buenas noches a todos
/bwenas not͡ʃes a todos/from spelling rules
The English phrase "good evening everyone" is translated into Spanish as buenas noches a todos.
buenas noches a todos is a polite greeting used to address a group of people at the start of an evening event or meeting. While buenas noches can be a simple greeting, adding a todos specifically shifts the focus to addressing a collective group. Note that unlike English, which distinguishes between using "good evening" as a greeting and "good night" as a parting phrase, the Spanish phrase buenas noches is used for both arriving and leaving.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "good nights to all".
How does it change in a sentence?
If the group being addressed consists entirely of women, you should use the feminine form buenas noches a todas instead of buenas noches a todos.
Did you know?
- While buenas noches is the standard for evening, some speakers in Spain might use buenas as a shorthand greeting that works at any time of day or night.
- The phrase buenas noches is often paired with a light kiss on both cheeks or a handshake in social settings, depending on the country and the level of familiarity.
- The word a in the phrase is a direct descendant of the Latin preposition 'ad', which originally meant 'to' or 'toward'.
Examples in context
- Buenas noches a todos, ¿cómo están?Good evening everyone, how are you?
- Buenas noches a todos y bienvenidos.Good evening everyone and welcome.
- Quiero decir buenas noches a todos antes de empezar.I want to say good evening everyone before starting.
Example conversation
Lucía starts a small dinner party with her friends.
- LucíaBuenas noches a todos, pasen por favor.Good evening everyone, please come in.
- AlejandroHola, Lucía. Muchas gracias por la invitación.Hi, Lucía. Thank you very much for the invitation.
- LucíaDe nada, Alejandro. Siéntense donde quieran.You're welcome, Alejandro. Sit wherever you like.
- AlejandroTodo se ve delicioso.Everything looks delicious.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, buenas, CC BY-SA 4.0.
