One of the first phrases travellers wish to learn when visiting a foreign country is the local equivalent of the classic greeting: Hello, how are you?
In Italian, just as in English and many other languages, there are a few variations on this greeting. Which you use greatly depends on your own personal style and the formality of the situation.
In this article, we’ve listed five of the most common ways to say Hello, how are you? in Italian, all of which you will regularly encounter on a day-to-day basis. Which is your preferred expression? Let us know in the comments below!
1. Ciao, come stai?
Meaning: Hello / Hi, how are you?
Ciao, come stai? is the textbook translation for Hello, how are you? in Italian when informally addressing someone such as a friend or relative. Unlike English which uses the verb to be, Italian opts for stare which means to stay, to live or to be.
Ciao,
hello,
come
how
stai?
(informal)
are you?
2. Buongiorno, come sta?
Meaning: Hello, how are you?
The formal equivalent of come stai is come sta. You would use this phrase with people you don’t know very well, those of a higher station, or those older than you. Because this is a formal phrase, it is necessary to replace the informal greeting ciao (hi / hello) with buongiorno (hello / good day / good morning) or salve (hello).
Buongiorno,
Hello,
come
how
sta?
(formal)
are you?
3. Ciao, come va?
Meaning: Hello / Hi, how’s it going?
In the same way you can say Hello, how’s it going? in English, you can also say Ciao, come va? in Italian. It is used in informal situations with friends and relatives.
Ciao,
Hello,
come
how
va?
is it going?
A very similar variation on this phrase is Ciao, come vanno le cose? which means Hello, how are things going?
4. Ciao, tutto bene?
Meaning: Hello / Hi, is everything okay?
Tutto bene? is how you would say Is everything okay? in Italian. Tutto means everything whereas bene means well, ok or fine.
Ciao,
Hello,
tutto
(is) everything
bene?
ok?
5. Ciao, tutto a posto?
Meaning: Hello / Hi, is everything okay?
Tutto a posto literally means everything in place but in Italian, it is a very common way of saying all is well or everything is ok.
Ciao,
Hello,
tutto
(is) everything
a posto?
ok?
Now that you know how to say “Hello, how are you?” in Italian, it’s time to go out and put that knowledge to good use with the Italian speakers you know. In bocca al lupo!
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
