A word for "evening" that is not "noche?"
I'm looking for a word for "evening" that is not "noche" or "tarde"... can anyone provide a suggestion? Thanks.
5 Answers
Try "anochecer" 
It just flows off the tongue, don't you agree?
How about: velada
I am curious as to why you want to use something other than tarde or noche. Those are very common.
Tarde is more like "afternoon" I think, though. It is from noon to nightfall.
Noche just means night -- whenever the sun is not visible in the sky (after sunset and before sunrise, I guess). But you will hear people often talking about what they are going to do este noche (tonight). And, in that case, it comes across a lot like we use evening when meaning after nightfall. Other times we say evening and we are referring to late afternoon (before sunset) -- which would be tarde or, perhaps, tardecita.
I looked up tardecita at the RAE, and it appears to be the time right before nightfall...it is the end of tarde, basically. This is a very specific part of the evening. "Esta tardecita" might mean something like "late, late, this afternoon" (I'm guessing, though. I really get the impression it's like the 15 minutes before dusk...i.e., the sunset time). I don't think evening would generally ever be translated as tardecita.
Anochecer, as a verb, means, more or less, "to get dark." As a noun, it means nightfall or dusk. So, this is a very specific time of day...it doesn't last long. Again, if I am understanding correctly. We would call this dusk or, perhaps, nightfall. Almost no one plans to do anything specifically at dusk (although it is possible, just rare...so I doubt this would be used ever for the English evening). Again, like tardecita, this is a specific part of the evening, but it is not the evening.
Velada, over at the RAE, doesn't seem to mean evening so much as various things one might do at night. It seems more related to our word vigil, if I was understanding the RAE (which I don't understand the RAE very well, frankly).
So, of all the options, I would probably use tarde or noche. Tarde if the sun will still be shining. Noche if it will be dark. All the other options seem to refer to specific time frames (anochecer, tardecita) or specific activities (velada).
We will be going to a party this evening. = Vamos a ir a una fiesta esta tarde. (the sun will still be shining)
We will be going to a party this evening. = Vamos a ir a una fiesta esta noche. (the sun will not be shining)
It is worthy to note that the English evening lasts from a few hours past noon to just before most people go to bed for the night (say like 3PM to 9PM...but it will vary with context...there's no real specific time frame). So, always our evening has a time when the sun shines and a time when the sun doesn't shine, but we are still up doing things. (That's how I've always understood "evening" anyways.) Spanish simply has this broken up into tarde and noche. And noche can also refer to night in general, but context clears that up...i.e, you're talking about the time when most people are still up doing stuff, you mean evening. And the first two or three hours of tarde don't quite fall into our "evening"...but context clears that up as well.
Actually, by forcing me to do this research, your question has helped me get some of this straight. So, thanks.
Remember, I am a Gringo. So, at any time, a Spanish native or a more experienced Gringo might come by and contradict part or all of what I have said. In which case, you should go with them and not me.
No, they give several definitions in the dictionary here...but you'll have to scroll down.
Tarde, noche, tardecita, anochecer, nocturnal and vespertino/a. (The last two are adjectives).
Why not go to the dictionary and look up "evening"? The dictionary shows 5 or more ways to say "evening" in Spanish.
