Greetings & Formality
Greetings & Formality
Italian splits 'you' into tu (informal) and Lei (formal) — a distinction English used to have and lost, much like French's tu/vous. Master this before any other vocabulary.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
tu vs. Lei: Italian's Formality Split
tu (informal) / Lei (formal)
you (informal) / you (formal)
Old English had this same split — 'thou' was informal, 'you' was formal/plural — but English flattened both into a single 'you' centuries ago. Italian kept the distinction, and made it stranger still: Lei literally means 'she', a leftover from formally addressing someone as 'Your Excellency' (a feminine title) regardless of the listener's actual gender. Lei always pairs with third-person-singular verb forms, even when speaking to a man. Use Lei with strangers, elders, officials, and shopkeepers; use tu with friends, family, peers, and children.
Time-of-Day Greetings Have Fixed Boundaries
Buongiorno / Buonasera / Buonanotte
Good morning-day / Good evening / Good night
Buongiorno covers morning through mid-afternoon, Buonasera takes over from early evening onward — Italians switch fairly consistently at these points, unlike English where 'good afternoon' is understood but rarely said aloud. Buonanotte is not a greeting at all: it's only said when parting for the night or heading to bed, never when arriving. Ciao is the safe, time-neutral, informal option that works for both hello and goodbye, any time of day — but only with people you'd address as tu.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- English
- Hi / Bye (informal)
- English
- Good morning / Good day
- English
- Good evening
- English
- Good night
- English
- Goodbye
- English
- Hello
- English
- Thank you
- English
- You're welcome / Go ahead
- English
- Please
- English
- Yes
- English
- No
- English
- How are you?