Italian words for kids · Greetings & manners
How to say “how are you?” in Italian
How are you? is the first real conversation kids can have in a new language: one question and a short answer they can say back.
How are you? in Italian
come stai?
Sounds like ≈ KOH-meh STY
Good to know: Come stai? is the friendly form used with kids, family and friends. The answer: sto bene, grazie ("I'm well, thanks").
Hear it in a song
Real lines from our Italian songs, with the English meaning shown in the app:
Come stai? — Molto bene!
How are you? Very well!
from Buongiorno (Good Morning)
Ciao, ciao! Come stai?
Hi, hi! How are you?
from Ciao, Come Stai? (Hi, How Are You?)
Bene, bene, come stai?
Good, good, how are you?
from Ciao, Amico (Hi, Friend)
3 songs that teach it
“How are you?” is one of the key words in these songs. Every line is shown in Italian with its English meaning.
Buongiorno
Good Morning · Greetings · Free
- buongiorno · good morning
- come stai? · how are you?
- molto bene · very well
- grazie · thank you
Ciao, Come Stai?
Hi, How Are You? · Greetings · Free
- ciao · hello
- come stai? · how are you?
- bene · good
- giochiamo! · let's play!
Ciao, Amico
Hi, Friend · Greetings · Free
- ciao · hello
- amico · friend
- come stai? · how are you?
- nome · name
Also sung in: Sono Felice, Oggi È Lunedì.
Practice ideas for parents
- 1Ask come stai at pick-up time and accept any answer, in any language. The point is hearing the question every day.
- 2Give a teddy a voice and have it ask your child come stai, then swap roles.
- 3Pair it with feelings: ask come stai, then point at a happy or sad face drawing together.
Related Italian words
“How are you?” in other languages
- Spanish:¿cómo estás?
- French:comment ça va ?
- German:Wie geht's?
- Portuguese:como estás?
- Dutch:hoe gaat het?
Sing it in Italian, free
The first unit, 6 greeting songs with lyrics and English translation, is free forever. No card needed. Premium unlocks all 134 songs.
About the pronunciation: the “sounds like” spellings are rough English approximations for parents (capital letters show the stressed syllable). Italianhas sounds English doesn't, so treat them as a starting point and let the songs be the model. Songs are original and produced with AI music tools. Ideas for using Italian songs with your family.