You have probably heard Ciao in several places and you wonder what the word means. It is used in both the Italian language and the French languages.
It can also be found in some English dictionaries, though it is undoubtedly dubbed from another language like many other similar words.
Ciao is a word of greeting in all three languages mentioned above. In French, Ciao is a greeting word that is used when departing from someone
It translates to BYE in English. However, the English dictionary adopts the Italian meaning. Ciao, in Italian, is a word of greeting for both departure and arrival. In other words, Ciao translates to both Welcome and Goodbye.
If you wonder about the best way to respond to Ciao, you can simply think of how you would respond to a normal greeting.
18 ways to respond to Ciao in English
1. Goodbye
When a person says Ciao, you can say Goodbye. That is the most common response given when a person tells you Goodbye. Since Ciao means goodbye, Goodbye works as a response.
Ciao does not always work, however. Whichever response you choose to use, it has to be determined by the context within which the word is used.
If a person says Ciao while leaving a place or when you are separating from each other, you can respond with Ciao or Goodbye.
This response also fits in if you are ending a conversation with a person on a phone or with a text. A person can say Ciao when ending a conversation, then you can respond with Goodbye.
2. Have a great day
When a person says Ciao, you can respond by saying Have a great day. This is a statement that is often said when a person departs from you or when you are leaving a person. Ciao can also be used to mean this so this response fits perfectly.
Ciao can have other meanings. For this reason, it is important to consider the context before responding. If a person says Ciao while departing from you or while you are leaving him/her, you can simply say Have a nice day.
However, if Ciao has been used to mean Hello, this response will sound very weird. If Ciao is said on the arrival of a person, you have to consider another response that aligns with Hello or Welcome.
This response is also perfect if Ciao has been used to end a conversation. It could be on a phone call or a text. Ciao translates to Goodbye or Talk to you later at that point.
3. See you soon
When a person says Ciao, you can say See you soon. Like the responses, mentioned earlier, this response does not work in every case. It has to be said when you are leaving a person or when someone is leaving you.
If Ciao is said on departure, it translates to Goodbye or even See you soon. Therefore, you can respond in the same way you would respond if the person had said See you soon.
This is how you understand if this response fits into the context. If Ciao is said on arrival, then it has been used to mean Hello or Welcome and this response will sound extremely weird.
This response can also work if Ciao is said in a phone conversation. However, you have to mean the statement. If you hope to see the person soon, this response is okay.
4. Good luck
When a person says Ciao, you can say Good luck. This is another perfect response you can give, as long as Ciao has been used to mean Goodbye. When a person says Goodbye, you can say Good luck instead of Goodbye.
Some people find it absurd to reply Goodbye with the same word so saying something else like this one will fit in perfectly. If Ciao has been used to mean Hello or Welcome, this response will sound weird.
Ciao is used generally as a form of greeting so it is important to understand the context.
Like the other responses in the options above, this response will fit perfectly at the end of conversations. If a person says Ciao to end a conversation, you can say Goodbye. Good luck, however, sounds better to some people.
5. See you on the other side
When a person says Ciao, you can respond by saying See you on the other side. Ignore what the expression means.
It is a bit funny since it refers to death but it will be understood as a joke. Instead of saying See you soon or See you later, you can say See you on the other side.
It has to be said on departure. As long as Ciao has been used to mean Goodbye, this response will work perfectly.
You can also use this at the end of conversations. It will be understood as a joke. If you are talking to a person who is not very close to you, he/she may not approve of your joke.
6. Good day
When a person says Ciao, you can respond by simply saying Good day. This response is unlike the ones in the options above. The responses mentioned earlier only work when Ciao has been used to mean Goodbye.
When Ciao has been used on departure, then it has been used to mean Goodbye or Good day so you can say Good day too.
Like Ciao in Italian and English, Good day can be used for both departure and arrival. For this reason, you can also say Good day when Ciao has been used to welcome you.
When you want to start a conversation, you can say Ciao and the other person can respond with Ciao or Good day.
If a person also starts a conversation with you by saying Ciao, saying Good day will fit in perfectly. When you want to end conversations too, Good day will work.
7. Hello
When a person says Ciao to you, you can reply to it by saying Hello. This response is different from the ones stated earlier, including the one directly above.
The response directly above works for both departure and arrival. The other responses above are strictly for departure. However, this one is strictly for arrival.
When a person says Ciao on arrival, it has been used to mean Hello or Welcome or Good day so you have to respond in the same way you would have responded if you were simply greeted with Hello or Welcome.
If the person says Ciao while departing, then you have to choose a different response. You can respond with a general greeting like Good day or any other response that is strictly for departure.
You can also use this response to start conversations. When a person starts a conversation with Ciao, you can respond with Hello. If the person ends the conversation with Ciao, you have to say Ciao back or use a departing response.
8. You are welcome
When a person says Ciao, you can respond by saying You are welcome. This clause can have two meanings; one refers to the response you give when a person says Thank you; the other refers to what you say when a person arrives at a place.
Just like the clause states, this response is only used on arrival. However, it is still a bit more strict. Ciao can mean Hello or Welcome. You can only welcome a person that is arriving at your place or be welcomed by a person who you are meeting with.
If you arrive at a place and you are greeted with Ciao, you have to respond with a different word or clause. If a person meets you or arrives at your place and you are greeted with Ciao, then you can welcome the person by saying this.
This does not work in conversations that are not physical so it may sound very weird to say this over a phone.
9. Nice to meet you
When a person says Ciao, you can respond by saying Nice to meet you. However, like the other responses on the list, the context in which you use it has to be considered.
Nice to meet you is a statement that is often said when meeting a person. It can be used when departing from a person too. Still, it may sound absurd in some cases.
Ciao can be used to greet an acquaintance. In that case, you can say Nice to meet you while shaking hands with the person. You can also use this when departing from an acquaintance.
It sounds a bit weird if you say this to a close friend. Rather, you can say Nice to see you. You say Nice to meet you for someone you are meeting for the first time or someone you haven’t met for a long time.
Like the response above, this one doesn’t work in conversations that are not physical. If you are chatting or talking to a person on phone, you can simply say Nice to hear from you.
10. Good evening
When a person greets you Ciao, you can respond by saying Good evening. It is not as absurd as it sounds. When a person says Good evening, you can always reply with Good evening as long as it is actually evening time.
Ciao is used for general greetings which means it can be used to mean Good evening.
This response only works if it is actually evening time. However, if a person says Ciao in the evening time but is departing, this response will sound weird. It only works for arrival. Also, it is okay to use this for starting conversations on phone.
11. What’s up?
When a person greets you with Ciao, you can ask What’s up? This is a normal question to ask someone you are meeting. It is used as a casual response to Hello.
Since Ciao can be used to mean Hello, this response will fit in perfectly well, even in starting phone conversations. However, it never works for departure. It doesn’t work for ending conversations either.
12. Hi
When a person says Ciao, you can say Hi. It is the same way you respond when someone greets you with Hello.
Whenever Ciao is used to mean Hello, you can respond with Hi. It is used to start conversations but never to end conversations. It is also used on arrival but never on departure.
13. Good morning
When a person says Ciao, you can reply by saying Good morning. This response is based on the context. Ciao is a general greeting so it can be used at any time of the day, including the morning.
If you can reply Good day with Good morning, you can also reply Ciao with Good morning. The time of the day just has to be morning so you don’t sound stupid with this response. It also works in starting phone conversations.
14. See you around
When a person says Ciao, you can say See you around. However, the context must be strictly considered.
You can only say See you around when departing from a person or ending a conversation. If a person says Ciao, in this case, you can respond with See you around.
15. Good afternoon
As stated earlier, Ciao can be said at any time of the day. If you are greeted with Ciao by afternoon, you can respond by saying Good afternoon.
Also, this is only said on arrival. It should not be used on departure or for ending conversations.
16. Greetings
If you are ever confused about the context in which Ciao has been used, you can use a common response like Good day or Greetings.
Ciao is a word for greeting people on both departure and arrival. There are other words that work for both departure and arrival. If you are not sure whether the conversation is starting or ending, you can use a general word of greeting like Greetings.
17. Alright
If a person says Ciao, you can say Alright. It is not the best response but there is no best response for Goodbye either. When a person says Goodbye, you can simply say Okay or Alright.
You can use the same response for both Goodbye and Ciao, as long as the context is right.
18. Thanks for having me
You can respond with Thanks for having me if a person says Ciao when you are leaving his/her place.
The context has to be correct. If you are leaving a person’s home, the person can say Ciao and you can respond with Thanks for having me.