—Buenas noches. —Adiós.

Breakdown of —Buenas noches. —Adiós.

adiós
goodbye
buenas noches
good evening / good night

Questions & Answers about —Buenas noches. —Adiós.

Does this exchange use the informal or the formal usted?
This exchange is neutral! Basic greetings like buenas noches and adiós don't change based on who you are talking to. If you wanted to make it clearly formal for an usted situation, you could add a title of respect, like Buenas noches, señor.
Is adiós used for both and usted situations?
Yes, adiós is standard and polite enough for any situation, whether you are using the informal or the formal usted. If you are speaking very informally with a friend, you might also hear the casual word chao instead.
Why is it buenas noches and not buenos noches?
In Spanish, describing words must match the gender of the noun they describe. The word noche (night) is feminine, even though it doesn't end in an 'a'. Because it is plural, we use the feminine plural form buenas to match it.
Does buenas noches mean 'good evening' or 'good night'?
It means both! In English, we usually say 'good evening' when we arrive and 'good night' when we leave. In Spanish, buenas noches is used for both arriving and leaving anytime after the sun goes down.
What are the long dashes at the beginning of the words?
Those are dialogue dashes. While English uses quotation marks to show that someone is speaking, written Spanish often uses a long dash at the start of a line to show that a character is talking. The second dash shows the other person replying.

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