How do you say Good afternoon in Spanish?
The most common way to say “good afternoon” in Spanish is Buenas tardes. Here are the main options, when to use each, and how to pronounce them.
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Buenas tardes
BWEH-nahs TAHR-des
Hello or goodbye from about midday until it gets dark.
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¡Buenas!
BWEH-nahs
Clipped and casual; works at any time of day.
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Muy buenas tardes
mooy BWEH-nahs TAHR-des
Extra polite — greeting an audience or customers.
Use it in a sentence
- Good afternoon, how can I help you?Buenas tardes, ¿en qué puedo ayudarle?
- Good afternoon, everyone.Buenas tardes a todos.
- Have a good afternoon!¡Que tengas una buena tarde!
- Good afternoon, I have a reservation.Buenas tardes, tengo una reserva.
Good to know
The greeting is always plural: buenas tardes, not buena tarde.
In Spain, where lunch is late, buenos días lasts until around 2 p.m., and buenas tardes runs well into the evening.
After dark, switch to buenas noches, which is both “good evening” and “good night”.