Conversation Openers

Posted in Blog - Italian Language Lessons

This is the universal greeting when people encounter each other. Translated literally as "good day", it is used from morning through late afternoon after which you say "buona sera" instead. Particularly in the countryside and small towns, you can say this to almost anyone you pass and receive a similar greeting in response.

This is used in the same way as buon giorno (above), but from late afternoon (around 5:00pm, after the shop closing or "siesta" period) onward.

A casual greeting used among young people, close friends and family. Although you will frequently hear this used, as a visitor to Italy you will not often have the chance to use it yourself. If an Italian uses "ciao" to greet you first (an honor), you may use it in return; otherwise, unless you are speaking to a child (or pet), the safest rule is to use buon giorno and buona sera as much as you like and not to use "ciao" at all.

This is used to gain a person's attention, for example if you wish to ask directions or you are ready for attention and really haven't been noticed yet in a shop (see "mi dica" below). It is also a polite way of acknowledging a minor mistake or sneeze, cough, etc. as in English. However, it is not interchangeable with "permesso", meaning "excuse me" in the sense of "may I?", indicating for example that you wish to reach across someone or ask someone to move aside so you may walk past. If someone in a narrow space has their back to you, you might say "scusi, permesso" (first gaining attention, then indicating you wish to squeeze by).

Literally, "tell me". This is often the way in which a shop attendant or waiter will indicate that you now have their full attention. In shopping situations in Italy, you may sometimes feel you are being ignored, especially at first. More often, you are experiencing the practice of giving full attention to one person at a time in turn and it is not yet your turn.

Commonly this is the first thing you will hear from a waiter in a restaurant. If it is evident you aren't ready with your complete food order (a serious set of decisions), you may first be invited to order something to drink in the meantime. This may also happen if you have ordered food but not yet mentioned anything to drink (mineral water and wine are the standard meal accompaniments); in this case, you may hear just "da bere", meaning "and to drink?".

This is a very frequently used verbal warmup which can be used in a wide variety of situations. A waiter may say this on first appearance (what'll it be?) or at the point where you have finished the main meal and might be interested in dessert or coffee ("allora, caffé, dolce?", meaning so - coffee, dessert...?). A shopkeeper may say this at the point when you have assembled your purchases and he is about to calculate your total.