World Languages Lexicon
10 Language-to-English Dictionariesciao
Pronunciation / Transliteration: ˈtʃaʊ
"Ciao, come stai?"
Comprehensive Definitions & Senses
2 senses- 1
Used as a friendly greeting or parting phrase, equivalent to hello or goodbye.
"Ciao, see you at the cafe tomorrow morning!"
- 1
An expression of greeting or farewell.
"He offered a quick ciao before rushing off to catch his train."
Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum
Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology
Borrowed from Italian in the early 20th century, ciao originates from the Venetian phrase 'sćiào vostro' or 'sćiào su', meaning 'I am your slave' (derived from Medieval Latin sclavus meaning 'slave'). Over time, the greeting underwent semantic bleaching to mean simply 'hello' or 'goodbye', subsequently spreading widely into English and many other global languages.
Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Ciao"?
10 Global Lexicons: How "Ciao" is said worldwide
Click any language below to open its dedicated Language to English dictionary page with native script & transliteration
salut
Transliteration: sah-lyü
"Salut, comment ça va aujourd'hui ?"
tschüss
Transliteration: tʃʏs
"Tschüss, bis zum nächsten Mal!"
ciao
Transliteration: ˈtʃaʊ
"Ciao, come stai?"
chao
Transliteration: ˈtʃao
"Chao, nos vemos mañana."
tchau
Transliteration: ˈtʃaw
"Tchau, até logo!"
नमस्ते
Transliteration: namaste
"नमस्ते, आप कैसे हैं?"
再见
Transliteration: zàijiàn
"再见，祝你有个美好的一天。"
안녕
Transliteration: annyeong
"안녕, 다음에 또 보자."
じゃあね
Transliteration: jaane
"じゃあね、また明日。"
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