Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| buenos días | /ˌbwenos ˈdias/ | |
| buenas | /ˈbwenas/ | informal |
Buenos días is used to greet someone until around mid-afternoon. It literally translates to "good mornings".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase buenos días literally translates to "good days" in the plural.
Which one should you use?
While buenos días is the standard greeting, the shortened form buenas is a common, more informal way to say "good day" or "hello" at any time of day.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Buenas is an informal way to say "hi", "morning" or "hello".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some Latin American countries, such as Argentina, Buen día is more commonly used as a formal greeting instead of buenos días. In many Latin American countries, Buenos días is abbreviated to Buenas in informal settings.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase buenos días is grammatically masculine, which is why it uses buenos instead of buenas.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˌbwenos ˈdias/
When do people say it?
In the afternoon, use Buenas tardes. In the evening and at night, use Buenas noches.
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, it is considered impolite to enter a shop or elevator without saying buenos días to everyone present, regardless of whether you know them.
- The informal shortening buenas likely originated as an ellipsis of buenas tardes, the greeting for the afternoon and evening.
- The word buenos must be masculine to match días, but the shorthand buenas is feminine because it refers to the feminine words tardes or noches.
Examples in context
- Buenos días. ¿Qué quieres?Good day. What do you want?This example shows how to use buenos días when asking a question.Tatoeba #3268528 by cueyayotl, translation #2310291 by Gulo_Luscus
- Buenos días.Good day.This example is a simple use of buenos días.Tatoeba #2258235 by hayastan, translation #1844755 by wwkudu
- ¡Buenos días!Good day!This example shows buenos días used as an exclamation.Tatoeba #403913 by cueyayotl, translation #855284 by pirytm
- Hola, señor. Buenos días. ¿Cómo está usted?Hello, sir. Good day. How are you?
- ¡Buenas, prima! ¿Cómo estás?Good day, cousin! How are you?
- ¡Buen día! ¿Tiene un minuto? Necesito su ayuda.Good day! Do you have a minute? I need your help.
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Elena and Alejandro meet at a cafe in the morning.
- ElenaBuenos días, Alejandro.Good morning, Alejandro.
- AlejandroBuenos días, Elena. ¿Cómo estás?Good morning, Elena. How are you?
- ElenaMuy bien, gracias.Very well, thank you.
- AlejandroMe alegro mucho.I am very glad.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good day” translations and entries buenos días, buenas, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries buenas, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
