Italian grammar
Ciao, salve, buongiorno, buonasera
Greet people at any time of day.
From the scene Ciao! (Hello!)
In short
Ciao is for friends, hello and bye. With strangers say salve, buongiorno or buonasera; arrivederci for goodbye.
- hi / bye (friends only) ciao
- hello (polite, any time) salve
- good morning / good day buongiorno
- good afternoon / evening buonasera
- goodbye (polite) arrivederci
Your turn
Which one goes with hello (polite, any time)?
Options: buongiorno · salve · ciao
Show answer
hello (polite, any time) → salve
How it works
Ciao is informal (friends, family) and means both hi and bye.
Good to know
With strangers and older people say salve (any time), buongiorno (until mid-afternoon) or buonasera (from about four or five pm).
Good to know
Arrivederci is a polite goodbye.
hi / bye (friends only) ciao
hello (polite, any time) salve
Nuria
Salve! Buongiorno.
Hello! Good morning.
Your turn
What fills the gap?
(blank)! Buongiorno.
Options: Buonasera · Salve · Ciao
Show answer
Nuria
Salve! Buongiorno.
Hello! Good morning.
good morning / good day buongiorno
Nuria
Salve! Buongiorno.
Hello! Good morning.
Your turn
What fills the gap?
Salve! (blank).
Options: Buonasera · Buongiorno · Ciao
Show answer
Nuria
Salve! Buongiorno.
Hello! Good morning.
good afternoon / evening buonasera
Ramón
Buonasera.
Good evening.
Your turn
What fills the gap?
(blank).
Options: Salve · Buonasera · Ciao
Show answer
Ramón
Buonasera.
Good evening.
goodbye (polite) arrivederci
Ramón
Arrivederci.
Goodbye.
Your turn
What fills the gap?
(blank).
Options: Arrivederci · Ciao · Salve
Show answer
Ramón
Arrivederci.
Goodbye.
Common mistake
Not Arrivederci here. Nuria is arriving.
Salve! Buongiorno.
Hello! Good morning.
Practise it in the story
Meet this rule inside a short animated scene. Answer as it plays, then say the lines yourself.
Practise free in the appSee all forms
| hi / bye (friends only) | ciao |
|---|---|
| hello (polite, any time) | salve |
| good morning / good day | buongiorno |
| good afternoon / evening | buonasera |
| goodbye (polite) | arrivederci |
More lines from the story
- RamónArrivederci!Goodbye!
- NuriaBuonasera, signora.Good evening, madam.
- NuriaBuonasera. Grazie.Good evening. Thank you.