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What is the difference between bravo and buono? They both mean "good", right? Are there any rules to use them?

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Bravo generally expresses skills:

Suo figlio è bravo in matematica: His/Her/Your son is good at Math

Also in manners and behavior

Suo figlio è un bravo ragazzo: His/Her/Your son is a good kid

Il tuo cane è proprio bravo, non abbaia mai : Your dog is really good, it never barks

Buono expresses quality:

Un uomo buono: a good man (kind and friendly, but not necessarily skilled)

Questa torta è molto buona! : This cake is very good!

As a general rule (from this link), bravo goes only with people and animals.

The link adds also bello and bene to the mix.

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  • "Un uomo buono" si usa raramente, probabilmente per l'alliterazione antiestetica della "u". É sempre preferibile "un buon'uomo"
    – Bruno9779
    Mar 11, 2015 at 11:54
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    @Bruno9779: “È”, non *“É”. “buon uomo”, non *“buon'uomo”. E anche sull'opinione in sé ho miei dubbi, condivisi da Google Ngram Viewer.
    – DaG
    Mar 11, 2015 at 14:04
  • is bravo=clever?
    – mario
    Sep 7, 2016 at 6:37

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