Basic greetings: Greeting your neighbor

💬 io is optional, because sono already means "I am". Sono Maria is just as natural, and adding io gives it slight emphasis.

💬 Swap sotto for sopra to flip the direction: Abito qui sopra "I live just upstairs".

🇮🇹 This is the standard polite reply when someone greets you with Piacere.

🇮🇹 Italian women usually keep their own surname after marriage. Signora Rossi may not share a last name with her husband, so check the name on the doorbell or mailbox.

💬 si trova is the polite form for "you". With a friend you'd say Come ti trovi qui?

💬 palazzo usually just means an ordinary apartment building, not a palace. Your palazzo can be a plain block of flats.

💬 Italians say "to have need": avere bisogno. Here ha is the polite "you have". To talk about yourself: Ho bisogno di aiuto "I need help".

💬 pure after a polite request turns it into a friendly "go ahead". Another example: Entri pure "Do come in".

💬 This is the polite form. With a friend it becomes Figurati.

🇮🇹 Say this when parting during the day. In the evening, switch to Buona serata "Have a nice evening".

💬 altrettanto works as a reply to almost any good wish, like Buon appetito or Buon weekend.

🇮🇹 Arrivederci is the polite goodbye to use with neighbours you address as Lei. Save ciao for people you're on friendly, first-name terms with.