Grazie
 

I've just returned from a trip in Italy and noticed whenever I said Grazie they said ALAY or ATAY at least thats what it sounded like! What does it mean?

maria:<BR>They most likely said "a te" which meanbs THEY thanked you, too. <BR>Maybe in a shop after you've purchased something, they handed it to you, you said "grazie" and then the shopkeeper would say grazie "a te".

I suspect that it was "a lei", not "a te". In Italian there is the formal and the informal when addressing someone. For a relative or friend, you would use "te", but the formal is "lei" (whether it's a man or a woman). Since presumably the shopkeeper doesn't know you, he would use "lei".

italia:<BR>You're probably right on "a lei". Depends where and under what circumstances. Young Italian people tend to say "tu" very quickly to people of the same age. But this is something difficult to explain to somebody of English language. That's why English is so convenient. LOL<BR>Ok, so:<BR>ALAY = a lei<BR>ATAY = a te

"tu" is the informal "you" in italian.<BR>"Lei" is the formal "you".<BR>e=and, ergo, e Lei=and you.<BR>te is used after a preposition or for emphasis