ciao dall'Italia
To say hello from italy in Italian, say ciao dall'Italia.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase combines ciao, hello, with dall'Italia, from Italy. dall' joins the word for from with the article.
Which one should you use?
ciao dall'Italia is informal and suits friends and family. Opening with Buongiorno instead sounds more professional. Buongiorno is used until around noon and Buonasera from late afternoon.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Replacing ciao with salve gives salve dall'Italia, which is more formal or neutral and suits people you do not know well.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Sicily and Calabria Bona sera is a local variant of good evening.
Did you know?
- The popular greeting ciao has a surprisingly dark origin. It evolved from the Venetian word s-ciao, which literally meant 'I am your slave', used to express that one was a humble servant to the listener.
- While you might use Buongiorno to say 'good morning' in the morning, there is no single word for 'good afternoon' that is universally used like in English. Instead, Italians transition directly from Buongiorno to Buonasera as the day progresses.
- Although used for 'hello' in ciao dall'Italia, ciao is also the standard way to say 'goodbye' when leaving a group of friends.
Examples in context
- Ciao dall'Italia, caro amico!Hello from Italy, dear friend!
- Ti mando un bacio e ciao dall'Italia.I send you a kiss and hello from Italy.
- Un grande ciao dall'Italia per tutta la famiglia.A big hello from Italy to the whole family.
Example conversation
Martina is calling Francesco while on vacation in Rome.
- MartinaCiao, Francesco! Ciao dall'Italia!Hello, Francesco! Hello from Italy!
- FrancescoCiao Martina! Come va la vacanza?Hello Martina! How is the vacation going?
- MartinaTutto benissimo, mi piace molto questo posto.Everything is great, I like this place very much.
- FrancescoChe bello! Divertiti tanto!How lovely! Have a lot of fun!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ciao, CC BY-SA 4.0.
