How do you say it in Italian?
Buonanotte!
Buonanotte comes from buona, meaning “good”, and notte, “night”.
| Buonanotte, buona notte | Good night |
If you are lazy enough, and the informal setting allows it, you can cut the buona part out of the sentence and go your separate ways for the night, saying…
| ‘notte! | ‘ night! |
For example, you can say…
| Buonanotte, ragazzi. Ci vediamo domani. | Good night, guys. I’ll see you tomorrow. |
| Buonanotte, mamma. | Good night, mom. |
| Buonanotte a tutti. | Good night, everyone. |
| Buonanotte, tesoro. | Good night, sweetheart. |
Sweetest good night in Italian
When you want to wish someone a good night in Italian you can also say say buona notte e sogni d’oro, which literally means good night and golden dreams.
The ñ sound is the same as the one in the Spanish word piraña.
| Buona notte e sogni d’oro | Good night and sweet dreams |
You read that right: it’s golden dreams (oro is gold), not sweet dreams. Sweet is translated as dolce in Italian, but we don’t usually wish people dolci sogni.
This is more commonly used between parents and their children, so it’s not appropriate for use in formal situations. Other terms of endearment may also be used in the sentence.
| Buona notte e sogni d’oro, Mattia. | Good night and sweet dreams, Mattia. |
| Buona notte e sogni d’oro, amore. | Good night and sweet dreams, love. |
Other ways to say good night in Italian
Fai una bella dormita is an informal way of wishing a good night in Italian and can be literally translated as “make a good sleep”. It’s the equivalent of have a good sleep in English.
| Fai una bella dormita | Have a good/nice sleep (singular) |
If you need to address a group of people, you can use fate una bella dormita.
| Fate una bella dormita | Have a good/nice sleep (plural) |
Dormi bene
Dormi bene is often heard in informal settings, ideally between a parent and a child.
| Dormi bene! | Sleep well! |
There are two variations of this: dorma bene and dormite bene.
| Dorma bene! | Sleep well! (formal) | |
| Dormite bene! | Sleep well! (plural) |
You will say dorma bene to say good night to someone to whom you must show some respect, although you won’t hear it very often. You will say dormite bene to groups of people.
Riposati
Riposati comes from the reflexive verb riposarsi, which literally means “to rest oneself”. You can use it in informal situations.
| Riposati | Rest well (informal) |
Use riposatevi to address groups of people.
| Riposatevi | Rest well (plural) |
In a more formal setting, you may want to use si riposi.
| Si riposi | Rest well (formal) |
Buona serata
In addition to buonanotte, there is another Italian greeting that is used at the end of a conversation in the evening.
| Buona serata! | (Have a) good evening! |
Sera and serata can both be translated as evening.
Why is that? What’s the difference between wishing a buona serata and a buona notte?
When I wish you a buona serata, I’m saying goodbye for the evening, thinking that you’ll do something else after we part. Maybe you’ll go to a party or have a late aperitivo. I don’t think you’re going to turn in for the night.
On the other hand, if I wish you a buona notte in Italian, I think you’re going straight to bed.
Just remember: all the expressions we have covered in this lesson are used when you are saying goodbye for the evening. When you meet someone in a formal setting, whether in the evening or in the middle of the night, you never say buonanotte, you say buonasera.
More free Italian resources
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