ciao, bimbo
/ˈt͡ʃa.o ˈbim.bo/word by word
In Italian, "hello, baby" is translated as ciao, bimbo.
This phrase is a friendly greeting used when speaking to a young child.
What does it mean word for word?
The word bimbo literally refers to a young boy or a small child.
Which one should you use?
You use ciao, bimbo specifically for a male child. For a female child, use ciao, bimba. Other ways to greet a child include ciao, piccolo to say "hello, little one!", Ciao, piccolino/a! for "Hello, little one!", Ciao, puccioso/a! for "Hello, sweetie!" or Ciao, tesoro mio! which means "Hi, my darling!"
How does it change in a sentence?
If the child is a girl, you change the masculine bimbo to the feminine bimba.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /ˈtʃa.o ˈbim.bo/. It has 4 syllables, with the stress on the 1st syllable.
Did you know?
- The word ciao comes from the Venetan phrase s-ciao vostro, which literally means 'I am your slave' and was used as a humble way to say 'I am at your service'.
- While bimbo refers to a male child in Italian, the English word 'bimbo' evolved to describe a specific stereotype of a woman.
- If you want to call a child 'sweetie' in Italian, you can use the word puccioso. This comes from 'puccio', a term often used to describe something cute, chubby, or 'squishy' in a lovable way.
Example conversation
Chiara greets Lorenzo's young son at the park.
- ChiaraCiao, bimbo! Sei molto simpatico.Hello, baby! You are very cute.
- LorenzoGrazie, Chiara! Lui è molto felice.Thank you, Chiara! He is very happy.
- ChiaraHai un sorriso bellissimo, ciao, bimbo!You have a beautiful smile, hello, baby!
- LorenzoLui ti vuole salutare anche lui.He wants to say hello to you too.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (ciao, bimbo) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bimbo, ciao, CC BY-SA 4.0.
