Would I really say "schön Abend"?

Question

I'm learning german by myself for around 5 months now and when I'm in a supermarket, when the cashier tells me "good evening" I never catch exactly what he/she says.

I already asked my question at work where almost everyone is german and it looks not to be that obvious.

I all the time heard "schön Abend" which sounds to me not grammaticaly correct. I already know we say "gute Nacht" and "schönes Wochenende". So here I have two possibilities, it may be accusative or nominative.

If they really say "schön Abend" it might then be because of their dialekt...

As I want to look like a real german :p when I say good good evening and because grammar is important to me as a learner, to have some basics to which I can refer while speaking, I need your help.

For the moment I'm stuck with my "Einen schönen Tag noch".

Thank you in advance.

Actually it is "schönen Abend", a short form for "Ich wünsche Ihnen einen schönen Abend". — RoyPJ, Feb 21 '18 at 19:01
Note, that »schönen Abend« is not common in all regions. In Austria you will hear it only from German immigrants and tourists, but not from Austrians. Read here for details: Polite alternatives to “Grüß Gott”? — Hubert Schölnast, Feb 22 '18 at 07:59
Up round Hildesheim and Bremen, I hear "schön Abend *noch*" — Mawg says reinstate Monica, Nov 19 '18 at 14:22

NashVio · Accepted Answer · 2018-02-21T21:51:40.137

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You are right, "schön Abend"/"schön'n Abend" (as suggested by user unkown) is grammatically incorrect and a shorted version of "schönen Abend".

But slipping the final en in a word quite common, occurring in many words in many dialects.

edited Feb 21 '18 at 21:51

answered Feb 21 '18 at 19:03

NashVio

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@userunknown ... or simply schönen Abend, as it is quite usual (in all languages) to leave out in pronunciation vowels etc. that are still present in writing. Very prominent even in German public TV: Guten Abend --> Gunaaamt! – Christian Geiselmann Feb 21 '18 at 21:25
But note, that »schönen Abend« is not common in all regions. In Austria you will hear it only from German immigrants and tourists, but not from Austrians. Read here for details: Polite alternatives to “Grüß Gott”? – Hubert Schölnast Feb 22 '18 at 07:58
Note also that in some regions of southern Germany you wish "schöner Abend noch". I hate it. – RoyPJ Feb 22 '18 at 08:07
@RoyPJ Isn't it "Schönen Abend noch"? – Christian Geiselmann Feb 22 '18 at 12:16
@ChristianGeiselmann It should be, but I was talking about local dialect. – RoyPJ Feb 22 '18 at 12:37
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Jetzt hast du die Antwort verschlimmbessert. „Schön‘n Abend“ ist nicht falsch. – Carsten S Feb 22 '18 at 14:22

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 22 '18 at 12:12

Guten Abend is a greeting like good morning or good evening, when someone enters.
"Einen schönen Abend noch" or any local variations is common if someone leaves. It's meant to be now as we go apart have a nice rest of the evening.

If someone leaves before it's evening you wish "einen schönen Tag noch" which has the same meaning for the whole rest of the day.
On Friday you can say have a nice weekend if you leave, even if it's not yet weekend. But it's strange to wish a nice evening if it's still morning :-)

I already asked my question at work where almost everyone is german and it looks not to be that obvious.

Uh ... ok but try to ask them for the regional habit that shortens "einen schönen Abend (noch)" to what is left to hear.

Would I really say "schön Abend"?

2 Answers2