Buon

Buon is an Italian adjective meaning good, virtuous, or kind. The basic dictionary forms are buono (masculine singular), buona (feminine singular), buoni (masculine plural), and buone (feminine plural). In front of masculine singular nouns the form buon is often used as a pre-nominal variant to ease pronunciation, yielding the common phrases found in everyday speech and signage such as buon appetito, buon viaggio, buon lavoro, and buon compleanno. In modern Italian, the standard greeting is buongiorno (one word), though historically or stylistically you may encounter buone giorno or buon giorno in older texts.

Etymology and related forms: Buon derives from Latin bonus, from which many Romance languages also form words meaning good (e.g., Spanish bueno, French bon, Portuguese bom). The Italian distinction between buono and buon reflects typical Romance patterns of pre-nominal contraction and gender/number agreement.

Usage and notes: Buono is the dictionary form for the masculine singular; buona, buoni, and buone correspond to feminine singular, masculine plural, and feminine plural respectively. The contracted form buon is predominantly used before masculine singular nouns in set phrases or for phonetic ease, but it is not used in all contexts. In predicative construction, the full forms buono, buona, buoni, and buone are used (for example, È buono; È buona; Sono buoni amici). Buon + noun phrases frequently appear in everyday Italian, in hospitality phrases, and in titles or slogans.

See also: Romance languages cognates; Italian grammar; Italian adjectives.