phrases - What do I have to say when I enter into a house?


In Italy when you want to enter inside the house of a stranger or also of a friend you knock at the door and say, "Permesso?" meaning, "Can I enter?" or "Do I have the permission to enter in your house?" It is very mandatory to say that. Formally if you enter a house without the permission you are committing a crime, so in Italy you must say, "Permesso?" even if a lot of people don't wait for the answer. What is the equivalent of this in English?



Answer



You would say this:



May I come in?



Or, more informally:



Can I come in?



However, proper etiquette would have your friend ask you to come in, by saying, for example, do come in, or please, come in, or something like that. If he does not ask you to come in, you should normally assume that he is busy and cannot receive you.


If the door is open, he steps back, and it is clear from context that he wants you to come in, you should take this as permission and just follow him inside. If you don't know him well and are in doubt, that is when you could ask, may I come in? As an alternative, you could just stay put, and he'd ask you in eventually, after an embarrassing moment—or not.


If he just says thank you for dropping by, you may assume he has no time to receive you, and you should shake hands and leave. You should never enter his house unless you'd been given some clear enough signal of permission. Clarity depends on context.


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