Learn Italian: A Guide To Learning The Basics of A New Language (2015)
Chapter 3. Introductions
Introducing Yourself
Italians are well known for being passionate and sociable. They enjoy keeping up with friends and connecting with loved ones and new acquaintances. If you want to be part of these engaging conversations, you will have to learn how to introduce yourself.
Giving a warm smile when you meet someone for the first time is a great way to show that you are friendly and sincere so smile and make new friends easily.
To create a good impression, it is important to start with an appropriate greeting when meeting someone new.
Here are some of the greetings you can use to start a conversation:
Buongiorno! |
Hello! Good morning! (formal) |
Ciao! |
Hello! (informal, also used for saying goodbye) |
To introduce yourself, you can say
Mi chiamo ____________ |
My name is _________ |
Sono ____________ |
I’m ___________ |
The formal form of singular you, Lei, is used when addressing older people, new acquaintances, and people you are not familiar with. The informal singular you, tu, and the plural you, voi, should be reserved for relatives, friends, younger people, and those you know very well.
After introducing yourself, you can now ask for the other person’s name:
Lei come si chiama? (formal) |
What is your name? |
Come ti chiami? (informal) |
What is your name? |
It’s considered common courtesy to express your pleasure after hearing the other person’s name:
Piacere di conoscerla |
Pleased to meet you. |
Piacere! |
Nice to meet you! |
It’s likewise usual to ask about how the other person is doing:
Come sta? (formal) |
How are you? |
Come stai? (informal) |
How are you? |
Come va? |
How are things going? |
Come vanno le cose? |
How are things? |
If it’s the other way around and you’re asked how you are doing, you can reply with:
Bene, grazie. |
Fine, thank you. |
Io sto bene, grazie. |
I’m good, thank you. |
Molto bene. |
Very well. |
Cosi-cosi. |
So so. |
You can extend the conversation to more than just knowing each other’s names by sharing a little more about yourself and asking your new friend some questions.
For instance, you can share that you’re from a certain country with these lines:
Sono degli Canada. |
I’m from Canada. |
Io vengo da Paris. |
I’m from Paris. |
Vivo a New York. |
I live in New York. |
You can obtain similar information from your new acquaintance with these questions:
Di dov'è Lei? (formal) |
Where are you from? |
Di dove sei? (informal) |
Where are you from? |
Dove abiti? (singular) |
Where do you live? |
Dove abitate? (plural) |
Where do you live? |
Introducing Other People
Besides introducing yourself, you will often find yourself introducing your companion such as your spouse, child, relative, or friend.
Here are several ways to introduce other people:
Questo è il mio marito. |
This is my husband. |
Questa è la mia moglie. |
This is my wife. |
Ti presento il mio amico ___. |
This is my (male) friend ______. |
Ti presento la mia amica ___. |
This is my (female) friend ______. |
Questo è il mio ragazzo _____. |
This is my boyfriend _______. |
Questa è la mia ragazza _____. |
This is my girlfriend _______. |