Learning about meet and greet in Italian is a fantastic way to improve your vocabulary and start small conversations as a beginning student.

One of the first things to know is that unlike in English where you can be either formal or informal, we use tu (informal) and lei (formal) Tip: Lei also means she, so bear this in mind when talking in Italian.

When talking to a stranger, especially older people, you should use the formal form of address (lei). Generally, it is the older (or in a business context) senior person invites others to use the informal form of address and first names. However, Italians are becoming less formal and younger people often use tu and first names with colleagues.

Lei is also used in conversations with shopkeepers, servants, business associates and figures of authority, or those with whom you have a business relationship.

Some titles we use are Dottore (male) o Dottoressa (female) for people who have a university degree, of any kind but also to talk about medical doctors. The boss at work could be Direttore (Director) or Presidente (President). Professionals should be addressed by their titles such as professor (professore/professoressa), doctor (dottore/dottoressa), engineer (ingegnere), lawyer (avvocato) and architect ( architetto). If you don’t know someone’s title, you can use signore (sir, mister) or signora (madam). The term for a young lady (signorina) is not very used instead using signora is very common even for young women.

If you are in a formal context such as a business event or the first time you meet someone, you should give a firm handshake, looking the other person in the eye and smiling, and then shaking hands again when leaving.

A common greeting is good morning or good evening, according to the time (evening is usually after lunch) and then molto lieto (pleased to meet you) . It’s customary to say buongiorno or buonasera on entering a small shop, waiting room or lift, and arrivederci (goodbye) on leaving.

When meeting friends or relatives people say ciao (hello) and kiss on the cheeks, men can  give a pat on the back or a hug instead of kisses to other men. This is just a brush on the upper part of the cheek with a kissing noise.

You should consider that new Coronavirus outbreak has changed these habits as social distancing and avoiding physical contacts is paramount.

Here a useful vocabulary about meet and greet in Italian:

Ciao                                                                                 Hello (informal)

Salve                                                                                Hi/Bye (formal/informal)

Buongiorno                                                                    Good morning (formal)

Buon pomeriggio                                                           Good afternoon

Buonasera                                                                       Good evening (formal)

Buonanotte                                            

Good night (when going to bed or leaving a house in the evening)

Arrivederci                                                                       Goodbye (informal)

Arrivederla                                                                       Goodbye (formal)

A più tardi/ a dopo                                                          See you later

A presto                                                                             See you soon

A domani                                                                           See you tomorrow

Non capisco                                                                       I don’t understand

Parla inglese?                                                                 Do you speak English?

Potrebbe parlare più lentamente, per favore?        Could you speak slower, please? (formal)

Come si chiama? (formal)?                                           What’s your name?

Come ti chiami? (informal)                                            What’s your name?

Mi chiamo                                                                          My name is

Di dove sei?                                                                        Where are you from?

Sono di                                                                                  I am from

Piacere di conoscerti                                                           Nice to meet you

Piacere mio                                                                            Nice to meet you too

Dove vivi?                                                                               Where do you live?

Vivo a                                                                                       I live in

 Come sta? (formal)                                                              How are you?

Come stai? (informal)                                                           How are you?

Bene                                                                                        Good

Sto bene grazie, e tu?                                                         I’m well, thanks, and you?  (informal)

Sto bene, grazie, e Lei?                                                       I’m well, thanks, and you? (Forma)

Così così                                                                                 So so

Molto bene, grazie.                                                                Very well, thanks.

Abbastanza bene, grazie.                                                      Pretty well, thanks.

Non c’è male.                                                                            Pretty well, thanks.

Benissimo                                                                                  Great

Non mi posso lamentare                                                          I can’t complain

https://reallifelanguage.lpages.co/italian-for-travel-and-beginners-podcast/

Looking to get started in Italian? Try learning some survival tasks. Get the free guide here:

https://reallifelanguage.lpages.co/survival-language-checklist/

Learning a new language is FUN!! Check out 20 ways to learn a language and have fun doing it:

https://reallifelanguage.lpages.co/20-fun-activities-to-learn-a-language/

Want to master a language in the next year? Check out the course here: https://real-life-language.teachable.com/p/the-5-week-linguist

Want some more resources to learn Italian? Italian Podcasts: Listen and Learn