In Naples, greet a stranger in standard Italian, save a familiar Neapolitan greeting for someone you know, and use grazie for thanks. A local expression can be friendly between acquaintances without being the right way to address an unfamiliar café worker. The relationship matters as much as the words.
Start with a greeting you can use comfortably and listen to the response before making your request. Recognising Neapolitan expressions is useful even when you choose Italian for your own part of the exchange, but you do not need to adopt every phrase you hear.
Greetings for strangers and friends
- Choose a greeting to suit the relationship: polite Italian for a stranger, familiar Neapolitan for someone you know.
- Greet the person before making your request, and a brief nod can accompany the words.
- Allow a response, then ask for what you need.
Uè is a familiar Neapolitan greeting, roughly “hey”, “oi” or “what’s up?” It is also an attention-getting interjection, not simply a substitute for every English “hello”. Among friends or peers who know one another, it can open an informal exchange. A sharper or louder delivery can instead convey surprise, impatience or a call for attention. Listen to the tone and consider who is speaking to whom.
Buongiorno means “good morning”, or more generally “good day”. It is a polite daytime choice when you enter a shop or address an unfamiliar café worker. You can use it without trying to establish the familiarity that a local greeting might suggest.
Buonasera means “good evening” and is conventionally used in the late afternoon and evening. Let the part of the day guide your choice between the two Italian greetings.
With strangers, elders or people in professional settings, keep the opening polite rather than copying a friend’s casual address. Learn one usable greeting and an expression of thanks with their social context first. That small set is more useful at a counter than several familiar expressions whose tone you cannot yet judge.
Thank you and replies
Grazie means “thank you” in both Neapolitan and standard Italian. You can use it after someone helps you or provides a service, without needing a separate local word. It gives you a straightforward way to close a request courteously.
Gràzie assàje means “thank you very much” in Neapolitan. Keep it in your recognition set: when you hear it, you will understand that the speaker is expressing stronger thanks. There is no need to replace your simple thanks with the longer expression just to make an exchange sound local.
Prego means “you’re welcome” when it is used as the standard Italian reply to thanks. A short exchange after receiving help might be your “Grazie”, followed by the other person’s “Prego”. In that context, the reply acknowledges your thanks, so you do not need to turn the ending into another request or a longer conversation.
Polite requests and misunderstandings
Scusi means “excuse me” and is a polite way to get an unfamiliar adult’s attention. Use it when you need to address someone who has not yet noticed you. Scusa is the informal form for someone you address familiarly, so with an unfamiliar adult, keep scusi as your default.
Per favore means “please”. It usually goes at the end of a request, though it can also come at the beginning. At a café, you could say “Buongiorno”, allow the worker to respond, then ask “Un caffè, per favore”, meaning “A coffee, please”. Keep the request short so the person can answer it.
Non capisco means “I don’t understand”. If the reply leaves you unsure, say it calmly rather than pretending you have understood. If you began with a local expression, switch to standard Italian for the rest of the exchange. You can indicate what you are asking about, but do not assume that changing to English will resolve the misunderstanding.
When an exchange becomes difficult
Do
- Use a short, polite request that makes clear what you need.
- Pause and give the other person room to respond or rephrase.
Don’t
- Treat a stranger as a close acquaintance because you have learnt a local phrase.
- Repeat yourself louder and louder when the problem is understanding, not hearing.
Familiar questions and farewells
Comme staje? means “How are you?” and suits someone you know well. It is a familiar question for friends or family, rather than a formal opening with a distant acquaintance. If you meet a friend again, you might use it after your greeting to ask how they are, then leave space for their answer.
Jamme jà! means “Let’s go!” or “Come on!” Keep it among the expressions you recognise: it urges movement or action rather than asking about someone’s wellbeing. Hearing it during an exchange does not mean you need to repeat it as part of your own greeting.
Stàtte bbuóno means “stay well” or “take care”, as a familiar farewell to one person. It fits a goodbye to a friend, relative or someone you know well. It can sound warm and caring, but delivery and context can also make it brisk. The words alone do not determine the feeling.
Reserve that farewell for a close relationship rather than a formal or distant setting. The useful distinction is between understanding what someone says and deciding whether it suits your own relationship with them. You can recognise a familiar question, encouragement or goodbye without using all three yourself.
Sources & fact-checking
Checks against the sources below cover: key figures.
