# Good Morning/Good Night in other languages **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 18, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777 "2015-12-18T15:58:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stana\_Claus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stana_claus/32/13874_2.png) [@Stana\_Claus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stana_Claus)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/1 "2015-12-18T15:58:56Z")
There is someone I text daily with a message saying “Good morning” or something to that effect when I get up, and again with a “Good night” message before I go to sleep. I would like to add some variety by doing so in other languages but could use some help with the typical phrasing. I’m looking for casual vernacular that would be used between friends and family members more than strictly formal grammar. And other phrases equivalent to “sweet dreams” or “sleep well/sleep tight” would be greatly appreciated as well. So, how do you Dopers around the world wish your friends and loved ones a good morning and good night? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/2 "2015-12-18T16:18:48Z")
Spanish: full form, _Buenos días_ (morning) / _Buenas noches_ / _Hasta mañana_ (good night / see you tomorrow) abbreviated forms _Buenas_, _Nas_ or _Naaaaas_ (works at any hour, both as greeting and farewell), _Ta mañana_ other familiar forms: _vamos a la cama_ (lit. we’re going to bed; said mostly by people at or below middle age as it comes from an [old cartoon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-P_fJZSOFA) sending kids to bed) _que sueñes con los angelitos_ lit “dream about the little angels”, sweet dreams _que duermas bien_, may you sleep well Catalan: full form, _Bon día_ (morning) / _Bona nit_ / _Fins demà_ (good night / see you tomorrow) _que dormis bé_, may you sleep well; _dorm bé_, sleep well Basque: I don’t know the time-specific forms, but the general hello is _kaixo_ and the general farewell is _agur_ ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/3 "2015-12-18T16:37:17Z")
Indonesian: Good morning: _Selamat pagi_ Good night/sleep: \* Selamat tidur\* ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/4 "2015-12-18T16:44:59Z")
Guten Morgan and Gute Nacht in German Dzien Dobry and Dobranoc in Polish ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/5 "2015-12-18T17:51:26Z")
Portuguese: Bom dia (bom is pronounced with a long ‘o’, and the ‘m’ is sort of swallowed and becomes more like the ‘ng’ sound at the end of a word). Good night or evening is _boa noite_, sort of like ‘bwa noyt’. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/6 "2015-12-18T19:08:34Z")
Bon soir. French goodnight. Bon matin. French good morning. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/7 "2015-12-18T19:25:21Z")
Japanese: Good morning: おはようございます ‎(ohayō gozaimasu). or less formal おはよう ‎(ohayō). Good night: おやすみなさい ‎(oyasumi nasai), or less formal おやすみ ‎(oyasumi). ---
**Author:** ![Stana\_Claus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stana_claus/32/13874_2.png) [@Stana\_Claus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stana_Claus)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/8 "2015-12-18T19:26:33Z")
Thanks everyone so far, that’s a good start. Please keep them coming. SC ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/9 "2015-12-18T19:52:53Z")
Welsh: _bore da_ (good morning), _nos da_ (good night) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/10 "2015-12-18T22:49:03Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > Bon matin. French good morning. Usually followed by “_Ca va?_” (sah vah) among friends, meaning “How’s it going?” In fact, there is often a whole ritual of asking after one’s family, etc. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/11 "2015-12-18T22:57:09Z")
In Fulfulde, greetings are generally in question form. Good morning would be " Fajiri Jam?", with the response being “Jam” (Good, Peaceful). Good night is “Jam Walla”. ---
**Author:** ![Moris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moris/32/2846_2.png) [@Moris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moris)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/12 "2015-12-18T23:40:01Z")
Croatian: Dobro jutro. (good morning) Dobra večer (good evening) Serbian: Dobro jutro. Dobro veče. Good night is _laku noć_ or _laka noć_ in both. (_j_ as _y_ in _yacht_ ; \*č \*and _ć_ as _ch_ in _church_) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/13 "2015-12-19T01:11:42Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > Guten **Morgan** and Gute Nacht in German > > Dzien Dobry and Dobranoc in Polish [Minor nitpick]Morg **e** n[Minor nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/14 "2015-12-19T02:36:30Z")
Hebrew: Good morning – בוקר טוב – BOker tov Good evening – ערב טוב – ERev tov Good night – לילה טוב – Laila tov ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/15 "2015-12-19T06:30:45Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > Bon soir. French goodnight. > > Bon matin. French good morning. The French don’t really say _bon matin_, but rather _bonjour_. They don’t say _bonsoir_ as “goodbye” either. It means the same thing as _bonjour_, except that you say it when it’s dark out (more or less). You can, though, say _bonne nuit_ to people if you or them are going to bed. ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/16 "2015-12-19T07:27:42Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > The French don’t really say _bon matin_, but rather _bonjour_. They don’t say _bonsoir_ as “goodbye” either. It means the same thing as _bonjour_, except that you say it when it’s dark out (more or less). You can, though, say _bonne nuit_ to people if you or them are going to bed. French Canadians also say _salut_ as hello and good bye. Pronounced sa-lu ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/17 "2015-12-19T08:42:29Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > … They don’t say _bonsoir_ as “goodbye” either. It means the same thing as _bonjour_, except that you say it when it’s dark out (more or less). Yes, “more or less”. I once said “bon jour” to a Quebecois friend in Edmonton in June, about 4 hours before sunset (which is close to midnight there at that time of year). He corrected me to “bon soir”, even though the Sun was definitely up. I responded, “c’est jour” (It’s day), and he laughingly agreed. Le soir commences at about 6 p.m., regardless of where the Sun is. ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/18 "2015-12-19T09:34:15Z")
In Finnish: good night = “hyvää yötä” (informal) good night = “öitä” good morning = “hyvää huomenta” (informal) mornin’ = “huomenta” sweet dreams = “kauniita unia” sleep well = “nuku hyvin” ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/19 "2015-12-22T03:33:18Z")
Chinese: Zao (good morning) Mingtian jian (see you tomorrow) Zai Jian (see you later, at another time) 88 (“ba ba”), (bye) (informal) Bye-Bye (bye) Hello (hello) The last two are English imports, obviously. I’m not sure if “ba ba” is an English import, or just one of those similar sounds that pervades a whole lot of languages. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777/20 "2015-12-22T03:45:48Z")
A good one in Thai is _ratree sawat_, which basically means “pleasant dreams.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-good-night-in-other-languages/740777.md?page=2)