buenos días, buenas tardes y buenas noches
To say good morning, afternoon and evening in Spanish, say buenos días, buenas tardes y buenas noches.
buenos días is used from the morning until about lunchtime, buenas tardes in the afternoon until it gets dark and buenas noches in the evening and at night. All three work as hello and as goodbye, and buenas noches is also what you say before going to bed.
What does it mean word for word?
buenos días means good day, buenas tardes means good afternoon and buenas noches means good night.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word for good agrees with the noun. días is masculine, so it takes buenos. tardes and noches are feminine, so they take buenas. All three greetings use the plural.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use the masculine form with tardes or noches. Each greeting repeats its own word for good, which must match the noun.
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, people shorten buenas tardes or buenas noches to just buenas when entering a shop or meeting a neighbor.
- In some Latin American cultures, it is common to accompany these greetings with a single cheek kiss or a handshake, depending on the gender and relationship of the speakers.
- While buenos días is used in the morning, some regions use the singular buen día as a more formal or specific greeting.
Examples in context
- Siempre digo buenos días, buenas tardes y buenas noches.I always say good morning, afternoon, and evening.
Example conversation
Alejandro and Elena are practicing greeting phrases in a language class.
- AlejandroElena, ¿cómo se saludan en diferentes horarios?Elena, how do you greet people at different times?
- ElenaSe dice buenos días, buenas tardes y buenas noches.You say good morning, afternoon, and evening.
- AlejandroGracias, ahora lo entiendo perfectamente.Thanks, now I understand it perfectly.
- ElenaDe nada, Alejandro. ¡Sigue practicando!You're welcome, Alejandro. Keep practicing!
