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When greeting people every day it is used to say "good morning" or "good evening" etc. Among the greetings there is another one "good day" (as a greeting!). When I've heard the phrase "good day" firstly it sounded to me weird or foreign as if someone translated it from other language. Today I was told by American English speaker that in the US it is not in use. I'm afraid that in another English speaking countries it is not in use.

Then my question is: does the phrase "good day" (as a greeting) is a natural or common for native English speakers in one of the English speaking countries (such as UK, Canada or Australia)?

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  • It depends on which native English speakers you're talking about. British, American, Australian, Indian, Canadian, South African, Grenadian, etc.... All of those countries have native English speakers but have their own ideas about what sounds natural or not.
    – stangdon
    Mar 24, 2018 at 14:18
  • Thank you. I edited my question to make it a little bit clearer.
    – Virtuous Legend
    Mar 24, 2018 at 14:41
  • I found the phrase on Cambridge dictionary then I believe that this phrase is not so weird as it seems to be. dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/good-day?q=GOOD+DAY
    – Virtuous Legend
    Mar 24, 2018 at 14:44
  • You can trust the dictionary when it labels the greeting as old-fashioned, and that's true for most dialects. The only dialects where it can actually be heard often are AusE and NZE; in particular, the more rural and colloquial varieties.
    – user3395
    May 22, 2018 at 8:11

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In novels in British English you will occasionally see "Good day" but the context is a person who has quarrelled with another person and who is now ending the conversation on bad terms:"Good day to you, Sir" means the conversation is over and I am angry with you.

otherwise, a native BrE speaker would never use "good day".

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