ciao, come stai oggi?
The English phrase 'hello, how are you today?' is translated into Italian as ciao, come stai oggi?
The phrase is a friendly greeting used to ask someone about their current well-being. It combines the informal greeting Ciao (Hi or Hello) with the question Come stai oggi? (How are you today?).
Which one should you use?
You can use Come va? as a casual way to ask 'How's it going?' If you want to ask 'how are you?' informally, you use come stai?, whereas the formal version is come sta?
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The phrase ciao, come stai oggi? is informal and should only be used with friends, family or people you know well. For a formal version, use buongiorno, come sta oggi? which uses buongiorno (Good morning or Good day) instead of ciao and the formal third-person singular sta instead of the informal stai.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word stai is the second-person singular conjugation of the verb stare (to be/to stay), which is used when addressing one person informally.
When do people say it?
A common response to this greeting is bene, grazie, e tu? (well, thanks and you?).
Did you know?
- The word ciao actually has its roots in the word for 'slave'. It comes from the Venetian expression s-ciao vostro, which meant 'I am your humble servant'.
- While ciao is used for 'hello', it is also the standard way to say 'goodbye' in Italian.
- The word ciao is one of the few Italian words to be adopted globally, appearing in languages as diverse as Vietnamese and Spanish.
Examples in context
- Buongiorno, come stai oggi? Spero tutto vada bene!Good morning, how are you today? I hope everything is going well!
Example conversation
Lorenzo and Chiara meet at a cafe.
- LorenzoCiao, come stai oggi?Hello, how are you today?
- ChiaraSto molto bene, grazie!I am doing very well, thanks!
- LorenzoSono felice di sentirlo.I am happy to hear that.
- ChiaraE tu come stai?And how are you?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ciao, come, oggi, CC BY-SA 4.0.
