Hello in Italian: Ciao, Buongiorno & Friends (With Audio)

by
Ciao! — hello, the Italian way: illustrated Italian lesson scene by My Everyday Language

Italian › Phrases › Hello

Updated July 2026 · Everyday Italian · 4-minute read · 🔊 every phrase has native audio

The quick answer: hello in Italian is ciao (chow) with friends, or buongiorno (bwohn-JOR-noh) with everyone else. After sunset it becomes buonasera. Hear them all below — then learn the one Italians only say on the phone. 👇

Ciao!
chow · hello / bye (informal) — tap to hear it spoken

🐌 Play slow version

All 7 ways to say hello in Italian

Italian Say it like Use it when… Listen
Ciao chow friends & family — hello AND goodbye
Buongiorno bwohn-JOR-noh morning to mid-afternoon — the safe one
Buonasera bwon-ah-SEH-rah late afternoon & evening
Salve SAHL-veh polite but neutral — the rescue word
Pronto? PROHN-toh answering the phone only
Buondì bwohn-DEE a cheerful, breezy good morning
Ehilà ay-LAH surprised, happy “heyyy!”
💡 Pronunciation tip: ciao is one smooth syllable — “chow”, like the start of “chowder”. And buongiorno flows as bwohn-JOR-noh — that “gio” is a soft English “j”, never a hard “g”.

Which one should you actually use?

Italy runs on warmth, but it keeps a clear line: ciao is intimate, buongiorno is respectful. Use ciao with a shopkeeper you’ve never met and you may get a raised eyebrow; use buongiorno with your friend’s nonna and she’ll adore your manners. Unsure? Salve is the elegant middle road — polite without being stiff.

🇮🇹 The bar ritual: walk into an Italian bar (that’s a café) and the espresso machine pauses for the greeting — a bright “Buongiorno!” to the barista, one back to you, before any coffee is discussed. It’s not small talk. It’s the opening ceremony of the Italian day.

Italian greetings by time of day

Italian changes greeting with the clock, and the switch happens earlier than English speakers
expect — buonasera starts in the afternoon, not at nightfall.

Italian Say it like When Listen
Buongiorno bwohn-JOR-noh Morning until early afternoon — the polite default
Buonasera bwon-ah-SEH-rah From roughly 4pm — arriving, greeting
Buonanotte bwoh-nah-NOT-teh Only as a goodbye, at bedtime
Buona giornata BWOH-nah jor-NAH-tah Have a good day — said while leaving
🕐 The pair everybody mixes up: buongiorno and
buona giornata look almost identical and do opposite jobs. Buongiorno is hello.
Buona giornata is goodbye — literally “have a good day”, said on the way out.
Same for buonasera (arriving) against buona serata (leaving).

Formal or informal? Ciao is the dividing line

Ciao is the most famous Italian word in the world and the one most often used wrongly
by visitors. It is informal. To a shopkeeper, an older stranger or anyone in an
office, it lands as too familiar.

Italian Say it like Use it with Listen
Ciao chow Friends, family, children, anyone your own age
Buongiorno bwohn-JOR-noh Shopkeepers, strangers, anyone older, any professional setting
Salve SAHL-veh When you want neutral and cannot judge the register
Arrivederci ahr-ree-veh-DEHR-chee Leaving anyone politely

Salve is the useful one nobody teaches. It sits exactly between ciao and
buongiorno, and it rescues you when you cannot tell how formal to be.

The greeting that is really a question

Italian Say it like What it really means Listen
Come stai? KOH-meh sty How are you? — someone you call tu
Come va? KOH-meh vah How’s it going? — works with almost anyone

The replies matter more than the question — there is a
full lesson on answering, including why you never say
sono bene.

And the goodbye half

Italian Say it like When Listen
Arrivederci ahr-ree-veh-DEHR-chee The all-purpose polite goodbye
Ciao chow Informal, and doubles as hello
A presto ah PRESS-toh See you soon
Ci vediamo chee veh-DYAH-moh See you — literally “we see each other”

More of them, with the regional ones, in the
Italian goodbye lesson.

📬 Take this lesson with you

A tiny Italian lesson in your inbox every few days — words, audio, and a small story from everyday life. Free forever.

Get the free lessons →

Join 1,700+ learners · unsubscribe anytime

Practice: quick check

1. You enter a bakery in Rome at 10 am…
Buongiorno! — strangers + morning = the polite classic. Save ciao for people you could hug.
2. Your Italian friend waves at you across the piazza…
Ciao! — or a delighted Ehilà! if you haven’t seen them in a while.
3. Your phone rings — unknown Italian number…
Pronto? — the phone-only hello. Answering with ciao would confuse everyone, including the caller.

Frequently asked questions

Is ciao formal or informal?
Strictly informal — ciao is for friends, family and people your age. With strangers, shopkeepers or anyone older, use buongiorno (or salve if you’re unsure). Italians notice.
What’s the difference between buongiorno and buonasera?
Buongiorno covers morning to mid-afternoon; buonasera takes over from late afternoon onward. The exact switch-hour varies by region — when in doubt, follow what the locals around you are saying.
Why do Italians answer the phone with “pronto”?
Pronto literally means “ready!” — a leftover from the early days of telephone operators confirming the line was connected. Italians still say it every single time, and only on the phone.

Keep going

PhrasesThank You in ItalianGrazie — said the right wayPronunciationThe Italian Alphabet21 letters, the city wayExploreAll Italian PhrasesEvery phrase lesson in one placePhrasesGood Evening in ItalianBuonasera & the passeggiata hourPhrasesItalian Phrases for Travelers60 essentials, and when Lei beats ciaoPhrasesNice to Meet You in ItalianPiacere, and the formal fork
← Italian Phrases hubNext: Thank you in Italian →