To ‘ciao’ or not?
To ciao
Or not to ciao?
Across Italy, you’ll hear a greeting
That rhymes with chow and is handy
To say hi or bye, nothing fancy.
But don’t overuse ciao like candy,
Because of the word’s true meaning.
A Venetian phrase is the root:
Literally: “I am your slave”
Comes from when Venice ruled Slavs
From the cradle to the grave
In the country shaped like a boot.
Morphing into “at your service”
And said informally nowadays
To pals and peers in Italia,
The meaning from its origin strays
But ciao still makes some folks nervous.
Especially when a stranger
Says ciao it may seem impolite
To an older Italian who might
Consider the greeting a blight
So, tourists, weigh the greeting danger.
To ciao
Or not to ciao?
Visitors, you have some options:
Salve works anytime to say hello
Buongiorno says bye and hello
Arrivederci means bye, not hello
In short, use ciao with caution