come va
The closest way to say wassup in Italian is come va, literally how it goes.
come va is a casual greeting, often in Ciao, come va?, hey, how's it going. Other ways are Come stai?, how are you and Tutto bene?, everything good.
What does it mean word for word?
come means how and va means it goes.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
come va is informal, similar to how's it going or wassup in English.
When do people say it?
A common answer is bene, grazie, well, thanks. To show interest back, add E tu? and you.
Did you know?
- While come va asks how things are going, Italians may respond with si tira avanti, meaning 'one pulls oneself forward'. This phrase suggests that life is simply getting by rather than being great.
- The word va in this greeting shares a linguistic ancestor with the English word 'evade', as both stem from the Latin 'vadere', meaning to go or to walk.
- Unlike the English 'wassup', which often asks what a person is doing right now, come va focuses on the general flow and quality of a person's life.
Examples in context
- Ehi, come va?Hey, how's it going?
- Ciao, come va la vita?Hi, how's life going?
- Tutto bene? Come va?Everything good? Wassup?
Example conversation
Two friends meet casually on the street.
- SofiaEhi Lorenzo, come va?Hey Lorenzo, wassup?
- LorenzoNon c'è male, e tu?Not bad, and you?
- SofiaTutto bene, grazie.Everything's good, thanks.
- LorenzoBene, ci vediamo dopo!Good, see you later!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry come va, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries come, come va, va, CC BY-SA 4.0.
