Why do Swiss say "Ciao" like five times when ending a phone coversation?

Because it's shorter than saying "Aufwiederhoeren" five times!

Tom

I have heard Italians using the phrase both as "Hello" and "good bye" ...

the european aloha

I guess I should specify, it's not the word... it's the repetition. "isn't once enough?"

They're probably Italian then, my only friends that do it are Italian.

Tom

Nah... the people I hear doing it are very Germanic.

More likely to say 'bye bye' around here.

It is better than the sing-song "Tschuuuuuusssss! Schönes Tagli!" (Byyeeee, Have a nice (little) day!) Which is nails-down-a-blackboard for me.

I'm in the habit of saying "Tschüüüüüüß!" because that's what I was taught when I studied German.

Living here though, I'm trying to get in the habit of saying instead 'Schöne(s) Tag/Abend/Wochenende/Get the Hell Off My Porch' because they seem to enjoy it so much more. It hurts my jaw though and then my gag reflex kicks in because there's something so freakin' Dinsey about it.

Yep definitely an Italian thing (my Italian better half does this to her parents, family and Italian friends).

my experience is that it's a more like a competition to see how many different ways the person can say goodbye and who can get the last one in. "ciao. tschuss. adieu. bis bald." and so on and so forth.

told my husband i was just going to start saying a very matter of fact "see ya" and hang up the phone

Everything of Italian origin has to be said a few times

It doesn't really matter what you're saying in Italian, anyway. Everything important is said with the hands.

Schönes Tägli????? Ooh! You wouldn't hear that in Bern..........

Me and my girlfriends always say this twice to each other at the end of our phone calls. I think it sounds nicer than bye

Decided to do some field work here and ask my Italian husband why they do this (he's from N. Milan).

He said that just saying "ciao" once seemed cold.

So, naturally I countered, okay why not say it just three times--is three times unfriendly?

His response, "Five just feels right. You Americans and your counting everything!"

That's what I got on this project.

My husband always does that and honestly i find it annoying...i come from chile and we also say ciao (chao in spanish), but only one time....not five!!!:d

An earlier memory of mine is listening to mum on the phone to my nan saying "bye... bye... bye... bye...bye...bye..." It felt like eternity - they both just kept on repeating it, until one of them finally hung up...

Lol shorter than saying
you hang up

No you hang up

No you hang up

No you hang up