How to say goodnight in Spanish

Saying “good night” in Spanish is as easy as “buenas noches”. Noches is “nights”, and since it is a feminine noun, you have to say “buenas” and not “buenos”. This is one of the easiest ways for a beginner to wish somebody a good night in Spanish, because there are no verbs and thus no conjugation involved. If you want to get fancy, you can say “que tengas buenas noches”, which used the subjunctive conjugation of the verb “tener”, which is quite a bit trickier. But “buenas noches” will also do just fine, and this is so common that nobody will think any less of you for saying it simply.

This not only means the kind of “good night” that you might say to a child after tucking them in, but also the kind of “good evening” that you might say as a greeting when you encounter a friend or acquaintance later in the day. It can also be used for almost anyone you encounter, so you don’t have to worry about changing it up for formal/informal (usted/tu) or anything. Feel free to say it to friends or family or coworkers or acquaintances or bosses or virtual strangers.

Strangely enough, you still would say buenas tardes (“good afternoon”) to someone until even 7 or 8pm. This is probably due to a pronounced night owl culture in many Spanish speaking countries. It’s not uncommon for young people to have a late dinner, leave the house around midnight to go to the bar, and hit the clubs around 2-3am. When I was studying abroad in Spain, I would often see people coming home from the clubs at 6 or 7 am, when I was on my way to class or leaving to catch a flight. (Occasionally, I was the person dragging myself home). Additionally, due to the siesta, or nap taken in the middle of the day, the work day itself can last from 8 in the morning to almost 8 at night. So, the concept of “afternoon” is a little bit different in Spanish than how we think of it in English.

“I’m hitting the hay” or “I’m hitting the sack” are English colloquialisms that don’t exactly have any literal Spanish equivalent.

While “buenas noches” is unarguably the #1 most common way to say goodnight in Spanish (and in almost every dialect!), we have learned that Spanish is a very expressive language with many different ways to say that you mean. Here are some more ways to say “goodnight” in Spanish:

25 ways to say "goodnight" in Spanish

Now you know how to say “Goodnight, sweet dreams” in Spanish! You may also be interested in how to say “I Love You” in Spanish or  how to say “good luck” in Spanish. Plus check out the best apps for learning Spanish.