why buen viaje?

Question

We are hanging out in Cozumel. I asked my husband how to spell "buen" as in "buen viaje"...he said, "no, it's bien vaije" have a "good" journey." OK...he's wrong...but why? Why is it "buen viaje" rather than "bien viaje"?

Answer 1

Bien is an adverb, and adverbs modify only verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Viaje is a noun, so it can't be modified or described by an adverb. Buen is indeed the right choice.

Answer 2

Muchas gracias! A follow-up question. Things are buena suerte o muy bueno. When and why do you drop the ending o/a as in buen viaje? What is the rule for this?

Bueno & buena are adjectives, and they follow the number and gender of the noun they describe. So for a masculine noun, it's bueno; For a feminine noun, like suerte, it's buena.

Now, buen & bueno are essentially the same thing in that they are both used for singular masculine nouns. The only thing you need to remember is where the adjective is with respect to the noun it describes. If it's before the noun, it's buen; if it's after, it's bueno.

But people say "una buena idea" -- not "una idea buena" right? Why not "una buen idea"? - - ian-hill, Jun 17, 2011

idea is feminine, so it would never take "buen." - Deanski, Jun 18, 2011

Answer 3

Lets see if I am correct.

Bueno is good and bien is well

So then buen viaje would be good voyage.

Answer 4

Muchas gracias! A follow-up question. Things are buena suerte o muy bueno. When and why do you drop the ending o/a as in buen viaje? What is the rule for this?

Both of these are great questions. - Leatha, Jun 17, 2011

Answer 5

From what I know, "buen(o/a)" is the adjective of good and "bien" is the adverb.

I would wait for more answers. I'm still learning myself