Hello, who are you?
Italians greet by time of day far more than English speakers do — buongiorno in the morning, buonasera in the evening, ciao with friends. Then comes the introduction: mi chiamo (literally 'I call myself') for the name, and io sono (I am) for everything else. We'll meet two forms of the verb essere (to be) here and finish the conjugation in the next lesson.
Time-of-day greetings
Buongiorno = good morning / good day. Used roughly until early afternoon — it's the default polite hello in shops, on the phone, anywhere formal. Buonasera = good evening, from late afternoon onward. Buonanotte = good night — only when going to bed, not as a parting word in general. Ciao = hi or bye, but informal — never to a stranger, never to your boss.
Asking and giving a name
Come ti chiami? = What's your name? (literally 'how do you call yourself'). Reply: Mi chiamo Marco. = My name is Marco (literally 'I call myself Marco'). The polite version uses si chiama: Come si chiama? — used with a stranger, an older person, or in formal settings. Piacere = nice to meet you (one word, said when shaking hands).
How are you?
Come stai? = How are you? (informal). Come sta? = the polite version. Standard replies: Bene, grazie. = Well, thanks. Molto bene. = Very well. Così così. = So-so. Non c'è male. = Not bad. E tu? = And you? — turn the question back.
First two forms of essere
Io sono = I am. Tu sei = you are (informal). Sono italiano. = I'm Italian (man speaking) / Sono italiana. (woman speaking). Italian routinely drops the io and tu because the verb ending already tells you who's acting: Sono Marco., Sei Anna? The full conjugation comes in the next lesson.
The tu / Lei distinction
Italian has two singular 'you's: tu for friends, family, kids, anyone you'd be on a first-name basis with; and Lei (capitalized in writing) for strangers, customers, teachers, anyone older than you. Lei literally means 'she' but as a polite 'you' it works for both genders, and it takes the same verb form as 'he/she'. We'll see Lei è in the next lesson.
