If you are under fourteen years old and are speaking to someone under fourteen, you might say "Buna" , "Neata". In this case it doesn't really matter, but because over time Moldavians have developed an almost austere respect for older persons, it is expected of children, until the age of nineteen especially, to speak with respect to their elders, using formulas such as: "Buna Ziua"- Good day or "Sarut Mana"- i kiss your hand. This greeting is used mostly when speaking to a woman.
If you are an adult, you may use the same formulas that children speaking to their peers normally use. The greetings used towards the elderly by adults remain the same as the ones used by children under the age of nineteen.
The elderly, however, are considered the most important, having lived the longest and being the wisest, are socially allowed to use any formula of greeting when speaking to neighbours or friends. When speaking to people in positions of authority, they use the more respectful formulas used by younger people towards them.
