The Most Common Ways to Say ‘Have a Good Day’ in Spanish (2024)

Friendliness is a universal virtue. Although the phrase “have a good day” in Spanish has become a bit of a cliche, it is still useful to know how to say. It’s always meaningful when said in a heartfelt way in any language.

You could argue that the concept of wishing someone a “nice day” isn’t really part of Latin American culture. In that case, que tenga un buen día would be considered an Anglicism—a word or expression that has been directly translated from English into another language without taking the other language into account.

Do you want to speak authentic Spanish with Latin American certified teachers?
Sign up for your free trial class with Homeschool Spanish Academy. Takes less than 5 minutes! ➡️

It’s exciting to understand that lots of unique (yet similar) sayings exist in Spain and Latin America, the most popular being ¡Que te vaya bien! ( meaning “hope things go well” or “have a good one”).

Read on to learn more about the essential “have a good day” phrases and practice for your upcoming conversations in Spanish!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• How do you say ‘have a good day’ in Spanish?
• Greetings
• Replies
• Transition Words
• Have a Conversation in Spanish

How Do You Say ‘Have a Good Day’ in Spanish?

The literal translation of that friendly, frequently used phrase in the U.S. is ¡que tengas un buen día! To break it down grammatically, let’s look at each part of the phrase separately.

Que

Que is used at the beginning, because this phrase is actually a shortened version of “I hope you have a good day,” or Espero que tengas un buen día.

tenga / tengas

Tenga is the subjunctive form of the verb tener being used as an imperative. Learn more about these types of commands here.

un buen día

Un buen día is the proper way to say “a good day” here, rather than un día bueno, because bueno/a—like mejor and nuevo/a—is an exception to the rule in Spanish that requires the adjective to be placed after the noun (as in la casa verde – the green house)

Which ‘You’ to Use

“You” is translated into Spanish in a variety of ways. Use this table to know which form to use in different situations.

Practice LIVE, 1-on-1 with a certified Spanish teacher!
Be better, be bilingual. Sign up for your free trial class. ➡️

In addition to “have a good day” in Spanish, check out these other parting words and phrases you’ll want to know in order to complete a basic conversation en español.

• Adiós – Goodbye
• ¡Hasta luego! – See you later.
• ¡Hasta pronto! – See you soon.
• ¡Feliz día / tarde / noche! – Happy day / afternoon / night
• Que lo pase(s) bien / bonito – Have a good one.
• Chao – Bye
• Que descanses. – Rest up.
• Que este(s) bien. – Be good
• Que disfrute(s) – Enjoy.

Greetings

Greetings are incredibly important in Spanish. In Latin American culture, greeting another person is a way of showing respect.

• Buenos días – good morning
• Buenas tardes – good afternoon
• Buenas noches – good evening
• (Muy) buenas – a shortened version of the above three greetings, suitable anytime
• Hola – hello

Follow-up Questions

It’s customary to ask a follow up question after a greeting. Use one of the following.

• ¿Cómo estás? – How are you? (used with friends or family)
• ¿Cómo está usted? – How are you (formal)?
• ¿Cómo te va? – How’s it going?
• ¿Cómo le va a usted? – How’s it going?
• ¿Cómo has ido? – How’ve you been?
• ¿Qué tal? – What’s up?
• ¿Qué pasa? – What’s happening?
• ¿Qué haces? – What are you doing?
• ¿Y tú? – And you?

Practice With One of Our Native, Spanish-Speaking Certified Teachers!

See how to sign up for your FREE trial Spanish class where you’ll gain the confidence to speak fluently with others.

Replies

• Bien, gracias. – Well, thanks.
• Muy bien. – Very well.
• Como siempre. – As always.
• Un poco cansado/a. – A little tired.
• Estoy enfermo/a. – I’m sick.
• Más o menos. – Okay.
• Mal. – Bad.
• Todo bien. – All good.
• Nada. – Nothing.

Transitions and Filler Words

Learn these Spanish transition words, or muletillas, so that you can sprinkle them into your sentences and conversations!

Bueno – well

Bueno, tengo que ir.
Well, I have to go.

Mira – look / look here

¡Mira, si no limpias eso voy a enojarme!
Look, if you don’t clean that, I’m going to be mad!

Pues – well

Pues, no sé.
Well, I don’t know.

La verdad es que – the truth is / actually

La verdad es que no me siento bien.
Actually, I don’t feel well.

Entonces – then

Entonces ¿no vienes?
Then, you’re not coming?

O sea – in other words / that is to say / I mean

Escribir es mi vocación, o sea es mi llamado.
Writing is my vocation; in other words, it’s my calling.

Luego – later

Luego te digo.
I’ll tell you later.

Actualmente – currently

Actualmente hace buen tiempo, pero podría llover más tarde.
Currently the weather is nice, but it may rain later.

Por lo menos – at least

¡Por lo menos pregúntale su nombre!
At least ask her name.

Así que – so

¿Así que vienes?
So, you’re coming then?

Aunque – although / even though

Aunque me dicen que estoy flaca, voy a hacer una dieta.
Although they tell me I’m thin, I’m going on a diet.

Además – moreover / besides / also

Además, voy a mudarme de aquí.
Besides, I’m moving away from here.

Ni modo – no way

Ni modo que yo pueda ir contigo, lo siento.
No way can I go with you, sorry.

Menos mal – good thing

Menos mal que no olvidaste.
Good thing you didn’t forget.

Lo bueno – the good thing

Lo bueno es que vamos de vacaciones.
The good thing is that we’re going on vacation.

Lo malo – the bad thing

Lo malo es que se nos perdieron las maletas.
The bad thing is they lost our suitcases.

A ver – let’s see

A ver si mi paquete ha llegado.
Let’s see if my package has arrived.

Con razón – no wonder / little wonder that

Con razón tu helado se derritió, ¡lo dejaste al sol!
No wonder your ice cream melted, you left it in the sun!

Por eso – because / that’s why

No me gusta ese lugar. Por eso no quiero ir.
I don’t like that place. That’s why I don’t want to go.

Let’s Have a Conversation

Do you want to try out wishing a good day in Spanish to a native speaker?

Sign up for a free trial class where one of our certified teachers from Guatemala will gladly have a conversation with you! Our professional, friendly teachers would love to help you start out on the path of learning Spanish and move beyond these basic Spanish phrases.

Join one of the 40,000 classes that we teach each month and you can experience results like these

“This is the best way for your kid to learn Spanish. It’s one-on-one, taught by native Spanish speakers, and uses a curriculum.”

– Sharon K, Parent of 3

“It’s a great way to learn Spanish, from native Spanish speakers in a 1-on-1 environment. It’s been fairly easy to schedule classes around my daughter’s other classes. The best value for us has been ordering multiple classes at a time. All the instructors have been great!”

– Cindy D, Parent of 3

“HSA offers very affordable, quality, one on one classes with a native speaker. My son has greatly benefited from taking classes. We have seen his confidence increase as well as his pronunciation improve, because he learns from a native Spanish speaker. HSA has quick, personal customer service. Our family has been very pleased with our experience so far!”

– Erica P. Parent of 1

Want more amazing Spanish resources for free? Check out these posts!

• Talk About Hurricanes And The Weather in Spanish
• Spanish Words with Multiple Meanings in Latin America
• World Mental Health Day: A Vocabulary Guide for Mental Health Workers
• Expressing Appreciation in Spanish on World Teachers’ Day
• Art and Painting Vocabulary in Spanish
• Fall En Español: Exploring Autumn Activities for Kids
• Words You Need to Know: Common Spanish Vocabulary
• Blueprints en Español: Construction Spanish Made Simple