not too formal.

ARRIVEDERCI: we use it to say goodbye during the day and the evening, and in formal situations.   

A PRESTO: this is a general greeting that we use when we're going to see someone, or hope to see someone, again soon. We can use it both in formal and informal situations.

A DOMANI: we use it to say goodbye to someone we are going to see on the next day. Again, like a presto, we can use a domani in both formal and informal contexts.
 
A DOPO: we use it when you're going to see someone later, generally within a few hours, and we use generally use it when we want to be informal or friendly.

Now that you know a few greetings, how about thinking of how to use them in your day-to-day life?

Who would you use ciao with? Who would you use buongiorno with?

Think about it, and try and use them as much as you can.