tarde en la noche
/taɾde en la not͡ʃe/from spelling rules
The English phrase "late evening" is translated into Spanish as tarde en la noche.
tarde en la noche is used to describe the period of time shortly before midnight or very late in the day.
Which one should you use?
If you want to specifically say "very late evening," you can use the phrase muy tarde en la noche.
How do you pronounce it?
/taɾde en la notʃe/
Did you know?
- In some regions, people may use madrugada once the 'late evening' crosses into the early hours of the morning. This word specifically describes the 'dawn-ing' period and has no direct single-word equivalent in English.
- The word tarde descends from the Latin word tardē, which originally meant 'slowly'.
- Depending on the country, saying buenas noches during the tarde en la noche can be both a greeting when arriving and a farewell when leaving.
Example conversation
Mateo and María are discussing their work schedules.
- MateoMaría, ¿estás trabajando tarde en la noche?María, are you working late in the evening?
- MaríaSí, Mateo, tengo que terminar un proyecto.Yes, Mateo, I have to finish a project.
- Mateo¿Quieres que te acompañe a casa?Do you want me to walk you home?
- MaríaEso sería muy amable de tu parte.That would be very kind of you.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries en, la, noche, tarde, CC BY-SA 4.0.
