![]() ‘ Buenas‘ is an abbreviation of ‘ buenos días‘ and can be roughly translated to ‘ morning‘. Just watch out for the rather vulgar ‘ albur‘ (Mexican double entendre), ‘ las tengas’, which I’ve also heard on occasion! Here in Mexico, it’s not as common, but I still hear it from time to time! I remember that when I lived in Barcelona, all but one of my many neighbors would respond to my ‘ buenos días‘ with a simple (yet effective) ‘ buenas‘. This is another one that is more country dependent. ![]() Shop assistant – Thanks a lot! Have a lovely day. Vendedor – ¡Muchas gracias! Que tengas muy buen día.Ĭliente – ¡Igualmente! (we´ll get onto this one later) This use is common to all Spanish speaking countries and you’ll often hear ‘ Qué tengas (un) buen día‘ when leaving shops, etc. It literally means ‘ good day‘ which, somewhat ironically, is now rarely used in spoken English as a standalone phrase!īoth ‘ buenos días‘ and ‘ buen día‘ can also be used as a way of saying goodbye to someone. It’s thought that the influence of the English ‘ good morning‘ led to this phrase’s proliferation in Latin America. ‘ Buen día‘ is an interesting one because it’s actually more common in Latin America than it is in Spain! In Mexico City it’s just as common as ‘ buenos días‘, but it´s hardly used at all in Madrid! Literally, this one means ‘ Hello, good morning‘, which sounds a little odd in English, but I promise that it sounds natural as anything in Spanish! All you need to do is whack an ‘ hola‘ in front of ‘ buenos días‘ and you’re good to go! This is another extremely common response to ‘ buenos días‘ and it’s just as simple to formulate as the first response on this list. Think greeting your boyfriend / girlfriend’s dad for the first time to grunting your morning salutation at your best mate after a night on the tiles.įor sure this is the best option if you’re feeling shaky on your Spanish feet and can’t conjure up any of the alternatives on this list in the heat of the moment. The beauty of ‘ buenos días‘ is that it can be used in almost every situation and with absolutely everyone. The easiest (and perhaps most common) way to respond to ‘ buenos días‘ is by repeating the very same phrase back to the speaker! In fact, the more I think about it, the stranger it sounds!Īcademics at the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language believe that ‘ buenos días‘ evolved from the longer phrase ‘ buenos días os dé Dios‘ (literally ‘ God gives you good days‘) which obviously refers to more than one day.Īnyway, know we know exactly what ‘ buenos días‘ means, let’s get into how to respond!! In English (which, by the way, is a Germanic language, NOT a romance language), we don’t say ‘ goods mornings‘. Interestingly, Spanish is the only romance language in which the traditional morning greeting is in plural – “ buenoS díaS“. The English equivalent is ‘ good morning‘. Well, it literally means ‘ good day‘ in Spanish ‘ bueno‘ translates to ‘ good‘ and ‘ día‘ means ‘ day‘. So, what exactly does ‘ buenos días‘ mean? ![]() Well, fret no more, in this article I’m going to tell you 10 ways to respond to ‘ buenos días‘ (yes, 10!!) AND sound more like a local in the process! ![]() Whether you’re exploring the colonial cities of Mexico, the beautiful beaches of Spain or the lush rainforest of Equatorial Guinea, you’re going to be greeted with a ‘ buenos días‘ in the morning (and probably multiple times!)īut what exactly does ‘ buenos días‘ mean? And how (the heck!) should you respond? One of the phrases you’re going to hear all the time when in a Spanish speaking country is ‘ buenos días‘. In short – the best (and easiest) response to ‘ buenos días‘ is a simple ‘ buenos días‘ in return! ‘ Hola, buenos días‘, ‘ buen día‘, ‘ igualmente‘ and ‘ como está‘ are also excellent responses!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |