Italian · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 2
Buongiorno!Good morning!
Greetings are half of an Italian day. Today you learn the greeting clock — buongiorno, buonasera, buonanotte — and the most important pair: ciao for friends, buongiorno with people you don't know. Then the courtesy trio per favore, grazie, prego, and come stai? with its answer bene. Mike greets the barista with «Ciao!» — friendly, but not the right greeting: register matters, right from the start.
Dialogue
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Ciao o buongiorno?— Ciao or buongiorno?
- MikeCiao!Hi! (To a barista he has never met — «ciao» is for friends; the slip this chapter fixes.)
- Barista…Buongiorno.…Good morning. (Polite, with a raised eyebrow.)
- MarcoMike — «ciao» è per gli amici. Qui: «buongiorno» o «buonasera».Mike — «ciao» is for friends. Here: «buongiorno» or «buonasera».
- MikeAh, scusi! Buongiorno!Ah, excuse me (formal)! Good morning!
- BaristaBuongiorno! Prego.Good morning! What can I get you? (prego — the all-purpose courtesy word.)
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Come stai?— How are you?
- GiuliaBuonasera, Marco! Come stai?Good evening, Marco! How are you?
- MarcoCiao, Giulia! Bene, grazie. E tu?Hi, Giulia! Fine, thanks. And you? (Between friends, ciao answers buonasera happily.)
- GiuliaMolto bene! Ciao, a domani!Very well! Bye — see you tomorrow!
- MarcoA domani! Buonanotte!See you tomorrow! Good night!
Vocabulary
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- buonasera
inter.good evening (from late afternoon on)
- buonanotte
inter.good night (only when leaving to sleep)
- arrivederci
inter.goodbye (polite, to anyone)
- a domani
phrasesee you tomorrow
- per favore
phraseplease
- prego
inter.you're welcome / please, go ahead / what can I get you?
- scusi / scusa
inter.excuse me, sorry (scusi formal, scusa with friends)
- come stai?
phrasehow are you? (fixed phrase for now — its verb comes much later)
- bene
adverbwell, fine
- molto
adverbvery, a lot
Grammar
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The greeting clock — and ciao versus buongiorno
Explanation
The clock: buongiorno in the morning and around lunch, buonasera from late afternoon, buonanotte ONLY when leaving to sleep — it is a farewell, not an opening greeting. Then the social rule, more important than the clock: ciao is for friends and peers; with people you don't know — at the bar, in a shop, with older people — use buongiorno or buonasera, and arrivederci to take your leave. If in your language one greeting fits everybody, this double track is the new muscle to train: Italian ALWAYS marks distance or closeness. Finally the courtesy trio: per favore to ask, grazie to thank, prego to answer grazie (and also to say «come in», «go ahead»). And scusi/scusa: the same word, in two registers.
Examples
- Buongiorno! → Buonasera! → Buonanotte!morning/midday → from late afternoon → only off to bed (a farewell)
- Ciao, Marco! — Buongiorno, signora!ciao to a friend — buongiorno to someone you don't know
- Per favore… Grazie! — Prego!the courtesy loop: ask, thank, answer the thanks
- Scusi! (al bar) — Scusa! (a un amico)same word, two registers: scusi formal, scusa informal — your first taste of the tu/Lei divide, chapter 5's culture topic
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