Ways to Say Good Evening: When you meet someone, the first thing that you do is greet them. Depending on the time, situation and person, greetings are going to change. When greeting someone in the evening – post 5 or 6 pm – we welcome them with the salutation ‘good evening’. We have discussed how to say good evening in French, English, Japanese or many other languages.
In this article, we have described the reason why we use ‘good evening’. Also, we have talked about when we should use the phrase. The writing also consists of how to say good evening in Spanish and how to say good evening in Japanese, helping one to expand their knowledge.
Common Ways to Say Good Evening
- Why do we say Good Evening?
- Situations in which we say Good Evening
- Different ways in which you can say good evening
- Common ways of saying Good Evening in French
- Common ways of saying Good Evening in Spanish
- Common ways of saying Good Evening in Japanese
- Conclusion
Why do We Say Good Evening?
Good evening is a greeting used during the evening, approximately after 5:00 to 6:00 pm. The greeting ‘good evening’ is similar to other greetings such as ‘good morning’ or ‘good afternoon. It is a way of saying ‘hello’ and is used when one meets a person or is passing by an individual.
However, ‘good evening’ is generally not used when a person is taking a leave. Even though the phrase ‘have a good evening’ is used for leaving an individual for the last time in 24 hours.
Situations in which we say Good Evening
When welcoming
Suppose, you are having a party at your place, and as the guests are coming in, you need to welcome them. When your guests arrive at the evening or dinner party, you will want to greet them with the salutation of ‘good evening’.
Example:
- Good evening, Amanda; thanks for coming to the party. Enjoy yourself.
- Good evening, how have you been?
This is a way of starting a meaningful conversation with someone. The person answering the question is going to come up with a reply suiting the situation—generally, professional or business greetings, for say, discussing some company over a meal. When saying ‘good evening’, one shakes their hand and makes eye contact with whoever they meet.
When departing
Let’s turn around the previous situation. Say you were leaving a lunch or brunch party from your friend’s house; how would you greet the host before you left? You will welcome them with the salutation ‘good evening’.
Example:
- I hope you enjoyed the party, have a good evening.
- Thank you for the lovely lunch. Have a good evening.
Generally, when you leave a place during the evening, you will want to depart by thanking them and greeting them with a ‘good evening’.
When passing or leaving
Telling someone to enjoy the evening in case they are colleagues or acquaintances is a polite euphemism when one is in a hurry to end the conversation or leave it at a peaceful place without saying degrading or harmful words.
Example:
- Good evening, please enjoy the rest of the evening.
- Good evening sir, we hope you’re having a good time.
Generally, when saying ‘good evening,’ it is a formal term usually spoken with people of professional or business status.
Different ways in which you can say good evening
‘Good evening’ can be said in many different ways using synonyms and antonyms. Depending on the people and the scenario in which the phrase is being used, different synonyms can be used for describing the greeting. Listed below are some examples according to the people you are addressing the salutation.
Polite ways for saying good evening
‘Good evening’ when exchanged with a friend or family member is done in a polite manner using the following greetings mentioned below. These greetings are used for letting your friends and family know that you care about them as well; a parting is only for a short span.
- See you later
- Hello
- Hi
- Hey
- Goodbye
- Take care
- Take it easy
- Farewell
- I have to run or go
- I’m off
- It was nice to see you (again)
- It was a really lovely meeting after so long.
- It was good to meet you.
- It felt great to catch up
- Have fun
- Have a nice evening
- Until we meet again
- I’ll see you again
- See you tomorrow
Informal ways of saying Good Evening
If English is not your native language, grasping the concepts of it can seem quite tricky. It is necessary to choose the correct words for the right situation. This showcases etiquettes and manners. When you are meeting someone extremely close to you – for instance, your best friend – using informal greetings can be okay, but make sure not to insult anyone in the process.
- Peace or peace out
- Later
- Goodbye
- Bye
- Catch you later
- See you later
- After awhile crocodile
- Be good
- All the best
- Farewell
- Good day
- Hasta la vista
- Take care
- Bye for now
- Take it easy
- Until next time
- Have a good day
- Have a good one
Common ways of saying Good Evening in French
Saying ‘good evening’ in French could be tricky since there are many expressions that, at first glance, could seem to mean ‘good evening’. Even though there are all used during the night, the context in which they are used is a lot different. Below, we have listed the three ways of saying ‘good evening’ in French and their meaning.
Bonsoir
It is the French word for ‘good evening’ composing of the word ‘bon’ meaning good and ‘soir’ meaning evening. When someone enters any place, this is used as a greeting. Suppose when one enters a restaurant or any function. It is generally used at the beginning of the sentence. Let us see some examples in French and their translation in English.
| In French | In English |
| Bonsoir, est-ce que vous avez réservé une table? | Good evening, have you reserved a table? |
| Bonsoir messieurs et dames! | Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! |
Bonne soirée
This term can be translated accurately with ‘have a good evening.’ It is pretty similar to ‘bonsoir’. This is because ‘bonne’ is the feminine version of ‘bon’ (good), and ‘soiree’ is the feminine version of ‘soir’ (evening). However, the context and meaning are both quite different.
One uses ‘bonne soiree’ when they are leaving a place, wishing other people a good (rest of the) evening. Let us see some sentences where ‘bonne soiree’ is being used and their English translation.
| In French | In English |
| Bonne soirée, on se voit demain!
|
Have a good evening; I’ll see you tomorrow! |
| J’espère que tu passes une bonne soirée. | I hope you have a good evening. |
Bonne nuit
When one says ‘bonne nuit’, one wishes an individual to sleep well. The phrase literally translated means ‘good night’. However, make sure to use it properly since it is used only when a person is headed straight to bed.
| In French | In English |
| Bonne nuit, éteins la lumière. | Good night, turn off the light. |
| Je te souhaite une très bonne nuit. | I wish you a very good night. |
Common ways of saying Good Evening in Spanish
Unlike French, there is only one way of saying ‘good evening’ in Spanish. It is ‘Buenas Noches. This phrase also implies good night so when using the phrase, make sure that you are careful. ‘Buenas Noches is always used during greeting but not during parting.
Common ways of saying Good Evening in Japanese
Whether one is visiting Japan or simply learning a new language, knowing how to write and speak simple greetings is an excellent way of starting communication in any language. In Japanese, ‘good evening’ is pronounced as ‘Konbanwa’.
Conclusion
Greeting someone in a particular language is the first and the essential thing in a language. When you run into any of your acquaintances or friends, greeting them is necessary. In the writing above, we have listed the varies of saying ‘good evening.’