In English, there are countless expressions to greet people, and also to say goodbye. Since there are so many, it’s difficult to tell the difference between when you should say them. Good evening and good night are examples of greeting and goodbye terms, but what’s the difference?
Good evening is used as a greeting. You’ll hear it said during the evening hours, which start between 5-6 p.m. Waiters, colleagues, and strangers will use good evening as a way of saying hello. Good night, on the other hand, is used to say goodbye since it’s used later at night. By saying good night, you’re implying you’re going to bed.
The rest of this article will cover when to use good evening, and when to use good night.
When To Use Good Evening
Good evening is used as a greeting word, so if you’re meeting with someone, you can say “good evening”. This tends to be said around people you don’t know too well. For example, if you go out to a restaurant during evening hours, you’ll hear the staff saying good evening to you.
Evening hours are the hours when it’s getting dark, but it isn’t quite night. Most commonly, these hours are between 5 and 8 p.m.
With close friends or people you know well, good evening is still fine to use, but since it’s considered a polite greeting, you’ll see it used more in settings where you aren’t acquainted with everyone involved. If you ever want to greet someone in a polite way during the evening, say “good evening”.
It’s considered a more formal greeting as opposed to “hi” or “what’s up”. Those two greetings are informal and are the type of greetings you’d use with friends.
When To Use Good Night
Good night, more commonly spelled goodnight, is an expression you can say to say goodbye at night. The reason why is because goodnight implies you’re going to bed. When someone is going to bed, they’re going to say “goodnight” because they’re hoping you have a good night, and they’re also saying goodbye.
This is not a formal or informal word, and it can be used in a variety of settings. When you’re with friends or acquaintances, you can say “goodnight”. If you’re in a more professional environment, like you’re talking to your boss, it’s better to go with “I hope you have a good night”. This sounds more formal.