phrases - Why is "Good Night!" dismissive


To start off let us construct a situation were I am walking along and I pass another person. Depending on the time of day and to be polite I say one of the following:



  1. "Good Morning!"

  2. "Good Evening!"

  3. "Good Night!"

  4. "Good Day!"


Now 1 and 2 are common welcoming and polite gestures and I have no problem with their use. However the problem lies with 3: Why is it so dismissive compared with 1 and 2?


If I said "Good Night!" to somebody when walking at around 11 p.m why does it sound like I am putting them to bed?


Finally as a related matter, why is 4 not used too often? In other languages 4 seems to be more common then an equivalent "Hello!" and sometimes 4 and "Hello!" posses the same.meaning.




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