Modern Italian Grammar: A Practical Guide, Third Edition (2013)
Part B. Functions
II. Actions affecting ourselves and others
20. Social interactions
20.1 Greeting, welcoming
Saying ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’:
Buon giorno |
used to greet people during daytime |
Buona sera |
used to greet people in the evening (after dark or after siesta time in the south) |
Buona notte |
used only when taking leave of one's companions to go to bed or to go home at the end of the evening |
Ciao |
a more informal and very common way to say ‘hello’ as well as ‘goodbye’ |
Salve |
another informal greeting, used only when meeting somebody, but less common and limited to certain regions and certain social contexts |
When enquiring about someone's state of health, use the verb stare.
Come stai? or Come va? are used when addressing somebody with the familiar tu:
Ciao Paolo. Come stai?
Hello Paolo. How are you?
Come sta? is the formal (Lei) form of address (see 3.3.1 and 41.2), both for men and for women:
Buon giorno Dottoressa Serra. Come sta?
Good morning Dr Serra. How are you?
A normal reply might be one of the following (providing some brief information about one's physical state):
(Molto) bene, grazie e tu/Lei?
Very well, thank you. And you?
Bene grazie, non c'è male.
Thanks, not bad.
Insomma . . . non c'è male.
Not bad. (but said without conviction)
Non molto bene purtroppo.
Not very well, unfortunately.
Benvenuto means ‘welcome’ but is used mainly on relatively formal occasions. When welcoming someone into a room, Italians often say:
Si accomodi, signora.
Please come in, signora.
(Literally: Make yourself comfortable.)
Accomodati! / Accomodatevi!
Come in! (familiar form of address, using tu/voi)
Avanti!
Come in! (Literally: Forward!)
When inviting guests to sit down, you can use accomodarsi, as above, or else sedersi:
Prego, si sieda, signora.
Please take a seat, signora.
Siediti, Angela.
Sit down, Angela.
Sedetevi, ragazzi.
Sit down, boys.
When sending your greetings to someone's family, use salutare:
Mi saluti Sua madre.
Say ‘hello’ to your mother for me.
Salutami la tua mamma.
Say ‘hello’ to your mum for me.
You can also use salutare to pass on greetings from someone else:
Mio marito La saluta.
My husband sends (you) best wishes.
Giorgio ti saluta.
Giorgio sends (you) best wishes.
20.2 Introducing oneself and others
You might want to introduce yourself to someone you have just met, or introduce someone else (see also 8.1). Here are the phrases most commonly used, with approximate translations:
Permette . . . ?
Allow me . . . (rather formal first approach, followed by your own name)
Mi chiamo Peter Green.
My name is Peter Green
(Literally: I am called . . .)
Piacere, Sally Parker.
My name is Sally Parker. It's a pleasure to meet you.
Molto lieta/o.
Glad to meet you . . .
Here are two examples of typical introductions, the first rather formal (for example, a business situation), the second more informal (for example, two young students):
Dialogue 1
A |
Permette? . . . Vorrei presentarmi . . . mi chiamo William Hughes. |
B |
Molto lieto... io sono Andrea Fulgenzi . . . sono l'agente della ditta Caroli. |
A |
Molto lieto, ho sentito parlare spesso di Lei. Io lavoro per il Ministero degli Esteri canadese. |
B |
Questo è il mio biglietto da visita. |
A |
Grazie, ecco il mio . . . |
A |
Would you mind? I'd like to introduce myself. My name's William Hughes. |
B |
Very pleased to meet you. My name's Andrea Fulgenzi. I'm the agent for Caroli. |
A |
Very pleased (too), I've often heard speak of you. I work for the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. |
B |
This is my card. |
A |
Thanks, here's mine. |
Dialogue 2
A |
Ciao, come ti chiami? |
B |
Mi chiamo Sandra, e tu? |
A |
Io mi chiamo Luigi. Piacere! |
B |
Piacere! |
A |
Hi, what's your name? |
B |
My name's Sandra, and you? |
A |
My name's Luigi. Pleased (to meet you). |
B |
Pleased (to meet you). |
When introducing a third person, you can say:
Le presento l'avvocato Negri . . .
Can I introduce Mr Negri (to you)?
(Literally: ‘Lawyer Negri’)
Posso presentar Le l'avvocato Negri?
Can I introduce Mr Negri (to you)?
(Literally: ‘Lawyer Negri’)
Ti presento il mio amico Luigi.
This is my friend Luigi.
Notice that in Italy professional titles or qualifications such as dottore, professore, ingegnere, direttore are commonly used when addressing or introducing somebody, where you would not use them in English. The same applies to signora ‘madam’ or signore ‘sir’ (see 20.9 below).
20.3 Saying goodbye
The commonest ways to say goodbye in Italian are arrivederci or (to friends) ciao.
A more formal form is arrivederLa, although arrivederci is appropriate in almost all circumstances.
Other very common familiar forms of leave-taking are:
a domani |
see you tomorrow |
a presto |
see you soon |
buona notte |
good night (used only when taking leave at the end of an evening) |
ci vediamo |
see you |
di nuovo |
see you again (less familiar) |
20.4 Wishes
Here is a series of expressions used as good wishes in various circumstances. These may be exchanged both when meeting and when leaving people:
auguri |
best wishes (used in virtually all situations, for example birthdays, Christmas, but never before exams. . . see below) |
buon compleanno |
happy birthday |
buon viaggio |
bon voyage |
buone vacanze |
have a nice holiday |
buon Natale |
merry Christmas |
buon Anno |
happy New Year |
Felice Anno Nuovo |
Happy New Year (on Christmas cards etc.) |
buona Pasqua |
happy Easter |
in bocca al lupo |
good luck (idiomatic, literally means ‘in the mouth of the wolf’, used before exams, tests or competitions. In such circumstances Auguri! is considered to bring bad luck. The traditional reply is Crepi! ‘May the wolf die!' |
buona fortuna |
good luck (generic) |
buon divertimento |
enjoy yourself |
salute |
bless you (when someone sneezes) |
cin cin or salute |
cheers (raising glasses for a toast) |
alla tua, alla vostra |
to your health (as a toast) |
buon appetito |
enjoy your meal (very common before beginning a meal, in both formal and informal situations: as a reply you can say grazie altrettanto although nowadays most people just repeatbuon appetito instead) |
20.5 Expressing and receiving thanks, appreciation
Saying thank you:
grazie |
thanks |
molte grazie |
many thanks |
grazie mille |
many thanks |
Informai (‘tu’ form): |
|
ti ringrazio Paola |
(I) thank you, Paola |
Formai (‘Lei’ form): |
|
La ringrazio, Professore |
(I) thank you (Literally: ‘teacher’) |
Receiving thanks:
prego |
you are welcome |
di niente |
don't mention it |
non c'è di che |
don't mention it |
per carità, non è nulla |
please, it's nothing |
Expressing a more intense appreciation:
Grazie, molto gentile.
Thank you, very kind of you.
Molto gentile da parte Sua.
How kind of you.
La ringrazio molto per la Sua ospitalità.
Thank you very much indeed for your hospitality.
Le sono molto grata/o per l'assistenza che ho ricevuto.
I am very grateful to you for the assistance I received.
Ho apprezzato molto il Suo regalo.
I much appreciated your present.
Ho gradito molto i Suoi fiori.
I very much appreciated your flowers.
Ancora mille grazie. Lei è stata/o veramente gentile.
Thank you again. You have been extremely kind.
20.6 Compliments and congratulations
Here are some expressions that can be used to convey your compliments to somebody in various circumstances.
Bravo/a!
Well done! (friendly and informal)
Complimenti!
Congratulations!
Complimenti per la laurea!
Congratulations on your degree!
Congratulazioni!
Congratulations! (more formal)
Felicitazioni per il vostro matrimonio / anniversario.
Congratulations on your marriage / anniversary.
Che bello!
How beautiful!
Che bel vestito!
What a nice dress!
Che begli occhi che hai!
What beautiful eyes you have!
Come sei elegante!
How elegant you are!
Le sta molto bene questa giacca.
This jacket looks really good on you.
Come parli bene l'italiano!
How good your Italian is!
20.7 Making and accepting excuses, apologies
The following examples show the most usual ways to say ‘excuse me’ or ‘sorry’ in Italian. Speaking formally, using the Lei form of address:
Mi scusi |
Excuse me |
Scusi |
Excuse me |
Chiedo scusa |
I apologise |
La prego di scusarmi.
I beg your pardon.
La prego di accettare le mie scuse. (more formal)
I hope you will accept my apologies.
Sono spiacente che non ci sia abbastanza caffè per tutti. (very formal)
I regret there is not enough coffee for everybody.
Speaking informally, using the tu form of address:
Scusami |
Excuse me |
Mi dispiace / Mi spiace |
I'm sorry |
Spiacente |
I'm sorry ( formal) |
To accept someone's apologies, you may say:
Per carità |
You don't need to apologise (Literally: For pity's sake . . . ) |
Non si preoccupi |
Don't worry |
Non fa niente |
It doesn't matter |
Prego |
It's all right |
20.8 Expressing commiseration, sympathy
To express sympathy for someone's death, whether speaking or in writing, you can use condoglianze ‘condolences’:
Desidero esprimere le mie condoglianze per la perdita di Suo marito.
I wish to express my sympathy for the loss of your husband.
Some common expressions of commiseration or regret are the following:
(Che) peccato!
What a pity! It's a shame!
Peccato che lei sia arrivata in ritardo.
It's a pity that she arrived late.
È un peccato che non abbiate visto quel film.
It's a pity you haven't seen that film.
Poveretto/a!
Poor him/her!
► See also 10.6.2.
Povero Mario!
Poor Mario!
Che pena!
What a shame!
Poveretti, mi fanno pena!
Poor things. I feel sorry for them.
Mi dispiace che abbiate avuto questo brutto incidente.
I'm sorry you had this bad accident.
20.9 Using titles, salutations
As mentioned above (see 20.2), in Italy professional titles and qualifications are commonly used when addressing somebody, either speaking or in writing. Failing to do so, or using the wrong title, may result in embarrassment or offence.
Here we present the titles most commonly used. (See 42.2.3 for details of abbreviations and other conventional forms used in correspondence.) The titles shown below are general forms of address used when the person addressed has no special title, but also when you don't know whether he/she has other titles or not. Italians would tactfully try to find out whether any other title is appropriate, before addressing somebody with Signor(e). A title may be used on its own or followed by the person's surname, in which case the final -e is dropped from the masculine form, for example Signore is abbreviated to Signor (Signo r Ross i):
Signore |
Mister |
Signora |
Madam |
Signorina |
Miss (if unmarried) |
The final -e is also dropped before a surname with many of the following titles (as indicated by the brackets):
Dottor(e) |
Doctor (used both for medical doctor and for anybody with a university degree, or when there is not a more specific professional title) |
Dottoressa |
Doctor (female equivalent of above) |
Professor(e) |
Professor (used for male university and secondary school teacher) |
Professoressa |
Professor (female equivalent of above) |
Avvocato |
Lawyer, solicitor (Avvocatessa exists but see note below) |
Ingegner(e) |
Engineer (only if holding a university degree) |
Ragionier(e) |
Accountant |
Architetto |
Architect |
Maestro |
Master (used for all male artists and conductors; in southern Italy it is also used for highly skilled manual labourers and artisans) |
Onorevole |
Member of Parliament |
Ministro |
Minister |
Padre |
Father (for priest) |
Madre / Sorella |
Mother / Sister (for nun) |
Monsignor(e) |
Monsignor (for high-ranking Catholic priest) |
Generally used on its own, not with a surname, is:
Direttore |
Director, manager (or other person high up in a company) |
In some professions (such as military or diplomatic), the specific title indicating the rank should be used:
Generale |
General |
Capitano |
Captain |
Ambasciatore |
Ambassador |
In some cases, but not always, there are both masculine and feminine forms. For a list of the most common titles or professions with distinct feminine equivalents (for example professoressa, dottoressa), see 1.2.2 and 8.3.3. Where there is no feminine form, women should be addressed with the same title as their male counterparts: Ingegner Maggioni, Avvocato Parma.
In some cases the feminine form exists but follows the rather old-fashioned tradition of indicating the wife of the professional person: ambasciatrice ‘the ambassador's wife’, presidentessa ‘the president's wife’. In these cases, it is common practice not to use the feminine form but to use instead the masculine form to indicate women working in this profession as well:
La presidente della Regione è stata intervistata dal giornale La Repubblica.
The President of the Region was interviewed by the newspaper La Repubblica.
Generally speaking, when there is a choice of forms, the use of the masculine form is perceived as putting less emphasis on the gender aspect and more on the profession of the person, and is therefore seen as less sexist.
The masculine form is used for all those professions for which there is no commonly used feminine form, for example il ministro ‘minister’:
Anna Maria Cancellieri è stata nominata ministro degli Interni.
Anna Maria Cancellieri was nominated Minister of the Interior.
Some feminine titles have been created in reaction to the increase of women entering what were traditionally male-only jobs. But use of titles such as poliziotta ‘policewoman’, avvocatessa ‘female lawyer’, soldatessa, ‘female soldier’ and vigilessa ‘female traffic warden’ is perceived as ironic and patronising (see 1.2.2 and 8.3.3).