buena mano

buena (“good”) +‎ mano (“hand”). Due to the supposed good pick or fine hand of the first customer of the day. It is said that the concept originally came from the Sangley Chinese in the Philippines who are believed to be good at running a business.

buena mano m or f (plural buenas manos)

1. (Philippines, business) first customer of the day
2. (Philippines, business) first sale of the day

In the Philippines, it is believed that usage of this term invites luck into the business throughout the day, so business owners tend to welcome the first customer with a bigger smile.

• “buena mano”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
• Dimaculangan, Shelly C. (2017), “Filipino Phrases Borrowed from Spanish that You May Find Amusing”, in Shelly Viajera Travel‎

• Hyphenation: bu‧e‧na ma‧no
• IPA^(key): /buenaˈmano/, [bʊ.we.nɐˈma.no]

buena mano

1. (business) Alternative spelling of buwenamano