langula
Spanish
buenas noches
BWEH-nahs NOH-chehsGood night
One word, 26 languages
Good night in 26 languages
Most of the 26 languages below build “good night” the way English does, from “good” plus “night”. A few break that pattern entirely. Dutch “welterusten” isn't built that way at all, even though Dutch “good morning” and “good evening” both are, and Portuguese simply reuses its “good evening” phrase, “boa noite”, rather than having a separate word. Below you can hear each version and check the sounds that trip up English speakers first.
One word, 26 languages
- تُصْبِحُ عَلَى خَيْرٍTOOS-bee-hoo ah-lah KHAIR/ˈtusˤbiħu ʕalaː ˈxajrin/Arabic
- Gute NachtGOO-teh nakht/ˈɡuːtə naxt/Austrian
- лека нощLEH-kah nosht/ˈlɛkɐ nɔʃt/Bulgarian
- 晚安wahn ahn/wan˨˩˦ an˥/Chinese
- laku noćLAH-koo noch/ˈlaku ˈnotɕ/Croatian
- godnatgoh-NAT/ɡoˈnad/Danish
- welterustenVEL-tuh-RUS-ten/ʋɛltəˈrʏstən/Dutch
- good night/ɡʊd ˈnaɪt/English
- hyvää yötäHEW-vaa YUR-tah/ˈhyʋæː ˈyøtæ/Finnish
- bonne nuitbun NWEE/bɔn nɥi/French
- Gute NachtGOO-teh nakht/ˌɡuːtə ˈnaxt/German
- καληνύχταkah-lee-NEEKH-tah/kaliˈnixta/Greek
- buonanottebwoh-nah-NOT-teh/bwɔnaˈnɔtte/Italian
- おやすみなさいoh-yah-soo-mee-nah-sai/ojasɨminasai/Japanese
- 안녕히 주무세요ahn-nyawng-hee joo-moo-seh-yoh/an.njʌŋ.hi tɕu.mu.se.jo/Korean
- Gode NachtGOH-deh nakht/ˈɡoːdə ˈnɑxt/Low German
- god nattgoo naht/ˈɡuː ˈnɑt/Norwegian
- dobranocdoh-BRAH-nots/dɔˈbranɔts/Polish
- boa noiteBOH-ah NOY-teh/ˈboɐ ˈnojtɨ/Portuguese
- noapte bunăNWAHP-teh BOO-nuh/ˈno̯apte ˈbunə/Romanian
- спокойной ночиspah-KOY-noy NOH-chee/spɐˈkojnəj ˈnotɕɪ/Russian
- buenas nochesBWEH-nahs NOH-chehs/ˈbwenas ˈnotʃes/Spanish
- god nattgood naht/ɡuːd ˈnat/Swedish
- تصبح على خيرTEZ-bah ah-lah KHAIR/ˈtisˤbaħ ʕa xeːr/Syrian Arabic
- iyi geceleree-YEE geh-jeh-LEHR/ˈiji ɟedʒeˈleɾ/Turkish
- на добранічnah doh-BRAH-neech/nɑ dobˈrɑnitʃ/Ukrainian
The pattern that mostly holds – and where it breaks
Dutch is the exception worth noting: “goedemorgen” and “goedenavond” both follow the expected “good” + time-of-day shape, but “good night” switches to “welterusten”, a completely different word with no “good” in it at all. Portuguese doesn't bother with a separate word either – its good night entry is literally “boa noite”, the same phrase used for good evening.
Romanian “noapte bună” and Italian “buonanotte” both keep the familiar pattern, just in a different word order or fused into one word. Russian “спокойной ночи” breaks the mould too, built around “calm” rather than “good”, so don't expect “good” to appear in it at all.
Consonants that need extra care
Arabic “تصبح على خير” packs in two throat sounds in close succession: ħ in “tusˤbiħu” and ʕ in “ʕalaː”, both made further back than any English consonant – the second with the throat actually vibrating. French “bonne nuit” carries a rounded glide (ɥ) in “nuit”, between a French “u” and a “w”, a sound with no real English equivalent.
Mandarin “晚安” pairs a dipping-then-rising pitch on “wǎn” with a flat high pitch on “ān” – two different shapes back to back. Turkish “iyi geceler” stresses its first syllable and then its last, İ-yi and gece-LER, so listen for two separate peaks, not one.
Where the wrong pattern shows
The most common mistake is assuming every language mirrors English's “good” + “night” structure. Looking for that shape in Dutch leads you away from “welterusten”, and hunting for a distinct Portuguese night phrase misses that “boa noite” already does double duty.
The second slip is pronunciation: reducing Arabic's two throat consonants to a plain English “h”, or collapsing French “bonne nuit” into a simple “w” instead of the rounder glide. Both flatten sounds that carry real weight in the word.
Short everyday dialogues
Putting a child to bed in Amsterdam
- ParentWelterusten, slaap lekker.Good night, sleep well.
- ChildWelterusten, mama.Good night, mom.
Leaving a family dinner in Bucharest
- HostNoapte bună, drum bun!Good night, safe travels!
- YouNoapte bună, mulțumesc.Good night, thank you.
Ending a stay with a host family in Moscow
- HostСпокойной ночи, до завтра.Good night, see you tomorrow.
- YouСпокойной ночи, спасибо.Good night, thank you.
Saying goodnight after a homestay dinner in Tokyo
- Hostおやすみなさい、また明日。Good night, see you tomorrow.
- Youおやすみなさい、ありがとう。Good night, thank you.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you say good night in Dutch?
- “Welterusten” – unlike Dutch good morning and good evening, it doesn't use the word “goede” (good).
- Does Portuguese have a separate word for good night?
- No, it reuses “boa noite”, the same phrase used for good evening.
- How do you pronounce “おやすみなさい” in Japanese?
- Oyasuminasai – say it evenly, with no single syllable stressed harder than the rest.