Good afternoon

[0006] Good evening

🎲 How are you?
English Idioms
All Idioms

Explanation

  • A polite greeting used from the evening (around 5 or 6 PM) onwards.
  • Used upon meeting someone, *not* when leaving (that's Good night).

Origin

  • Completes the set of time-based greetings, derived from I wish you a good evening.
  • Standardized as part of formal etiquette.
  • Used to acknowledge the end of the workday and the beginning of the evening leisure or social time.

Synonyms & Related Expressions

  • Evening (Casual, rare)
  • Hello (Generic)
  • Hi / Hey (Informal)

Alternatives

Slang/Informal:

  • (Not many common slang alternatives specifically for 'Good evening')

Milder/Standard:

  • Hello
  • Hi

Situational Appropriateness

  • Appropriate for formal and semi-formal situations in the evening.
  • Can feel a bit formal for very casual encounters among close friends, where Hi or Hey might be used instead, but it's never incorrect.

Misunderstanding Warnings

  • The most common error is confusing it with Good night. Good evening is a greeting (when arriving or meeting), Good night is a farewell (when leaving or going to sleep).

Examples

  • Good evening, welcome to our restaurant.
  • Good evening, Dr. Allen. Thank you for coming.

Dialogue

Host: Good evening, Sir. Do you have a reservation?

Guest: Good evening. Yes, under the name Patel.

Host: Right this way, please.

Social Media Examples

  • Event Host Post: Good evening everyone! We're thrilled to have you join our webinar tonight.
  • News Anchor Sign-on: Good evening, I'm [Name], and here's tonight's top story.
  • Formal Email: Good evening Ms. Dubois,

Response Patterns

  • Good evening
  • Evening (Casual, less common than Morning!)
  • Hello or Hi

Common Follow-up Questions/Actions

After saying Good evening:

  • Often followed by How are you this evening? or proceeding with the purpose of the interaction (e.g., taking an order, starting a presentation).

After hearing Good evening:

  • Reciprocate (Good evening).
  • Engage as appropriate for the situation.

Conversation Starter

  • Yes.
  • The standard polite greeting for evening encounters.

Intonation

  • Polite, often slightly formal tone.
  • Stress on Good and the first syllable of EVE-ning. GOOD EVE-ning.
  • Falling intonation.

Generation Differences

  • Understood by all, perhaps used more consistently in formal settings or by older generations.

Regional Variations

  • Universal in English-speaking regions.
Good afternoon
🎲 How are you?