"good morning, hello" in seven languages

Meaninggood morning, hello

Spanish

buenos días

/ˈbwenos ˈdias/

other source · Latin BONŌS DIĒS 'good days'

French

bonjour

/bɔ̃ʒuʁ/

inherited

Used all day long, not only in the morning.

Italian

buongiorno

/bwɔnˈdʒorno/

inherited

Portuguese

bom dia

/bõ ˈdʒiɐ/

other source · Latin BONUM DIEM 'good day'

Romanian

bună dimineața

/ˈbunə dimiˈne̯atsa/

other source · Romanian bună 'good' + dimineața 'the morning'

Catalan

bon dia

/bɔn ˈdiə/

other source · Latin BONUM DIEM 'good day'

English

good morning

/gʊd ˈmɔɹnɪŋ/

native English · Old English gōd + morgen

English → Italiangood morning, hellobuongiornoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: journal, journey, diurnal; bonus.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

BONUM DIURNUM‘good + 'of the day' (DIURNUS 'daily')’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

French and Italian say 'good daily': DIURNUM ('of the day') pushed out DIĒS, which survives in Spanish día and in Italian dì (lunedì). Spanish greets in the plural: 'good days'.

English relatives: journal, journey, diurnal; bonus

Learn it

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In a sentence

esBuenos días, señora.
frBonjour, madame.
itBuongiorno, signora.
ptBom dia, senhora.
roBună dimineața, doamnă.
caBon dia, senyora.
enGood morning, madam.

More in Greetings & courtesy

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