晚安
máahn ōn
The Cantonese phrase for "good evening" is 晚安 (máahn ōn).
While often translated as "good evening", 晚安 is primarily used as a way to say "good night" when someone is leaving or going to bed, rather than as a standard greeting upon arrival in the evening.
Meaning: greeting said in the evening (intj)
Which one should you use?
Although it can function as a greeting, 晚安 is most commonly used as a parting phrase meaning "good night" before going to sleep.
How do you pronounce it?
máahn ōn
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often use 晚安 to mean "good evening" as a greeting, but in Cantonese, it functions more like "good night" as a goodbye.
Did you know?
- While 晚安 is the standard way to say 'good night', if you want to greet someone during dinner, it is much more common to simply say 食咗飯未? which means 'Have you eaten yet?'
- The character 安 in 晚安 originally depicted a woman under a roof, symbolizing 'peace' or 'stability'. This transforms the phrase from a time-based greeting into a wish for a peaceful night.
- If you use 晚安 as a greeting when walking into a room, you might accidentally signal to your host that you are already preparing to go to sleep and leave.
Example conversation
Two roommates are heading to their respective bedrooms.
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung志強，晚安。zi3 koeng4, maan5 on1.Zhiqiang, good evening.
- 志強 Chi Keung曉彤，晚安。hiu2 tung4, maan5 on1.Xiaotong, good evening.
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung你聽日幾點起身？nei5 ting1 jat6 gei2 dim2 hei2 san1?What time do you wake up tomorrow?
- 志強 Chi Keung我七點就起身。ngo5 cat1 dim2 zau6 hei2 san1.I wake up at seven.
