¡Buenas noches!

Good evening!

Breakdown of ¡Buenas noches!

• buenas noches: good evening; good night

Questions & Answers about ¡Buenas noches!

When do I use ¡Buenas noches! in Spanish?

You use ¡Buenas noches! in the evening and at night.

In Spain, it can work both as:

• a greeting: when you arrive somewhere in the evening/night
• a farewell: when you leave, especially later at night

So it can mean both good evening and good night, depending on the situation.

Why is it buenas and not buenos?

Because noches is a feminine plural noun.

Spanish adjectives must agree with the noun they describe:

• bueno = basic form
• buenas = feminine plural form

So:

• la noche = the night
• las noches = the nights
• therefore: buenas noches

Why is noches plural if English says good night?

This is just how the expression works in Spanish. Many set greetings do not match English word for word.

Spanish uses the plural:

• buenos días
• buenas tardes
• buenas noches

Even though English often uses singular expressions like good evening or good night, in Spanish these standard greetings are plural.