buen camino
/bwen kamino/from spelling rules
The English phrase "good camino" is translated into Spanish as buen camino.
buen camino is a wish for a safe and pleasant journey, and it is typically used for pilgrims traveling on the Camino de Santiago. Other ways to express similar sentiments include the informal Que tengas un Camino genial for "Have a great journey" and ¡Que disfrutes mucho del Camino! for "Enjoy your journey a lot".
When do people say it?
An additional expression used to cheer pilgrims along this route is Ultreia, which is an expression from the old Galician language.
Did you know?
- The word camino is not originally Latin, but was borrowed into Latin from the Gaulish language, which was spoken by the Celts in ancient France.
- If you use buen camino to wish someone a good trip to a beach or a city, they might find it slightly odd, as the phrase is culturally tied almost exclusively to the experience of walking a pilgrimage.
- The word buen in buen camino is an apocope, which is a linguistic process where the final vowel of bueno is dropped before certain nouns.
Examples in context
- Te deseo un buen camino.I wish you a good journey.
Example conversation
Alejandro and Lucía meet on a hiking trail in Galicia.
- AlejandroHola Lucía, ¿cómo vas?Hello Lucía, how is it going?
- LucíaMuy bien, Alejandro, pero estoy cansada.Very well, Alejandro, but I am tired.
- AlejandroÁnimo, ¡buen camino!Keep your spirits up, good camino!
- Lucía¡Muchas gracias!Thank you very much!
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries buen, camino, CC BY-SA 4.0.
