buona giornata
The English phrase 'have a beautiful day' is translated into Italian as buona giornata.
Buona giornata is a polite greeting used when saying goodbye to wish someone a pleasant day.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally means 'good day'. The word buona means 'good' and giornata means 'day', specifically referring to the duration of the day.
Which one should you use?
While buon giorno is used as a greeting when arriving, buona giornata is used as a farewell when leaving to wish someone a pleasant rest of their day.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because giornata is a feminine noun, the adjective buona takes the feminine '-a' ending.
Did you know?
- The word giornata is a linguistic cousin to the English word 'journey'. Both stems from the historical concept of a day's travel or the distance one could walk in a single day.
- In Italian, you can wish someone a buona serata specifically for the evening, following the same logic as buona giornata. This distinguishes the greeting from buonasera, which is used when arriving rather than when departing.
- In certain regions, people may skip buona giornata in favour of buona continuazione. This phrase is used specifically to wish someone a 'good continuation' of whatever activity they are currently performing.
Examples in context
- Buona giornata, signora Rossi. A domani!Have a beautiful day, Mrs. Rossi. See you tomorrow!
- Buona giornata, ragazzi! Divertitevi alla festa!Have a beautiful day, guys! Have fun at the party!
- Auguro una splendida giornata a te e alla tua famiglia!I wish you and your family a splendid day!
- Buona giornata a tutti!Have a beautiful day, everyone!
- Grazie, buona giornata anche a te.Thank you, have a beautiful day too.
- Ci vediamo domani, buona giornata.See you tomorrow, have a beautiful day.
Example conversation
Martina and Lorenzo are leaving a small coffee shop.
- MartinaCiao Lorenzo, ci vediamo dopo!Bye Lorenzo, see you later!
- LorenzoA presto, Martina!See you soon, Martina!
- MartinaBuona giornata!Have a beautiful day!
- LorenzoGrazie, anche a te!Thank you, you too!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry buona giornata, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries giornata, CC BY-SA 4.0.
