godaften
/ɡoˈɑftən/
godaften is the Danish way to say good evening.
This phrase is used as a greeting during the evening hours. You can express a friendly, casual greeting by combining it with the informal hello to say Hej, god aften (hello, good evening).
Meaning: greeting said in the evening (intj)
Which one should you use?
The phrase can be written as the single compound word godaften or as two separate words god aften. When addressing a group of people informally, you can use Godaften allesammen to mean good evening, everyone.
How does it change in a sentence?
While godaften is a very common compound form, it is also grammatically acceptable to write the phrase as two separate words: god aften.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɡoˈɑftən/
Did you know?
- While godaften is used to say hello, Danes often use the same phrase godaften as a way to say goodbye when leaving a social gathering in the evening.
- The Danish word aften is a cognate of the English word 'eventide', though the latter is now archaic in English.
- Unlike English where 'good evening' is a common way to start a speech, Danes often prefer the more neutral 'hej' even in the evening, making godaften feel slightly more intentional.
Examples in context
- Godaften, jeg vil gerne have et glas mælk.Good evening. I'd like a glass of milk.This example shows how to use godaften when ordering a glass of milk.Tatoeba #3498204 by danepo, translation #3498198 by Objectivesea
- Godaften, jeg vil gerne have et glas sødmælk.Good evening. I'd like a glass of whole milk.Tatoeba #3499017 by danepo, translation #3499041 by danepo
- Godaften!Good evening.This example shows a simple use of godaften as a standalone greeting.Tatoeba #5634413 by danepo, translation #333156 by Aurix
- God aften, det er dejligt at møde dig.Good evening, it's nice to meet you.
- God aften. Håber du har haft en god dag.Good evening. I hope you've had a good day.
- Hej, god aften! Hvordan har du det?Hello, good evening! How are you?
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofie and Mikkel meet at a cafe in the evening.
- SofieGodaften, Mikkel.Good evening, Mikkel.
- MikkelGodaften, Sofie.Good evening, Sofie.
- SofieHar du haft en god dag?Have you had a good day?
- MikkelJa, det har jeg.Yes, I have.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good evening” translations and entries godaften, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
