langula
Spanish
buenos días
BWEH-nohs DEE-ahsGood morning
One word, 26 languages
Good morning in 26 languages
English “good morning” is strict about timing – say it at 3pm and it sounds like a joke. Not every language below is so precise. French “bonjour” and Italian “buongiorno” are both labelled “good day” rather than morning-only, and Low German's “Moin” doesn't care what time it is at all. Below you can hear each greeting and check the sounds that catch English speakers out first.
One word, 26 languages
- صَبَاحُ الْخَيْرِsa-BAH-hool KHAIR/sˤaˈbaːħu lˈxajri/Arabic
- Guten MorgenGOO-ten MOR-gen/ˈɡuːtn̩ ˈmɔɐɡn̩/Austrian
- добро утроDOH-broh OO-troh/dobˈrɔ ˈutro/Bulgarian
- 早上好dzow-shahng how/tsɑʊ̯˧˥ ʂɑŋ xɑʊ̯˨˩˦/Chinese
- dobro jutroDOH-broh YOO-troh/ˈdobro ˈjutro/Croatian
- godmorgengoh-MOR-un/ɡoˈmɔːˀʌn/Danish
- goedemorgenKHOO-duh-MOR-khun/ɣudəˈmɔrɣən/Dutch
- good morning/ɡʊd ˈmɔːrnɪŋ/English
- huomentahoo-OH-men-tah/ˈhuomenta/Finnish
- bonjourbohn-ZHOOR/bɔ̃.ʒuʁ/French
- Guten MorgenGOO-ten MOR-gen/ˌɡuːtn̩ ˈmɔʁɡn̩/German
- καλημέραkah-lee-MEH-rah/kaliˈmera/Greek
- buongiornobwohn-JOR-noh/bwonˈdʒorno/Italian
- おはようございますoh-hah-yoh goh-zai-mahs/ohajoː ɡozaimasɨ/Japanese
- 좋은 아침joh-eun ah-cheem/tɕo.ɯn a.tɕʰim/Korean
- Moinmoyn/mɔɪn/Low German
- god morgengoo MOR-en/ˈɡuː ˈmɔrɡən/Norwegian
- dzień dobry ranojen DOH-brih RAH-noh/ˈdʑeɲ ˈdɔbrɨ ˈranɔ/Polish
- bom diabohn DEE-ah/ˈbõ ˈdiɐ/Portuguese
- bună dimineațaBOO-nuh dee-mee-NYAH-tsah/ˈbunə dimiˈneat͡sa/Romanian
- доброе утроDOH-broh-yeh OO-trah/ˈdobrəjə ˈutrə/Russian
- buenos díasBWEH-nohs DEE-ahs/ˈbwenos ˈdias/Spanish
- god morgongood MOR-ron/ɡuːd ˈmɔrɔn/Swedish
- صباح الخيرsa-BAH el-KHAIR/sˤˈbaːħ lˈxeːr/Syrian Arabic
- günaydıngew-nigh-DUHN/ɟynajˈdɯn/Turkish
- доброго ранкуDOH-broh-hoh RAHN-koo/ˈdɔbroɦo ˈrɑnku/Ukrainian
A greeting that clocks out at noon – or doesn't
French “bonjour” and Italian “buongiorno” both carry the plain meaning “good day”, so they stay in use well past breakfast, unlike English “good morning”, which sounds odd after about 11am. Low German pushes that idea furthest: “Moin” is the exact same word used for a general “hello”, valid from early morning to midnight.
Word order can shift too: Polish “dzień dobry rano” is literally built as “day good morning”, the reverse of the English pattern, while Bulgarian “добро утро” and Russian “доброе утро” both follow the familiar “good” + “morning” order English speakers will recognise instantly.
Consonants and pitches to listen for
Arabic “صباح الخير” carries a consonant written sˤ, made with the back of the tongue pulled down and back – tenser than a plain English “s”. The stress lands on “باح” and again on “خير”, so both halves of the phrase get their own emphasis rather than one overall stress.
Mandarin “早上好” opens with a rising pitch on “zǎo” and closes with a dip-then-rise on “hǎo”; the middle syllable stays level between them. Turkish “günaydın” stresses its final syllable, gün-ay-DIN, and its last vowel is the unrounded “ı” – flatten your lips rather than rounding them as you would for “oo”.
Where the timing rule breaks
The most common mistake is assuming every “good morning” is as time-bound as the English one. Switching away from French “bonjour” or Italian “buongiorno” the moment the clock passes noon isn't necessary – both stay perfectly natural into the afternoon.
The second slip is pronunciation: softening Arabic sˤ into an ordinary “s”, or putting the stress on the first syllable of Turkish “günaydın” instead of the last. Both changes are small, but they're exactly the kind of detail a native speaker notices immediately.
Short everyday dialogues
At breakfast in a hotel in Rome
- StaffBuongiorno! Caffè o tè?Good morning! Coffee or tea?
- YouBuongiorno, un caffè, grazie.Good morning, a coffee, please.
Passing a neighbour in Lisbon
- NeighbourBom dia! Tudo bem?Good morning! Everything okay?
- YouBom dia, tudo bem, obrigado.Good morning, all fine, thanks.
Arriving at the office in Kyiv
- ColleagueДоброго ранку! Як спалося?Good morning! How did you sleep?
- YouДоброго ранку, добре, дякую.Good morning, well, thank you.
Greeting a shopkeeper in Osaka
- Shopkeeperおはようございます！早いですね。Good morning! You're up early.
- Youおはようございます、いつもの時間です。Good morning, it's my usual time.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you say good morning in Italian?
- “Buongiorno” – and unlike the English phrase, it works fine into the afternoon too.
- Is “Moin” a morning-only greeting?
- No, in Low German “Moin” is used at any hour, not just the morning.
- How do you pronounce “günaydın” in Turkish?
- Stress the last syllable: gün-ay-DIN, with a flat, unrounded final vowel.