Jun
16
Buenos días, buenas tardes, buenas noches
When I first moved to Spain, I would go home frequently at mid-day to eat lunch, usually arriving around 1:30 or 2 p.m. I would greet Matias, the portero of my building, with a friendly “Buenas tardes.” After a few days of this, he started correcting me which I really appreciated. He told me that unless I had already eaten lunch, it was more natural to say “buenos días” up until lunchtime and then “buenas tardes” after lunch.
Do you know when the morning ends and afternoon begins in Spain? It may not be what you think.
In the U.S. and U.K., morning is over at 12 p.m. From 12 p.m. to 5 p.m./6 p.m. is typically considered afternoon, with some adjustments during the winter when sunset can happen as early as 4:30 p.m. Generally between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. is evening. Anytime after 8, especially if it’s dark outside, is considered night time.
In Spain, it is common to consider morning (mañana) any hour up to lunchtime, which is typically between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
After lunch, the afternoon officially begins. Say “buenas tardes” anywhere between 3 p.m. up to about 9 p.m. or perhaps even later, especially in the summer months when sunset happens around 10 p.m. Also, tarde is the equivalent of both “afternoon” and “evening” in Spanish.
Interestingly enough, night (noche) gets the smallest window of hours on the Spanish clock. “Buenas noches” is typically up until midnight. After that, from around 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. the period is called “madrugada” and you’ll sometimes hear people say “tengo que madrugar,” meaning that they have to wake up early the following morning.
Thanks for this post. I had thought the same as you regarding when to use buenos días and buenas tardes.
El sistema de saludos español (de España) está basado no en variantes geográficas o meteorológicas, sino más bien en un viejo sistema laboral durante la dictadura de Franco.
Básicamente, la inflacción durante el periodo franquista era tan alta que los españoles se veían obligados a acometer dos trabajos -dos jornadas laborales- que serían de 8am a 14pm y de 16pm hasta bien entrada la noche.
Tales horarios, que hoy en día aún existen si bien están regularizados y normativizados, son los causantes de lo especial del “spanish timetable” y son los grandes creadores de dos fenómenos extraños de la lengua española que, por el contrario, jamás vieron su igual en el país vecino Portugal.
- La siesta como descanso recuperador de noches cortas para dormir debido al trabajo.
- El nuevo concepto de “mañana” hasta después de comer.
¡Anda! No lo sabía. Gracias por este comentario, Carlos. No se me enseñaron estos detalles cuando fui estudiante en Middlebury.
Saludos.
Porque se dice: “Buenos Dias, Buenas Tardes” en lugar de “Buen Dia,
Buen Tarde”
Manuel,
No lo sé. Pero cada idioma tiene sus idiosincrasias. A veces es mejor que no se pregunte de las razones porque no hay respuesta.