Greetings in Italy

Contrary to popular belief, Italians do not constantly use expansive body language. When they meet someone for the first time, for instance, they make verbal introductions and usually just shake hands and make eye contact. But when they want to show affection or friendship to someone they meet, they will embrace them, or hug and kiss them on the cheek twice. As a general rule, body contact is restricted to close relationships. This is why you normally avoid any form of physical contact with strangers, although you can sometimes happen to be touched on the shoulder or on the arm by someone failing to attract your attention otherwise.

In Italy, you use “Ciao!” (HELLO!) as a conventional greeting when you meet someone you are familiar with. If you have to be more formal, you can say “Buon giorno!” (GOOD MORNING/AFTERNOON!), or “Buona sera!” (GOOD EVENING!) when you meet them in the evening. These expressions can also be written as one word: “Buongiorno!”, “Buonasera!”. These salutations can all be replaced by “Salve!”, a useful shortcut, neither too formal nor informal.

The typical small talk conversation after greetings includes expressions such as: “Come stai?” (when you say “ciao”), “Come sta?” (when you say “buon giorno/buona sera”) or “Come va?” (same context as “salve”). In reply, you say “Bene, grazie, e tu?” (FINE, THANKS, AND YOU? - informal) or “Bene, grazie, e Lei?” (the same, formal). In a formal context, even if you are not really feeling fine it is conventional to say that you are well, rather than to tell someone what is wrong with you. In an informal context you can allow yourself to be frank and say “Così così” (SO-SO) or “Non tanto bene” (I’M NOT DOING VERY WELL).
When you are about to leave and you do not want to end the conversation abruptly you can say “Si è fatto tardi” (IT’S GETTING LATE) and “Devo andare” (I MUST GO).

When you leave someone or when they leave you, you say “Ciao!” (Bye!) again, or “arrivederci!” (goodbye!) in formal contexts. You can also add “Buona giornata!” (have a nice day!) or “Buona serata!” (have a nice evening!). “Buon giorno” and “Buona sera” are also used when leaving, in a formal context. Remember that you say “Buona notte!” (good night!) only when it is time to go to bed.
If you say goodbye to someone you meet/talk to quite often and are likely to see/talk to again quite soon, you can also say “Ci vediamo” (see you soon), “Ci sentiamo” (talk to you soon), “a presto” (see you soon/talk to you soon). You use “a dopo” (see you later) in the same context if you are going to meet someone again later the same day.

Common Italian Greetings

Meeting

c1	c2>
Informal	Formal
Ciao	Buongiorno Buonasera
Salve	Salve

Leaving

c1	c2>
Informal	Formal
Ciao	Buongiorno Buonasera
Buona giornata Buona serata Buona notte	Buona giornata Buona serata Buona notte
Ci vediamo Ci sentiamo	Arrivederci
A presto A dopo	A presto A dopo

Introductions

c1	c2>
Informal	Formal
Ciao, sono Lorenzo Hello, I'm Lorenzo	Buongiorno/buonasera, sono Lorenzo Good morning/evening, I'm Lorenzo
Salve, sono Lorenzo	Salve, sono Lorenzo
Lorenzo, questa è Anna Lorenzo, this is Anna (Molto) piacere (Very) nice to meet you	Sig. Rossi, Le presento il sig. Bianchi Mr Rossi, let me introduce Mr Bianchi (Molto) piacere (Very) nice to meet you

Small talk

c1	c2>
Informal	Formal
Come stai?	Come sta?
Come va?	Come va?
Bene, grazie, e tu?	Bene, grazie, e Lei?
Così così	Non tanto bene