buenos días
/ˌbwenos ˈdias/
Good morning in Spanish is buenos días. Wiktionary also lists buen día and buenas.
Meaning: when seeing someone for the first time in the morning (intj)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| buenos días | /ˌbwenos ˈdias/ | |
| buen día | /ˌbwen ˈdia/ | |
| buenas | /ˈbwenas/ | informal |
| buenas matinas (Americanism) | feminine, plural |
The phrase is used when seeing someone for the first time in the morning.
What does it mean word for word?
buenos días literally translates to good days.
Which one should you use?
While buenos días is the standard way to say good morning, buen día is often used more as a wish for a good day ahead.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
buenos días is the most common way to say good morning. The shortened form buenas is an informal version used as a general greeting. buenas matinas is a feminine and plural form.
Is it said differently in some regions?
buenas matinas is an Americanism.
How does it change in a sentence?
buen día is the singular form of the phrase, using the masculine singular adjective buen instead of the plural buenos.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˌbwenos ˈdias/
Did you know?
- If you use the short greeting buenas, you are actually using a truncated version of buenas tardes, even if you are greeting someone in the morning.
- The term matinas in buenas matinas is related to the 'matins' prayers sung by monks in the very early hours of the morning.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, it is considered impolite to enter a shop or elevator and start a request without first saying buenos días to everyone present.
Examples in context
- Buenos días a todos.Good morning, everybody.This sentence shows how to address a group using buenos días.Tatoeba #527255 by Shishir, translation #22122 by CK
- Hola Tom. Buenos días.Hello, Tom. Good morning.This sentence shows a greeting using both Hola and buenos días.Tatoeba #1100827 by Shishir, translation #30314 by CM
- ¡Buenos días, cielo azul!Good morning, blue skies!This sentence shows an enthusiastic use of buenos días.Tatoeba #1457801 by marcelostockle, translation #1457802 by marcelostockle
- 41 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Mateo pass each other in an office hallway.
- LucíaBuenos días, Mateo.Good morning, Mateo.
- MateoBuenos días, Lucía. ¿Todo bien?Good morning, Lucía. Everything okay?
- LucíaSí, todo muy bien, gracias.Yes, everything is very well, thank you.
- MateoQué bueno. Que tengas un buen día.That's good. Have a nice day.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good morning” translations and entries buenos días, buen día, buenas, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries buen, buenas, día, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
