What does it mean word for word?
The word piacere literally means "pleasure".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
While piacere is a common, slightly more informal way to say "nice to meet you", you can use more structured phrases to adjust your level of politeness. For a single person, piacere di conoscerla is a polite way to say "Nice to meet you" using the formal pronoun "lei" and è un piacere conoscerla means "It's a pleasure to meet you" and is a respectful way to greet someone for the first time. To express sincere pleasure in making someone's acquaintance in a formal manner, you might use Mi fa piacere fare la sua conoscenza. In contrast, piacere di conoscerti is the informal version of the expression used among friends or with people of the same age and è un piacere conoscerti is an expression used in informal contexts when meeting someone for the first time.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say "nice to meet you" to one person informally, you can use the phrase piacere di conoscerti. To say it to one person formally, you use piacere di conoscerla.
How do you pronounce it?
/pjaˈtʃe.re/
When do people say it?
When someone says piacere, a common response is piacere mio, which means "the pleasure is mine". You can also respond to an introduction with altrettanto to mean "likewise" or "the same to you". If you wish to say "I'm also very pleased to meet you", you can say Anche io sono molto contento/a di conoscerti.
Did you know?
- The word piacere is an unexpected relative of the English word 'placebo'. Both derive from the Latin 'placēre' meaning 'to please'.
- The formal greeting piacere di conoscerla uses a hidden pronoun 'la' which is actually a feminine form used for both men and women in formal contexts.
- Italian has no single word that perfectly matches the English adjective 'nice'. This is why the phrase piacere focuses on 'pleasure' rather than 'niceness'.
Examples in context
- Piacere di conoscerti, Ken.Nice to meet you, Ken.This sentence shows how to use piacere in a friendly introduction.Tatoeba #2780699 by Guybrush88, translation #267038 by CP
- È stato un piacere conoscervi entrambi.It was nice to meet you both.This sentence uses piacere to refer to meeting more than one person.Tatoeba #9672120 by Nuel, translation #9649614 by CK
- Altrettanto, mi ha fatto piacere conoscerti.Likewise, it was nice to meet you.This sentence shows a response using altrettanto and how to express pleasure using piacere.Tatoeba #10592002 by Valdast, translation #1119452 by daywo
- Piacere di conoscerti, LucaNice to meet you, Luca
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chiara and Francesco are meeting for the first time at a party.
- ChiaraPiacere di conoscerti, Francesco.Nice to meet you, Francesco.
- FrancescoIl piacere è mio, Chiara.The pleasure is mine, Chiara.
- ChiaraSei molto gentile.You are very kind.
- FrancescoGrazie mille.Thank you very much.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry piacere, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries piacere, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
