How to say “have a nice day” in Spanish

Que tengas un buen día

Pronunciation: keh TEN-gahs oon bwen DEE-ah · Syllables: que TEN-gas un buen DÍ-a

The most common way to say "have a nice day" in Spanish is "Que tengas un buen día" (informal, to a friend) or "Que tenga un buen día" (formal, to a customer, stranger or older person). In Latin America you'll also hear the shorter "¡Buen día!" and the warm "Que te vaya bien" ("I hope it goes well for you").

How to pronounce “Que tengas un buen día”

"Que" sounds like "keh", so the u is silent and there's no "kway" sound.
The d in "día" is soft, almost like the "th" in "this", with your tongue lightly touching your upper teeth.
"Buen" is one quick syllable ("bwen"), and Spanish vowels stay short and pure, so "te" is never "tay".

What it literally means

Word for word it means "That you have a good day". It's a shortened form of "(Espero) que tengas un buen día" ("(I hope) that you have a good day"), which is why the verb is in the subjunctive ("tengas") and not the normal present ("tienes").

How to say “have a nice day” in Spanish: Que tengas un buen día — casual to formal, by country, replies and common mistakes — Cheat sheet — tap to enlarge

Other ways to say it, from casual to formal

Que pases un lindo díaHave a lovely day · friends, family, warm messages (Latin America)Casual
Que disfrutes tu díaEnjoy your day · friends, especially on a day offCasual
¡Buen día!Good day! / Have a good one! · quick, casual goodbye or greetingCasual
Que tengas un excelente díaHave an excellent day · friendly service, emails, colleaguesNeutral
Que te vaya bienHope it goes well for you / Take care · saying goodbye to anyone, very commonNeutral
Que tenga un buen díaHave a nice day (formal) · to customers, strangers, older peoplePolite
Que le vaya bienHope it goes well for you (formal) · shops, offices, polite goodbyesPolite

By country

Que tengas un lindo díaArgentina & Uruguay · "Lindo" is the go-to word here. Careful: "¡Buen día!" in these countries usually means "Good morning" as a greeting.
Que te vaya bienMexico · Extremely common as a goodbye, often answered with "Igualmente" or "Gracias, a ti también".
Que esté muy bienColombia · Colombians often say this politely when leaving. You'll also hear "Feliz día" from shop staff.
Que vaya bienSpain · Spaniards often drop the pronoun ("Que vaya bien") or just say "Buen día" less often, preferring "Que tengas un buen día" or "Hasta luego".

In text messages

q tengas buen día = have a good daybuen dia = good day (accent often dropped in texts)lindo día! = nice day!

Example sentences

Gracias por todo. ¡Que tengas un buen día!Thanks for everything. Have a nice day!
Aquí tiene su cambio. Que tenga un buen día.Here's your change. Have a nice day.
Me voy al trabajo. ¡Que te vaya bien!I'm off to work. Have a good one!
Hola, María, que pases un lindo día.Hi, María, have a lovely day.
Mucho gusto, señor López. Que tenga un excelente día.Nice to meet you, Mr. López. Have an excellent day.
Espero que tengas un buen día en tu nuevo trabajo.I hope you have a nice day at your new job.

Mini dialogue: At the bakery

Buenos días. Dos croissants, por favor.

Good morning. Two croissants, please.

Claro. Son cuatro dólares.

Sure. That's four dollars.

Aquí tiene. Gracias.

Here you go. Thanks.

Gracias a usted. ¡Que tenga un buen día!

Thank you. Have a nice day!

Igualmente, ¡hasta luego!

You too, see you later!

How to reply

IgualmenteLikewise / You too
Gracias, igualmenteThanks, you too
Gracias, tú tambiénThanks, you too (informal)
Gracias, usted tambiénThanks, you too (formal)

Grammar: "Que" + subjunctive for wishes

To wish something to someone in Spanish, use "que" + a verb in the present subjunctive. That's why it's "que tengas" (tú) or "que tenga" (usted), not "que tienes". The same pattern works for many other wishes.

Que tengas un buen viaje.Have a good trip.
Que te mejores pronto.Get well soon.

Common mistakes

✗ ~~Ten un buen día.~~✓ Que tengas un buen día.

The direct command translated from English sounds unnatural, so Spanish uses "que" + subjunctive for wishes.

✗ ~~Que tienes un buen día.~~✓ Que tengas un buen día.

Wishes need the subjunctive "tengas", not the indicative "tienes".

✗ ~~Que tengas un bueno día.~~✓ Que tengas un buen día.

"Bueno" shortens to "buen" before a masculine singular noun.

Culture tip

Native speakers say this mostly when parting: shop and restaurant staff to customers, coworkers leaving, or at the end of a phone call or email. It's polite and friendly but not overly formal, and in everyday goodbyes many people prefer the shorter "Que te vaya bien" or just "Chao" or "Hasta luego". The usual reply is a quick "Igualmente" (you too), often with a smile or a small wave.

Questions people ask

Is it "que tengas" or "que tenga un buen día"?

Both are correct. Use "que tengas" with friends, family and people your age (tú), and "que tenga" with customers, strangers or older people (usted). If you're speaking to a group, say "que tengan un buen día".

Does "día" have an accent?

Yes, "día" is written with an accent on the í, which tells you to say DEE-ah in two syllables. In casual texts people often skip it, but in proper writing you should include it.

What's the difference between "buen día" and "buenos días"?

"Buenos días" means "good morning" as a greeting. "Buen día" can be a goodbye wish ("have a good day"), but in Argentina, Uruguay and other places it's also a common way to say "good morning".

How do you say "have a nice day" in Spain?

In Spain, "Que tengas un buen día" is understood and used, but people often say "Que vaya bien" or simply "Hasta luego". "Lindo" (as in "lindo día") sounds distinctly Latin American.