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Michele says salve and Giulia says buongiorno: Both mean "hello.

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Buongiorno literally means "Good day" and is used in Italy for a great part of the day so it covers "good morning" and "good afternoon." Buongiorno is what you should use with a storekeeper, receptionist, waiter, etc. Salve is a useful option for "hello" and can be used all day with anyone, for example someone walking towards you on a hiking path.
Another word you may be familiar with is ciao! This means both "hi" and "bye" and is used among friends and with children. You wouldn't use ciao with someone you don't know.

If you bump into someone you can say:

Oh, mi scusi!
Or simply:

Scusi!
You can also use Scusi to get someone's attention, perhaps to ask the waiter for a coffee. Remember to addper favore (please).

Scusi! Un caff per favore. - Excuse me! A coffee, please.

In Italian, there are two ways of addressing someone: You should use the formal lei form with someone you don't know well or someone who is older than you. You should use the more familiar tu form when talking to a friend or a child. Michele and Giulia have only just met so they are still usinglei with each other. When he invites her for a coffee, he says:

Prende un caff? Usted


If they knew each other better, he might use the tuform:

Prendi un caff? T
Note how the verb ending is the only thing indicating which form is being used.

Prego is a useful word. As well as meaning "Not at all!" it also means "Don't mention it!" or "You're welcome!" It is the standard reply after grazie (thank you). Grazie! Prego!

If you want to ask someone their name, you say:

Come si chiama? Usted (What's your name?) using the formallei form.
If you were using the familiar tu form, you would say:

Come ti chiami? T

To say what nationality you are, you say:

Sono (I am) followed by the nationality. Giulia says sono svizzera and Michele says sono italiano.
If it were the other way round, Giulia would say sono italiana and Michele would say sono svizzero, changing the endings to match their genders - masculine and feminine. The most common masculine ending in Italian is -o, and -ais the most common feminine ending.

Here is a selection of nationalities. First the masculine and then the feminine:

americano - americana (American) australiano - australiana (Australian) italiano - italiana (Italian) spagnolo - spagnola (Spanish) svizzero - svizzera (Swiss)
Note that in Italian nationalities aren't written with a capital letter.

The -o and -a endings don't always apply. The other standard ending is -e and can be either masculine or feminine, such as inglese (English). If Michele and Giulia were both English, each would say sono inglese. The following nationalities are the same for both masculine and feminine:

canadese (Canadian) francese (French) inglese (English) cinese (Chinese) giapponese (Japanese)

To say what city or town you are from, you say Sono di ...(I'm from). Giulia says she is from Lugano - Sono di Lugano, and Michele says that he is from Genoa - Sono di Genova. Did you notice how Genoa is Genova in Italian? Most names of towns are the same - although they might be pronounced slightly differently.

Sono di New York. Sono di Washington. Sono di Toronto.


Some are very similar:

Milano (Milan) Roma (Rome) Napoli (Naples)


And some are very different:

Londra (London) Parigi (Paris) Firenze (Florence)

buono(a)
good, tasty

La pizza buona in Italia.


The pizza is good in Italy.

il gelato
ice cream

Il gelato buono in Italia.


The ice cream is good in Italy.

il formaggio
cheese

Il formaggio buono in Francia.


The cheese is tasty in France.

Bello (a)
lovely, beautiful

Il Messico bello.
Mexico is lovely.

il tempo
weather

Il tempo bello in Italia.


The weather is lovely in Italy.

in Svizzera
in Switzerland

Sara studia in Svizzera.


Sara studies in Switzerland.

negli Stati Uniti


in the United States

New York negli Stati Uniti.


New York is in the United States.

del Giappone
of Japan

Tokyo la capitale del Giappone.


Tokyo is the capital of Japan.

in Australia
in Australia

Sydney in Australia.
Sydney is in Australia.

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