buona giornata
The English phrase "have a lovely day" is translated into Italian as buona giornata.
Buona giornata is a polite phrase used to wish someone a pleasant day. It is typically used when saying goodbye.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, the phrase means "good day". The word giornata refers to the duration or span of the day, rather than a specific point in time.
Which one should you use?
While buon giorno is used to say hello when arriving, you should use buona giornata to say goodbye when leaving. Additionally, if you want to say "Have a nice day" in an informal way, you can use Passa una bella giornata.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the feminine form buona because it modifies the feminine noun giornata.
Did you know?
- The word giornata shares a common ancestor with the English word 'journey', as both originally referred to a day's travel or the distance covered in a single day.
- If you say buona giornata to someone at night, it can sound quite strange because the word is specifically tied to the daylight hours.
- The suffix -ata in giornata is often used in Italian to turn a unit of time into a description of the activity happening during that time.
Examples in context
- Buona giornata! Che sia piena di sorrisi!Have a good day! May it be filled with smiles!
- Grazie, buona giornata anche a lei!Thank you, have a lovely day too!
- Ciao, buona giornata a tutti!Bye, have a lovely day everyone!
- Buona giornata, ci vediamo domani.Have a lovely day, see you tomorrow.
Example conversation
Chiara and Francesco are leaving a coffee shop.
- ChiaraCiao Francesco, buona giornata!Bye Francesco, have a lovely day!
- FrancescoGrazie Chiara, buona giornata anche a te.Thank you Chiara, have a lovely day too.
- ChiaraA presto!See you soon!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry buona giornata, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries giornata, CC BY-SA 4.0.
