two old ladies talking

Greetings and Introductions

Here is a list of greetings and introductions in Italian with pronunciations. Please note that for formal or polite forms, you would use "Lei" instead of "tu" for the second-person singular. The pronunciations are provided in parentheses using an approximate English representation.

  1. Ciao (chow) - Hello (informal)
  2. Buongiorno (bwohn-jor-no) - Good morning / Good day
  3. Buonasera (bwoh-nah-seh-rah) - Good evening
  4. Buon pomeriggio (bwohn poh-meh-ree-joh) - Good afternoon
  5. Salve (sal-veh) - Greetings
  6. Come va? (koh-meh vah) - How are you? (informal)
  7. Come sta? (koh-meh stah) - How are you? (formal)
  8. Piacere (pee-ah-cheh-reh) - Nice to meet you
  9. Mi chiamo... (mee kee-ah-moh) - My name is...
  10. Sono... (soh-noh) - I am...
  11. Benvenuto / Benvenuta (ben-veh-noo-toh / ben-veh-noo-tah) - Welcome (male / female)
  12. Arrivederci (ah-ree-veh-dehr-chee) - Goodbye 
  13. ArriverderLa (ah-ree-veh-dehr-lah) - Goodbye (formal - to someone you don't know well or someone you want to show respect to)

When using the polite form, you would substitute "tu" with "Lei" and modify the verb conjugation accordingly. For example, "Come sta?" (How are you?) would be used in a formal context, while "Come va?" (How are you?) is more informal.

Remember, it's important to consider the context and relationship with the person you are addressing to determine whether to use the polite or informal form of greetings and introductions.