How do you say “hello” and “goodbye” in formal Italian?

Can you use “ciao” to greet people in all situations? 

The quick answer is NO.

In fact, there’s a big difference between formal and informal Italian. Therefore, also the way you greet people changes, depending on the circumstances. 

If you need to greet someone formally, “ciao” looks definitely too friendly.

So what do you use instead?

“Salve” is a very good option, but it’s not the only one.

In this lesson you’ll learn the most popular ways to say “hello” and “goodbye” in formal Italian and also when it’s better to use the formal greetings rather than the casual ones.

HOW DO YOU GREET SOMEONE IN FORMAL ITALIAN?

In Italian there are two ways to speak to people, depending if you are in a formal or informal situation.

If you don’t know this difference yet, you can check the lesson on formal vs informal Italian to know more.

So when you are involved in a formal conversation, you cannot say “hello” and “goodbye” using the informal greetings.

In this lesson, you’ll see how to greet someone formally in Italian.

We’ve divided the formal greetings in two parts: the ones that you use when starting a conversation (hello) and the ones for when you end it (goodbye). 

WHAT IS THE FORMAL WAY TO SAY “HELLO” IN ITALIAN?

You have 3 different options to greet people, when arriving in a place or starting a conversation. We’ve listed them below:

# 1 – SALVE

“Salve” is a very good way to greet people formally in Italian. You can use it at any time during the day, whether is daylight or not.

# 2 – BUONGIORNO

If it’s morning time (or even early afternoon), you can say “buongiorno” when starting a conversation.

Italians are not very strict in terms of times, meaning that if you say buongiorno at 1 pm is perfectly fine.

# 3 – BUONASERA

At evening times, you can say “buonasera” before you start a conversation.

As mentioned above, generally there’s not a strict time where you start to say “buonasera” instead of “buongiorno”. However, if it’s dark outside, definitely go for “buonasera”.

And what if it is afternoon time?

If you want to say good afternoon in Italian you have to use : BUON POMERIGGIO

But honestly it’s not very common to hear (unless you’re watching TV); in general, I recommend you to stick with “buongiorno” or “buonasera”. If you’re in doubt, just say “salve” and you can’t be wrong.

HOW TO SAY “GOODBYE” IN FORMAL ITALIAN?

Now you know how to say “hello” in formal Italian, but if you have to leave or end a conversation?

What’s the way to say “goodbye” in formal Italian?

You also have three different options here and they are the following.

# 1 – ARRIVEDERCI

I’m sure you’ve heard this before as it’s one of the most famous Italian words!

You can use it to say “goodbye” in a formal way, regardless what time of the day it is. So it’s a very useful one to know.

# 2 – BUONA GIORNATA

This greeting means “have a good day” and it’s not only for formal situations. Indeed, you can use it with your friends as well as when using the formal Italian.

However you generally use it when there is still some time before the day ends. It’s not important the exact time you say it (11 am, 1 pm or 3 pm), but it should be before 6 pm more or less.

After 6 pm, your evening is starting so it would be better to use “buona serata”.

# 3 – BUONA SERATA

Same as per “buona giornata”, you can use “buona serata” also in informal contexts. If you’d like to have a rule, start saying “buona serata” from 5.30 or 6 pm onwards.

You can also combine these greetings together and say “arrivederci e buona giornata” or “arrivederci e buona serata”. The translation in English would be “goodbye and have a good day”/”goodbye and have a nice evening”.

WHEN DO YOU USE THE FORMAL GREETINGS INSTEAD OF THE INFORMAL ONES?

So we’ve seen how to greet people in Italian in a formal context.

But what are these formal situations?

You can find here 10 examples of when you will better to use the formal hello/goodbye instead of the informal ones to make a very nice impression to your speaker.

1. When you enter a shop or a public office
2. When you leave a bar or a restaurant
3. When you ask information to a stranger on the streets
4. When you are talking to a doctor/pharmacist/specialist
5. In a job interview
6. When you talk to a police officer
7. When you call a professional to make an appointment
8. To your friends’ parents/grandparents (unless they ask you to switch to an informal speech)
9. At the university/college/school with your professors/teachers
10. In work with your clients or directors

CONCLUSION

Well done!

You know now that the way you greet people in Italian is different if you are in a formal or informal context.

If you want to find out more on how to say hello and goodbye in informal situations, then check out this lesson.

Back to the formal greeting, let’s recap on the ones that you need to remember.

When you arrive in a place/start a conversation, use one of the following:

#1. SALVE

#2. BUONGIORNO

#3. BUONASERA

When you’re leaving/ending a conversation, say one of the below:

#1. ARRIVEDERCI

#2. BUONA GIORNATA

#3. BUONA SERATA

We’ve also looked at some examples of when you use the formal greetings rather than the informal ones.

If you’re still a bit confused on the difference between formal and informal Italian, check out the lesson on this topic here.