Italian greetings: ciao, salve, buongiorno and when each one is wrong
Ciao is the first Italian word most people learn and the one most often used wrongly. It is informal — fine with friends, peers and children, and noticeably out of place with a shopkeeper you have never met, an older stranger, or anyone in a professional setting.
Italian greetings sort along two axes: how formal, and what time of day.
By formality
Salve is the useful middle ground English lacks — polite without being stiff, and it works at any hour.
- CiaoHi / byeinformal — friends, peers, children
- SalveHelloneutral — strangers, shops, when unsure
- BuongiornoGood morning / good dayformal and standard
- PiacerePleased to meet youon first introduction
By time of day
The switch from buongiorno to buonasera happens earlier than English speakers expect — often around 1pm after lunch, and varying by region.
- BuongiornoMorning until early afternoon
- Buon pomeriggioGood afternoonrarer in speech than textbooks suggest
- BuonaseraFrom roughly 1–4pm onwards
- BuonanotteGood nightonly when leaving or going to bed
Leaving
Arrivederci is the safe formal goodbye; arrivederLa is more formal still and worth recognising.
- ArrivederciGoodbyeneutral to formal
- A prestoSee you soon
- A domaniSee you tomorrow
- Ci vediamoSee you aroundinformal
Questions
Is it rude to say ciao to a stranger?
Not rude exactly, but it reads as overly familiar and marks you as a tourist. With anyone older than you, in a shop, or in any professional context, salve or buongiorno is the safer choice. Italians will often invite you to switch to ciao once the formality is unnecessary.
Why do Italians say buonasera in the afternoon?
Sera covers the second half of the day rather than only the evening, and the switch commonly happens after lunch. The exact hour varies regionally — earlier in the south, later in the north — so follow whoever greets you first.
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