Breakdown of Schönen Abend! – Danke, gleichfalls!
der Abend
the evening
schön
nice
danke
thanks
gleichfalls
likewise
Questions & Answers about Schönen Abend! – Danke, gleichfalls!
Why does it say schön-en (with -en) and not something like schön-er?
Because Abend is masculine and (in this wish) it’s in the accusative case: it’s short for Ich wünsche dir/Ihnen einen schönen Abend. Masculine accusative requires the adjective ending -en, so you get (einen) schönen Abend. The same ending appears with or without the article here.
Where did the article go? Why is it not Einen schönen Abend!?
German often drops the article in set wishes. Both are fine: Schönen Abend! and Einen schönen Abend! The shorter version sounds a bit snappier and is extremely common in everyday speech. You’ll see the same pattern in formulas like Schönen Tag!, Schönes Wochenende!, Gute Besserung!
Why is Schönen capitalized?
It’s capitalized only because it’s the first word of the sentence. Adjectives are normally lower-case in German. If it were mid-sentence, you’d write schönen Abend. The noun Abend is always capitalized because all German nouns are.
Could I say Schöner Abend! instead?
Not as a farewell wish. Schöner Abend would be nominative (e.g., “A nice evening” as a description: Ein schöner Abend.) The wish needs the accusative object (what you’re wishing), so it’s (einen) schönen Abend!
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