El hombre dice: «Buenas tardes».

In Spanish, singular countable nouns usually need an article when you are talking about a specific person or thing. So el hombre means the man.

You could say just hombre in some special contexts, but not normally in a neutral sentence like this one.

El is the definite article, so it points to a specific man: the man.
Un would mean a man, introducing him less specifically.

So:

• el hombre = the man
• un hombre = a man

Dice is the third-person singular present tense of the verb decir (to say / to tell).

So:

• yo digo = I say
• tú dices = you say
• él / ella / usted dice = he / she / you say

Here, dice matches el hombre, which is third-person singular: the man says.

Because decir is an irregular verb. Its forms do not all follow the regular pattern of verbs ending in -ir.

For example:

• regular pattern might suggest something like dece, but that is wrong
• the correct form is dice

This is just a form you need to learn as part of the verb decir.

The colon introduces the exact words the man says. In English, you can also do this in narrative style:

• The man says: “Good afternoon.”

So in Spanish, dice: signals that direct speech is coming next.

These are angle quotation marks, also called guillemets. They are a standard way of marking quotations in Spanish, especially in published writing in Spain.

So all of these may appear, depending on style:

• «Buenas tardes»
• "Buenas tardes"
• sometimes 'Buenas tardes'

In Spain, « » is especially traditional and formal in print.

Because buenas tardes is a fixed greeting in Spanish. The word tardes is plural, and the adjective agrees with it:

• buenas = feminine plural
• tardes = feminine plural

Even though English says good afternoon, Spanish uses the plural expression buenas tardes.

Because it agrees with tardes.

• tarde is a feminine noun
• tardes is plural
• so the adjective must also be feminine plural: buenas

This is normal adjective agreement in Spanish.

In Spain, buenas tardes is usually used from around midday or after lunch into the evening, until it becomes night.

A rough guide:

• buenos días = morning
• buenas tardes = afternoon / early evening
• buenas noches = night / late evening

Exact timing can vary by region and situation, but in Spain buenas tardes often starts later than English learners expect because daily schedules are often later.

It is polite and neutral, not overly formal. You can use it in many situations:

• with strangers
• in shops
• at work
• with neighbors
• in fairly formal settings

It is a very safe greeting.

Yes. Like several Spanish greetings, it can be used both when arriving and when leaving, depending on context.

So it may work as:

• good afternoon when greeting someone
• good afternoon when parting

Context tells you which one it is.

The h in Spanish is silent, so hombre begins with the vowel sound, not an English h sound.

A simple approximation is:

• hombre ≈ OM-breh

Also:

• the r in hombre is a single tap, not a strong English r
• the e at the end is pronounced, roughly like eh

In Spain, especially in standard Peninsular Spanish, dice is pronounced roughly like:

• DEE-theh

That is because in most of Spain, c before e or i sounds like the th in thin.

In many Latin American accents, it would sound more like:

• DEE-seh

Both are correct in their own varieties, but for Spain, DEE-theh is the usual reference pronunciation.

Yes, in Spain people do sometimes say Buenas by itself as a casual shortened greeting. It is common in everyday speech.

However:

• Buenas tardes is more complete and standard
• Buenas is more informal and conversational

So if you are learning, Buenas tardes is the safer full form.

Because hablar and decir mean different things.

• habla = speaks / is speaking
• dice = says

If you want to introduce the exact words someone says, decir is the normal verb:

• El hombre dice: «Buenas tardes». = The man says: Good afternoon.

If you said El hombre habla, that would just mean The man speaks / is speaking, without directly giving the words in the same way.

Yes, that is possible in the right context. Spanish often omits subjects when they are already clear.

But in this sentence, el hombre is included because the speaker or writer wants to identify who is speaking.

So:

• Dice: «Buenas tardes». = He says: ... / Says: ... depending on context
• El hombre dice: «Buenas tardes». = The man says: ...

The version with el hombre is clearer on its own.