piacere
/pjaˈt͡ʃe.re/
In Italian, piacere is used to say pleasure when meeting someone for the first time.
When used as a standalone exclamation during an introduction, piacere functions as a shorthand for 'It is a pleasure (to meet you)'.
What does it mean word for word?
The word piacere literally means 'to be pleasing' or 'pleasure'.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 3 syllables and the stress is on the 2nd syllable: /pjaˈtʃe.re/.
When do people say it?
If someone says piacere to you, a common and polite response is piacere mio, which means 'my pleasure' (the pleasure is mine).
Did you know?
- In Italian, the grammar of piacere is inverted compared to English. Instead of saying 'I like the book', you say Il libro mi piace, which literally means 'the book is pleasing to me'.
- The Italian piacere is a linguistic cousin to the English word 'placate', as both derive from the Latin root for being pleasing or appeasing.
- The word piacere can also be used as a noun in the phrase per piacere, which is a common way to say 'please' in certain contexts, though per favore is more frequent.
Examples in context
- Buongiorno, signore. Piacere di conoscerla.Good morning, sir. Pleasure to meet you.
- È un piacere conoscerla, signora Rossi.It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Rossi.
- Mi fa piacere che siate venuti.It pleases me that you all came.
- Ciao, Marco! Piacere di conoscerti!Hi, Marco! Nice to meet you!
- Molto piacere.A great pleasure.
- Piacere, sono Paolo.Nice to meet you, I am Paolo.
Example conversation
Matteo meets Martina at a social event for the first time.
- MatteoCiao, piacere di conoscerti.Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you.
- MartinaIl piacere è mio, Matteo.The pleasure is mine, Matteo.
- MatteoSei molto gentile.You are very kind.
- MartinaGrazie 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.
