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Imagine you have landed in Italy and are out and meeting people and exploring your surroundings. After you say “Ciao!” ( the equivalent to ‘Hello’ in English), your Italian friend may become more curious about you and your origins. And if your new friend asks you:
Da dove vieni? 

Don’t be surprised! Your friend just wants to know where you come from. Da dove vieni? (informal) or Da dove viene? (formal), translates to “Where do you
come from?” 

In this case, you should answer with your country of origin. For example:
Vengo dall’Italia (I come from Italy)

You may also hear Di dove sei?, which also means  “Where do you come from?” , with the small difference that Di dove sei? requires a more specific location, and you should answer with the name of your hometown or the most famous city you can think of that can give your Italian friend an idea of the location or environment that you come from.

And you can be sure that there will be many different countries of origin around you. With its historical heritage and panoramic views (not to mention its world-recognized cuisine!), Italy is is a very popular destination for travelers all around the world, attracting over 4 million tourists every year!

The Focus of This Lesson is Italian Greetings for the Evening Buona sera. “Good Evening.”

Good Evening

buona sera (also written buonasera) is the perfect equivalent for “good evening” and as such you should use this term when meeting someone.

Instead, you may use buona serata (never written buonaserata) to wish someone a nice evening. You should not use this greeting when meeting someone for the first time or upon entering a place.

When someone is about to go to bed, buona notte (also written buonanotte) is almost exclusively the word people use.

Imagine you have landed in Italy and are out and meeting people and exploring your surroundings. After you say “Ciao!” ( the equivalent to ‘Hello’ in English), your Italian friend may become more curious about you and your origins. And if your new friend asks you:

Da dove vieni?
Don’t be surprised! Your friend just wants to know where you come from. Da dove vieni? (informal) or Da dove viene? (formal), translates to “Where do you
come from?”

In this case, you should answer with your country of origin. For example:
Vengo dall’Italia (I come from Italy)

You may also hear Di dove sei?, which also means  “Where do you come from?” , with the small difference that Di dove sei? requires a more specific location, and you should answer with the name of your hometown or the most famous city you can think of that can give your Italian friend an idea of the location or environment that you come from.

And you can be sure that there will be many different countries of origin around you. With its historical heritage and panoramic views (not to mention its world-recognized cuisine!), Italy is is a very popular destination for travelers all around the world, attracting over 4 million tourists every year!

As you may have seen in Italian movies or during your stay in in Italy if you had the chance , you will notice that ciao is the easiest and most common Italian greeting people use to say “hello” or “goodbye.”
Usually though, you should only use this greeting with people whom you are well acquainted with, such as friends or
relatives.

As a special case, you may notice that it is common to address foreigners entering into Italy with ciao. The reason for this is that it’s
a friendly and easy way to greet them. Sometimes owners of casual, modern shops may greet customers with ciao as a way to keep social distances at a minimum and make talking easier and faster,thus making you feel more comfortable (and this way making their patrons feel relaxed and at home).

For first time meetings though, you may use buon giorno (also written buongiorno) with anyone. Literally, buon giorno means “good day,” however, you may also interpret it to mean “good morning” or “good afternoon.”

As a rule of thumb you can use buon giorno only during daytime-from morning until evening-or from before daybreak to before dusk. If we want to express “good morning” clearly, we may use buon mattino, but this expression is very rare. As for “good afternoon,” we sometimes use buon pomeriggio.

Yet, we are sure that if there was to be any confusion with greetings, your Italian hosts will be kind to you no matter what. Italians are known for their friendliness and warmth, so even a simple “Ciao!” will bring about a smile and maybe a long lasting friendship!

“Waiter, there’s a fly in my cup!”
How many times have we heard jokes and real anecdotes of this nature?
However, did you know that in Italy, some people like to drink their coffee “with the fly”?

Coffee is always present in a typical Italian breakfast, which usually consists of light pastries, croissants, and the simple bread, butter and jam.
Italian style coffee though, has many variations and is usually much more concentrated and strong that the American one, and is usually served in a smaller cup.
In Italy, your coffee can be served in many variations, the most popular ones being the espresso, made by machine; and the napoletano, prepared home-made style and in small kettles.

Furthermore, coffee can be machiato (spotted, with a dash of milk), or corretto (laced, with liquour).

And surprisingly enough, you can order your cup of coffee “con la mosca” (literally, “with the fly”)!

This means that inside the little coffee cup, you will be able to find either:

- a chocolate

or,

- a real coffee bean

In Italy, coffee is as rich and interesting as its culture. Next time you have an Italian breakfast, surprise the locals and request “the fly” in your cup!

How to Really Learn Italian in Just Minutes a Day and Stick with it

The Myth

What if I told you mastering Italian wasn’t that hard. That actually learning the language itself is not nearly as difficult as you may have heard. And that the problem to progressing is an age old one…failure to execute.

The Real Issue

Said another way, “People don’t progress ’cause they don’t do! If you don’t do the work, you won’t reach your goals.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Have a healthy and happy holiday season.

From the ItalianPod101.com team!