buenas noches
/ˌbwenas ˈnot͡ʃes/
The English phrase "good night" is translated into Spanish as buenas noches.
buenas noches is used as a farewell, but unlike English, it is also used to say "good evening" when greeting someone after dark. If you wish to use a more formal expression to say "have a good night," you can say Que tenga una buena noche.
Meaning: a farewell (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, buenas noches translates to "good nights," as both buenas and noches are in the plural form.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective buenas must agree in both gender and number with the feminine plural noun noches.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˌbwenas ˈnotʃes/
When do people say it?
In some contexts, a common way to wish someone a good sleep is to say Duerme con los angelitos, which means "sleep with the little angels."
Did you know?
- While buenas noches is universal, some regions use the shortened buenas as a multipurpose greeting for any time of day or night.
- The phrase buenas noches can be used sarcastically to imply that someone is very late or has finally woken up from a long nap.
- The word noches shares a distant linguistic root with the English word 'night' through their common Proto-Indo-European ancestor.
Examples in context
- Di buenas noches, Tom.Say good night, Tom.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of buenas noches as an object.Tatoeba #3603143 by ficion, translation #3371181 by CK
- Le di las buenas noches.I wished him a good night.This sentence shows how to use buenas noches when wishing someone a good night.Tatoeba #1355207 by marcelostockle, translation #457127 by FeuDRenais
- Le dije "buenas noches".I told him "good night".This sentence demonstrates how to use buenas noches in direct speech.Tatoeba #8574799 by adaycito, translation #13101158 by frpzzd
- 39 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and Elena are leaving a dinner party.
- MateoNosotros ya nos vamos.We are leaving now.
- ElenaAdiós, buenas noches a todos.Goodbye, good night to everyone.
- MateoElena, no olvides saludar.Elena, don't forget to say goodbye.
- ElenaEs verdad, ¡buenas noches!That's true, good night!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good night” translations and entries buenas noches, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
