# Buenos días, buenas tardes, buenas noches

> id: usage.greetings-time-of-day · category: usage · depth: standard · levels: A1 · review: internally_reviewed

**Summary.** Buenos días until lunch, buenas tardes until dark, buenas noches after — both greeting and farewell. Plain buenas covers all hours informally.

The switch points follow meals and light, not the clock: tardes starts after lunch (~1pm), noches at nightfall. Buenas noches also says goodbye/goodnight.

Clipped buenas is the universal informal entry into shops and elevators. Note the plural -s: buenos días, never *buen día in most regions (though buen día is standard in the Río de la Plata).

The switch points track meals and daylight, not the clock: buenas tardes starts after lunch (~1pm) and buenas noches at nightfall — and buenas noches doubles as 'goodnight/goodbye'. Clipped buenas works at any hour for shops and elevators; mind the plural (buenos días), though buen día is standard in the Río de la Plata.

## Examples
- Buenas tardes, ¿está el encargado? — Good afternoon, is the manager in?
- ¡Buenas! ¿Se puede? — Hi there! May I come in?
- Buenas, ¿me da un café con leche, por favor? — Afternoon, could I get a coffee with milk, please?

Related: usage.greetings-basic

License: CC BY-SA 4.0 — Spanish Rules Library — spanishruleslibrary.com