Greetings
This section introduces you to some valuable expressions that you can use to greet people and start a conversation. Remember, when introducing yourself, be confident and polite!
Ice Breakers
These are the essentials.
Good morning.
Buona mattina.
BWOHN-ah mah-TEE-na
Good day.
Buon giorno.
bwohn JOHR-no
Good evening.
Buona sera.
BWOHN-ah SAY-ra
Goodnight.
Buona notte.
BWOHN-ah NOHT-tay
Hello! (formal)
Salve!
SAHL-vay
Hi! (informal)
Ciao!
chow
-ALERT
Many of us are familiar with the word ciao. It does indeed mean both hello and goodbye, but it is considered to be very informal. You would use it with friends, but be careful using it in other, more formal, situations. You would not use it, for example, in a formal business meeting when addressing potential business partners.
Conversation Starters
Once you get past the greetings, you may want to get the conversation rolling. Here are some useful conversation starters.
How are you? |
Come stai? KOH-meh sty |
Fine, thanks. |
Bene, grazie. BEH-neh, GROTS-ee-eh |
Excellent! |
Ottimo! OHT-tee-moh |
Yes. |
Sì. see |
No. |
No. noh |
My name is … |
Mi chiamo … mee KYAH-moh |
What's your name? (formal) |
Come si chiama Lei? KOH-meh see KYAH-mah lay |
What's your name? (informal) |
Come ti chiami? KOH-meh tee KYAH-mee too |
His name is … |
Lui si chiama … loo-ee see KYAH-mah … |
Her name is … |
Lei si chiama … lay see KYAH-mah |
I am … |
Sono … SOH-noh |
Where are you from? |
Di dove sei? dee DOH-veh say |
I am from … |
Sono di … SOH-noh dee |
I come from … |
Vengo da… VEN-goh dah |
… the United States |
gli Stati Uniti llyee STAH-tee you-NEE-tee |
… England |
l'Inghilterra lin-gill-TAY-rah |
… Australia |
l'Australia louse-TRAH-lyah (louse, pronounced like house) |
… Canada |
la Canada lah KAH-nah-dah |
… France |
la Francia lah FRAN-chah |
… Spain |
la Spagna lah SPAHN-yah |
… China |
la Cina lah CHEE-nah |
… Japan |
il Giappone eel jah-POH-nay |
Thank you. |
Grazie. GROTS-ee-eh |
Please (Here you are). |
Prego. PRAY-go |
You're welcome. |
Non c'è di che. nohn che dee keh |
May I introduce you to … ? |
Posso presentarti … ? POH-soh pre-zen-TAR-tee |
Nice to meet you. |
Piacere di conoscerti. pee-AHCH-air-ay dee koh-NOSH-ehr-tee |
Bye! |
Arrivederci. ah-ree-vehr-DEHR-chee |
Goodbye (for good). |
Addio. AHD-dee-o |
See you … |
Ci vediamo … chee-vehd-YAH-moh |
… tomorrow. |
… domani. doh-MAH-nee |
… this afternoon. |
… questo pomeriggio. KWES-toh pohm-her-REEJ-ee-oh |
… this evening. |
… stasera. stah-SAY-rah |
… next week. |
… la settimana prossima. lah seht-tee-MAH-nah prohs-SEE-mah |
… in an hour. |
… tra un'ora. trah oon OHR-ah |
… later. |
… piu'tardi. pyoo TAHR-dee |
Do you speak … (informal) |
Parli … PAHR-lee |
Do you speak … (formal) |
Parla … PAHR-lah |
… English? |
… inglese? een-GLEH-zay |
… German? |
… tedesco? teh-DESS-Koh |
… French? |
… francese? frahn-CHEH-zay |
… Spanish? |
… spagnolo? spahn-YOH-loh |
Where is … ?/ Where are … ? |
Dov'è… ?/Dove sono… ? dohv-EH/DOH-veh SOH-noh |
Can you tell me … ? (informal) |
Puoi dirmi … ? poo-oi DEER-mee |
Can you tell me … ? (formal) |
Può dirmi … ? pwoh DEER-mee |
Can you show me … ? (informal) |
Puoi mostrarmi … ? poo-oi mohs-TRAHR-mee |
Can you show me … ? (formal) |
Puo mostrarmi … ? pwoh mohs-TRAHR-mee |
