Good Afternoon in Spanish: 20 Ways to Say Buenas Tardes (Formal, Informal & Slang Phrases)

While the world-famous Spanish “buenas tardes” is great, exploring how to say good afternoon in Spanish might open up your conversational skills in a new language.

This guide covers 20 different ways to wish someone a good rest or a good afternoon in Spanish:

Here’s a quick, short video from Spring Spanish (a project I co-founded) to practice all the Spanish greetings you know – good afternoon in Spanish among them, too:

In this blog post, you’ll learn how to greet a close friend, a co-worker, or service worker – no matter the formality!

Get ready to “saludar la tarde!” like a pro with these essential chunks in Spanish!

1. Formal ways to say good afternoon in Spanish – Buenas tardes

This formal greeting addresses the time of day and shows respect. This makes it suitable for professional settings or when speaking to someone you don’t know well. You’ll often hear “buenas tardes” at banks, offices, or when being welcomed at a hotel or restaurant after lunchtime:

The first phrase, “buenas tardes”, is the most straightforward and common way to say good afternoon in Spanish. The second, “buenas tardes tenga usted”, is extremely formal. The third, “felices tardes”, wishes someone happy afternoons in the plural form.

Here’s how it could look like in a real-life conversation:

Barista: Buenas tardes, bienvenido. ¿Qué le puedo ofrecer? [Good afternoon, welcome. What can I get for you?]
You: Buenas tardes. Me puede dar un café con leche, por favor. [Good afternoon. Can I get a cafe au lait, please.]
Barista: En un momento. Por cierto, linda tarde, ¿no? [One moment. By the way, lovely afternoon, isn’t it?]
You: Sí, felices tardes. [Yes, happy afternoons.]

2. Informal ways to say good afternoon in Spanish – Buenas

While “buenas tardes” is always appropriate, you may want some more casual ways to greet friends or acquaintances in the afternoon. These informal Spanish phrases are good for making small talk.

Just saying “buenas” on its own is a very casual shortened version of “buenas tardes”. The next three examples ask some variation of “what’s up?” They’re common greetings or follow-up questions after greetings used among friends and family.

Let’s imagine you’re meeting your friend:

You: ¡Oye Marta! ¿Todo bien? [Hey Marta! Everything good?]
Marta: ¡Buenas! Sí, aquí paseando al perro. ¿Qué hay de nuevo? [G’day! Yes, just walking the dog. What’s new?]
You: Nada, la misma rutina. Oye, ¿quieres tomar un café conmigo? [Nothing, the same routine. Hey, you want to grab a coffee with me?]
Marta: ¡Claro, vamos! [Sure, let’s go!]

3. Say good afternoon in Spanish – to a woman

In Spanish, certain words change depending on the gender of the person you’re addressing. Here are some polite afternoon greetings for women:

While “señora” and “señorita” are respectful, the other examples add a little bit of flirtatious element by complimenting her beauty. Use discretion with the last three phrases unless you know the woman well!

When talking to your female neighbour:

You: Buenas tardes, señora Ramírez. ¡Qué hermosa está hoy! [Good afternoon, Mrs. Ramirez. You look lovely today!]
Neighbor: Buenas tardes. Qué amable, muchas gracias. [Good afternoon. How kind, thank you very much.]

4. Say good afternoon in Spanish – to a man

Similarly, here are some ways to say good afternoon to a man in Spanish:

The first two use the respectful titles “señor” and “caballero”. The last two are more casual, with “amigo” meaning friend and “compadre” having a friendly, familiar sense like “buddy.”

And let’s see an imaginary barbecue:

You: ¡Buenas tardes, compadre! ¿Cómo estás? [Good afternoon, buddy! How’s it going?]
Friend: ¡Buenas! Todo bien por acá. [G’day! All good over here.]

5. Say good afternoon in Spanish with Spanish slang

Without learning some Spanish slang, your vocabulary won’t sound complete! These informal phrases are very common in Latin American countries like Mexico and Colombia:

The first two are slang variations of “what’s up?” used by younger people. The third is a very casual way to say “Hey, how’s it going?” The fourth asks “What’s new?” And the fifth, “buenas tardísimas,” is for greeting someone in the late afternoon or evening hours after 5 or 6 pm.

Let’s walk up to your friends house (at least, to practice Spanish sentences a little bit), and say good afternoon in Spanish:

Friend: ¡Epa! ¿Qué ondón, chavo? [Hey! What’s up, dude?]
You: ¡Qué tranza! Nada, pasando a saludar. [What’s up! Nothing, just coming to say hi.]
Friend: Buenas tardísimas. Pensé que ya no venías. [Good very late afternoon. I thought you weren’t coming.]

6. Practice Worksheet for good afternoon in Spanish and related phrases

Fill in the blanks with the correct Spanish term based on the context given.

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7. Learn Spanish words and phrases for afternoon greetings with Conversation Based Chunking

Learning how to say good afternoon goes beyond just memorizing a simple “good afternoon” phrase.

But rather than memorizing individual words, learning these expressions as conversational “chunks” makes them more natural and contextual.

If you click the button below, you’ll get access to our Spanish Conversation Based Chunking Starter Pack – it has an essential Spanish chunking list, my favorite resources to learn Spanish and even access to our Full Practice Worksheet Library.

What are you waiting for?