English speakers tend to overdo “Please” and “Thank you”, just as we famously say “Sorry” too much but we don’t think that you can ever be too polite in Italy!
Here are some ways to express thanks for those Italian Christmas gifts and for that wonderful Italian hospitality:
How to say thank you in Italian
There are many ways to say “Thank you” and among them are:
Grazie
Grazie mille
Grazie di cuore
You can say
ti ringrazio tanto
to a friend.
La ringrazio tanto
is more formal.
When you receive a gift, you can exclaim:
Grazie. È troppo bello! – Thank you. It’s very beautiful.
Or you can say
Grazie. Mi piace tanto – Thank you. I like it very much.
Replies to “grazie” are:
Prego
or
Non c’è di che – Don’t mention it.
Italians often say
Di che cosa? – For what?
in reply to “grazie”. It’s like saying, “It was nothing”.
Saying thank you for a meal or for hospitality
To express appreciation at the table, you can say,
Quant’è buono! – How good it is!
or
È ottimo – It’s excellent.
The ultimate compliment is, of course, the request
Mi dai [to a friend] / Mi da [to an acquaintance] la ricetta, per favore? - Will you give me the
recipe, please?
When you are leaving your host’s home, you can say,
Grazie per la festa – Thank you for the celebration
or
Grazie per la bella giornata / serata – Thanks for the lovely day / evening
and the host can reply
Grazie per la compagnia – Thanks for the company.
Don’t forget to say “Auguri” [“Best wishes”] to everyone again before you go!
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Visit also:
- Italian Language Section for lessons of different levels!
- How to say Happy Birthday in Italian
- Italian Language Schools
- Italian Quotes about Family
- Italian Quotes about Food
