buena mano

Spanish

Etymology

From buena (“good”) +‎ mano (“hand”)

Noun

buena mano f (plural buenas manos)

1. skill, talent, or ability
2. (idiomatic) a good starting hand [of cards] (compare deal a good hand), to be lucky

   Antonym: mala mano

3. (Philippines, idiomatic) to start an event, competition, or transaction in an auspicious manner, such that it sets the tone for the rest of what follows
4. (Philippines, idiomatic) first customer or sale of the day (often sold at a discount) that brings luck for the rest of the day

Further reading

• “buena mano”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
• Dimaculangan, Shelly C. (2017) “Filipino Phrases Borrowed from Spanish that You May Find Amusing”, in Shelly Viajera Travel‎^[1]

Tagalog

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /buˌena ˈmano/ [ˌbwɛː.n̪ɐ ˈmaː.n̪o]
• Rhymes: -ano
• Syllabification: bu‧e‧na ma‧no

Noun

buena mano (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜓᜏᜒᜈ ᜋᜈᜓ)

1. Alternative spelling of buwena mano