Spanish Quickie: "Chao" or "Ciao"? Don’t Mix Them Up! ❌

Speaking Spanish for Beginners

Latin ELE

Language Learning, Education

4.6 • 804 Ratings

🗓️ 30 June 2025

⏱️ 3 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

🎧 Spanish Quickie, short, fun, and slightly cheeky Spanish lessons for beginners. Available on all major listening apps 👇

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Think “chao” means “hi” in Spanish? Think again!

In this episode, we clear up the confusion between the Spanish chao and the Italian ciao, so you don’t end up greeting people like you’re in a pasta commercial. ¡Vamos!

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, Quiki lover.
0:02.0	Welcome to Spanish Quiki, short, fun, and slightly cheeky Spanish lessons for beginners.
0:08.7	Me named Marco, your professor Latino de Spanish.
0:12.7	And today, let's settle once and for all a common mistake.
0:17.1	How do you actually use Tao in Spanish?
0:26.6	Because I've seen too many students walking around thinking they are in an Italian movie. Are you ready for a quickie?
0:29.6	Yes!
0:30.6	Go!
0:33.6	Tao is often confused with Italian Tiao.
0:36.6	And honestly, I get it.
0:39.3	This sound almost identical.
0:41.3	That's why many think it's high, as in Tiao Bella in Italian.
0:47.3	Tchao Bella, do you speak English?
0:50.3	But here is the thing.
0:52.3	Tiao in Italian means either hi or goodbye. But this is Spanish Quiki, not Italian
1:00.2	quickie. In Spanish, Tao spelled C-A-O, Tau, only means bye. Tau is a casual, friendly way to say goodbye.
1:13.9	So if your friend is leaving after a few beers and says,
1:17.0	No Vemos, you can reply,
1:19.3	Tao.
1:20.4	Go ahead.
1:21.1	Repeat after me.
1:22.5	Ciao.
	...

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