Tired of saying the formal greeting arrivederci when parting ways with someone? Want to transform it into something more casual and friendly? Then why not try saying A presto! (See you soon!) instead!
Let’s break it down into its component parts:
a
A is a preposition that means to or at depending on the context.
presto
The meaning of presto also depends on the context. In this case, it translates as soon, but it can also mean quickly or early. We suggest checking out our complete article about the word presto to discover all its uses!
In short, A presto! literally translates as to / at soon but it is used in exactly the same way as the English expression See you soon!
Ciao Marco, a presto!
Bye Marco, see you soon!
As suggested in the introduction, A presto! should only be used in informal situations with people you know well and with whom you have a close relationship.
Expressions with a similar meaning include:
- Ci vediamo! = See you! (lit: We see each other!)
- Ci vediamo presto! = See you soon! (lit: We see each other soon!)
- Alla prossima! = Until next time! (lit: To the next time!)
- A dopo! = See you later! (lit: To later!)
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.
