How to Say Good Morning in Spanish: 16 Morning Greetings & Phrases

The Short Answer

The most common way to say good morning in Spanish is Buenos días (BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs). It works in every Spanish-speaking country, in both formal and casual settings, and is appropriate from sunrise until roughly noon, or even later in Spain.

With approximately 559 million speakers worldwide according to Ethnologue's 2024 data, Spanish stretches across 21 countries and four continents. Morning routines, schedules, and greeting customs vary dramatically from Madrid to Mexico City to Buenos Aires, and the way people say good morning reflects those differences.

"Spanish morning greetings encode far more social information than their English equivalents. The choice between 'Buenos días' and '¿Cómo amaneciste?' signals the depth of the relationship, while regional variants like 'Buen día' immediately mark geographic origin."

(Francisco Moreno Fernández, Variedades de la lengua española, Routledge, 2020)

This guide covers 16 essential morning greetings and time-of-day expressions in Spanish. Each one includes pronunciation, formality level, an example sentence, and cultural context so you know exactly when and where to use it.

Quick Reference: Spanish Morning Greetings at a Glance

The Essential Morning Greeting

This is the greeting you will use most. It is universal, works in every register, and is the first thing most Spanish learners should master for morning interactions.

Buenos días

Buenos días is the foundation of every morning interaction in Spanish. Notice the plural: it is literally "good days," not "good day." The Real Academia Española (RAE) notes that this plural form has been standard since at least the 16th century, reflecting the old custom of wishing someone multiple good days ahead.

The timing for when Buenos días ends and Buenas tardes begins is one of the biggest regional differences in daily Spanish. In most of Latin America, the switch happens around noon. In Spain, according to the CIS (Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas), the average lunch time is 2:15 PM, which pushes the Buenos días window well past what most English speakers would expect.

Regional Variations

Spanish-speaking countries do not all say good morning the same way. These variations immediately signal where a speaker is from.

Buen día

If you hear Buen día instead of Buenos días, you are likely speaking with someone from the Southern Cone: Argentina, Uruguay, or Paraguay. The RAE recognizes both forms as correct. In Argentina especially, Buen día is far more common than the plural form in everyday conversation.

The difference also carries a subtle tonal quality. Buen día sounds slightly more modern and concise, while Buenos días can feel more traditional or ceremonious in countries where both forms coexist.

¡Buenas!

This is the greeting that textbooks rarely teach but native speakers use constantly. By dropping días, tardes, or noches, you sidestep the guesswork about which time-of-day greeting is appropriate. Walking into a café at that awkward 11:45 AM moment? ¡Buenas! covers you perfectly.

Casual Morning Greetings

These expressions go beyond a simple good morning. They show familiarity, warmth, and genuine interest in how someone's day is starting.

¿Qué tal?

¿Qué tal? is the perfect complement to Buenos días. The combination Buenos días, ¿qué tal? flows naturally and is probably the most common morning greeting sequence in the entire Spanish-speaking world. You can extend it with a topic: ¿Qué tal la mañana? (How's the morning going?) or ¿Qué tal el café? (How's the coffee?).

¿Cómo amaneciste?

This is one of the most beautiful morning expressions in Spanish. The verb amanecer means "to dawn," so you are literally asking "How did you dawn?" It implies that you care about the quality of someone's night and how they feel this morning. You will hear it most often between couples, parents and children, and close friends.

The formal version, ¿Cómo amaneció? (using usted), exists but is less common. In Mexico and Central America, ¿Cómo amaneciste? is an everyday greeting even among coworkers who are friendly with each other.

¿Cómo dormiste?

While ¿Cómo amaneciste? is poetic, ¿Cómo dormiste? is direct. It specifically asks about sleep quality and is the phrase you would use with a family member at the breakfast table or a partner first thing in the morning. The standard responses are Bien, gracias (Well, thanks) or Mal, no pegué ojo (Badly, I didn't sleep a wink).

¡Arriba!

¡Arriba! is not a greeting you would use with a stranger; it is a wake-up call. Parents use it with children, roommates use it with each other, and drill sergeants use it with recruits. The doubling ¡Arriba, arriba! adds urgency and playfulness. You may also hear ¡Arriba y afuera! (Up and out!) for extra motivation.

Morning Greetings for Groups and Work

Starting the day at the office, in a classroom, or at a meeting requires greetings that address everyone present.

Buenos días a todos

In Spanish workplaces, greeting everyone when you arrive is not optional; it is expected. According to the Instituto Cervantes, greeting customs in the professional sphere remain noticeably more formal in Spanish-speaking countries than in many English-speaking workplaces. Walking into an office without saying Buenos días is considered discourteous.

In meetings, Buenos días a todos is the standard opener. Some speakers use Buenos días a todas y todos to explicitly include both genders, while others opt for the traditional a todos as a gender-neutral collective. In casual office settings, a simple Buenos días as you walk past desks is sufficient. No need to add a todos unless you are addressing a group directly.

Buenos días, ¿en qué puedo ayudarle?

This is the greeting you will hear from hotel receptionists, bank tellers, shop assistants, and customer service representatives across the Spanish-speaking world. The formal le (instead of te) signals professionalism and respect. If you are working in a customer-facing role, this phrase is essential.

Un placer, buenos días

This combination elevates a simple Buenos días into a formal introduction. You will encounter it in professional settings where first impressions matter: doctor's offices, law firms, business meetings, and formal events. It sets an immediate tone of professionalism and courtesy.

Regional Morning Expressions

Morning culture varies widely across the Spanish-speaking world. These expressions reveal those differences.

¿Qué onda?

While ¿Qué onda? is not exclusively a morning greeting, it is one of the most common ways young Mexicans greet each other in the morning. Arriving at school or a casual workplace, you will hear ¿Qué onda? as frequently as Buenos días. Mexican films and TV shows are full of it. Check out our guide to the best movies for learning Spanish to hear it in action.

Time-of-Day Greetings Beyond Morning

Understanding the full set of time-based greetings helps you know exactly when Buenos días ends and what comes next.

Buenas tardes

Notice the grammatical shift from buenos (masculine, matching días) to buenas (feminine, matching tardes). This gender agreement is important and one of the first grammar rules morning greetings teach you about Spanish. The tardes window is the longest of the three, from noon until sunset, which in Spanish summers can be as late as 10 PM.

Buenas noches

This is the one that confuses English speakers most. In English, "good night" is only a farewell. In Spanish, Buenas noches works as both "good evening" (when arriving somewhere after dark) and "good night" (when leaving or going to bed). The context makes the meaning clear.

Morning Compliments and Small Talk

Spanish morning conversations often include warm compliments and observations about the day. These phrases help you go beyond the basic greeting.

Te ves muy bien hoy

Morning compliments are more common in Spanish-speaking cultures than in many English-speaking ones. Telling a coworker Te ves muy bien hoy is a natural extension of the morning greeting, not an unusual statement. The formal version is Se ve muy bien hoy (using usted).

Bonita mañana, ¿no?

Weather-related morning small talk is universal, and Spanish is no exception. Bonita mañana is the standard way to comment on a pleasant morning. Variations include Linda mañana and Hermosa mañana, all meaning roughly the same thing.

¡Qué hermoso día!

This exclamation works as both a genuine weather observation and a morning conversation starter. The ¡Qué + adjective! structure is one of the most useful patterns in Spanish for expressing enthusiasm. You will hear it constantly in morning conversations, especially in countries with consistently good weather.

How to Respond to Morning Greetings

Knowing the right response is just as important as the greeting itself. Here is your complete reference.

Morning Customs Across the Spanish-Speaking World

Morning greetings do not exist in a vacuum. Understanding the cultural context behind them makes your Spanish sound natural rather than textbook-correct.

Spain: Mornings start slowly. A typical Spanish breakfast is a café con leche with toast (tostada) or a pastry at a local bar. The morning greeting window extends late because everything runs on a later schedule. In offices, a brief Buenos días to each colleague is standard etiquette.

Mexico: Breakfast is a substantial affair: eggs, beans, tortillas, salsa, and sometimes chilaquiles or tamales. Morning greetings often include asking whether someone has eaten: ¿Ya desayunaste? A café de olla (clay pot coffee with cinnamon and piloncillo) is a traditional morning drink.

Argentina: The morning ritual revolves around mate. Sharing mate with family or coworkers is both a greeting ritual and a bonding activity. Buen día (singular) is preferred over Buenos días, and the morning pace in Buenos Aires is brisk compared to other Latin American capitals.

Colombia: Colombians are known for their warmth in greetings. Morning exchanges tend to be longer, often including ¿Cómo amaneció? and genuine follow-up questions. Coffee culture is central, and a tinto (small black coffee) is offered almost immediately in any social or business interaction.

Practice With Real Spanish Content

Reading about morning greetings is a helpful start, but hearing them in natural conversation is what makes them stick. Spanish-language films and shows are an excellent resource for this. You will hear Buenos días in virtually every domestic scene, and regional variations like Buen día and ¿Cómo amaneciste? become immediately obvious in context.

Wordy lets you watch Spanish movies and shows with interactive subtitles. When you hear a morning greeting you do not recognize, tap it to see the meaning, pronunciation, and cultural context instantly. Instead of memorizing phrases from a list, you absorb them from real conversations with authentic intonation.

For more Spanish content, explore our blog for guides on everything from movies for learning Spanish to regional expressions. You can also visit our Spanish learning page to start practicing morning greetings in context today.