How come when people answer their phone in spanish they say "bueno"?

Question

i've been watchin a lot of novellas( hope i spelled that rite) lately and when they answer the phone they say "bueno" instead of "hola". why?

Answer 1

Hi, I'm from Mexico and I can tell you, Cecy and drshorty are both right. We say "bueno" since the first telephone was installed because the connection wasn't OK. When the system worked, people were used to say "bueno" and didn't change it.
It is not short for "buenos días/tardes/noches" in that case we say "buenas!"

Answer 2

"Bueno" means good, I have 2 theories, though I am not sure about them:

1.- When the phone was created, people in Mexico were really polite, so, everybody said "Buenos días", "Buenas tardes" or "Buenas nches" when they answered the telephone, but I suppouse that before they were able to finish the phrase, the other person was already speaking so they only said "Bueno..."

2.- Bueno could have been used as a sign of "The communication is now ok, you can talk to me"

Anyways, I suppouse that it would be really difficult to find a mexican able to explain accurately why we answer that way, what you can be sure about is that almost everybody here answers that way.

One more thing, you can be sure that we never greet each other with "Bueno" so, it is not like saying Hi. Please, bever make the mistake of greeting someone like that, I don't know where did all the people her got the idea from

And the last one: you almost spelled it correct, though you sued an extra " l ": novelas

Answer 3

You should be aware that the practice of answering the phone with "bueno" is Mexican. Speakers of other dialects of Spanish do something different.

When I was living in Mexico City, I asked my friend there why people say "bueno" when they answer the phone. She told me that, when the phone system was first installed, it didn't always work, so using "bueno" was a sign that the connection was good and it was okay to talk. This is similar to Cecy's #2 answer. I don't know whether that's a true explanation, but that's the explanation that she believed, and she's from Mexico City.

Hope that helps.

Answer 4

It's the shortened version of "buenos dias." It's a cultural thing, the hello over the phone is different in many countries. Some say "hola," others say something that sounds like "alo" and some say "buenos dias" or "bueno" like you observed.

Answer 5

No no no don't read nonsense bueno means good but in spanish each word can be used so many different ways that bueno when answering the phone means I'm here, or Can I help you meaning all my attention is on.

Answer 6

It's probably the same reason that we say "hello" when we answer the phone, but almost never use the word for any other reason when we're speaking to eachother (we say hi, hey, what's up, etc.). It's our culture, it's just what we do. It's not right or wrong, it's just what we're accustomed to.

The theory that it's short for "buenos dias" makes sense, but that doesn't explain why the 's' was dropped, or why they don't say "buena" in the night or afternoon for "buenas noches" or "buenas tardes". And if it is because they used to say it to test the phone line, clearly that's not neccessary anymore, but they continue to do it anyway. There's no good answer except that it's just how it's done.

Answer 7

Its just the common greeting for Mexicans when they answer the phone. In Italy they say "pronto" which does not mean hello any more than "bueno" does in Spanish.

Answer 8

They answer "bueno" in Mexico, so I assume you have been watching Mexican novelas (soap operas). In other countries, they use a different word to answer the phone: in Argentina they use "hola", and in most countries they use "aló".

Answer 9

HOLA amiga??

HA HA, I always thought that "Bueno" sounded rude when answering the phone. Maybe it is shourt for Buenos Dias, Tarde or noche!! Oh Whatever I will stick to "Hola"

A Dios...

Answer 10

I've noticed the families of Mexican origin that I work with do that. I suspect it's just a shortening of "Buenos dias." Dominicans say "alo," which is almost certainly a variation of "hello."