When visiting any French-speaking country, one of the first things you want to be able to do is say “hi” in French, as well as “goodbye” to people you meet. Learning how to greet people not only helps in making a good impression, but also allows for smoother and more polite chats.
In this guide, we’ll explore essential French greetings such as bonjour, bonsoir, bonne nuit, and more to help you easily navigate everyday conversations.
A guide to French greetings
French greetings are often made up of the word for “good”, bon(ne) and then the relevant part of the day. Check out one way of saying ‘hi’ in French and also add some more expressions to your vocabulary in the section below:
Bonjour: The All-Purpose Greeting
Bonjour is perhaps the most well-known French greeting. It means “good day” and is used from morning until late afternoon. It’s a polite and versatile greeting suitable for almost any situation.
Whether you’re meeting someone for the first time or greeting a colleague, bonjour is your go-to phrase to say “hello” in French.
Bonsoir: Good evening
As the day moves into evening the way to say “hello” in French changes, bonsoir becomes the greeting to use, usually from 6 pm onwards.
Salut: Casual hello
Another way of saying ‘hi’ in French is using salut. This greeting is perfect for a more informal conversation. It’s akin to saying “hey” in English and is best used among friends, family, or people your age. It’s a great way to keep things casual and friendly.
Related topic: ‘How are you’ in French: Learn how to say it!
Would you like to learn the pronunciation of these phrases? In the second episode of Season 1 of the Coffee Break French podcast, you can get more insight into them and also learn other useful phrases.
Listen to it now:
Bonne nuit: Good night
When it’s time to bid someone goodnight, bonne nuit is the phrase to use. This greeting is reserved for late at night when people are heading to bed. It conveys a sense of finality and well-wishing for a good night’s rest.
Bonne journée and bonne soirée: Wishing well
After saying ‘hi’ in French, you might want to wish someone (have) “a good day”, right? Well, to do that you can say bonne journée. This phrase is often used when parting ways in the morning or afternoon, conveying your hope that the person has a good day ahead.
Similarly, bonne soirée is used to wish someone (have) “a good evening”. It’s typically said when you’re leaving in the evening and want to wish the other person well for the rest of the night.
Au revoir: Goodbye
After you say ‘hi’ in French you also need to know how to say goodbye. But how do you say goodbye in French? Well, when it’s time to go, au revoir is the standard way to do it. It’s a polite and versatile phrase suitable for most situations.
Whether you’re leaving a social gathering or ending a business meeting, au revoir fits the bill.
À demain: See you tomorrow
If you plan to see the person the next day, à demain is a perfect farewell. It means “see you tomorrow” and adds a sense of anticipation for the next meeting.
À bientôt: See you soon
To express that you hope to see someone again soon, use à bientôt. It’s a friendly and warm way to indicate that you look forward to the next encounter.
Conclusion
Getting to grips with these French greetings will not only enhance your language skills but also help you when meeting with French speakers. From the versatile bonjour and bonsoir to the friendly way to say ‘hi’ in French – salut – as well as à bientôt, these phrases will ensure you make a positive impression in any interaction.
So, practise these greetings, and soon, they’ll become a natural part of your everyday conversations. By integrating these key phrases into your vocabulary, you’ll be well-equipped to navigate the French-speaking world with more confidence and ease. How about learning how to say where you are from in French? Read the blog post we prepared to help you with that now!
27 thoughts on “‘Hi’ in French and other greetings – A guide”
it’s teerific and helpful,
thanks
fantastic. thanks
Thanks for a great series! Very pleasant to listen to you two & I like the pace. Thank you.
J’adore ce site! I love this site! This is amazing! I am 10 and Haitian-American and already knew a lot of French from speaking at home, but in our middle school I started to take French and I want to graduate top of my class in French and so far I can have a steady conversation with a French person!
C’est tres formidable! Mark is a great voice and personality for this. Merci beaucoup!
I’ve just listened to this lesson. I’m French. C’est (très) formidable. formidable is enough.
Since Anna is a girl she would NOT say, “je suis PRETE”…. On the word Prete she would not pronounce the T at the end. It would sound like the word in English,Pray. It is the same as if she were to say I am American …. Je suis AmericainE—- avec the E! you have to pay attention to the feminine and masculine forms otherwise you could be saying I am an American man when really you are an American women and that could be quite embarrassing. Since this program is being taught all over the world, I encourage you to revise your lessons and pay attention to all aspects of the language, not just the surface.
Prête is feminine so the T is pronounced.
Prêt is masculine so the T is not pronounced.
Notice that the feminine word Prête has an e at the end so the t is pronounced.
In French a lot of letters at the end of words are silent.
So the masculine word Prêt, the t would be silent.
perfect thank you!
Brilliant! Excellent! Had a good session. Merci. Bonne Soiree
Shayla I am sorry to disagree but Anna WOULD pronounce the T in “Prete”. If you are male then you would not pronounce the “T” and then it would sound like “PRAY”!
Sorry but thats the the way it is:)
Ditto. I’m pretty sure Mark mentioned specifically in one of the earlier podcasts that Prete is used by females and the ‘T’ has to be pronounced. Since Anna is a girl she would have to say prete with the ‘T’ at the end.
Yes. A lot of letters at the end of words in French sre silent.
As prête has an e at the end the t is pronounced.
The t in the masculine prêt wold be silent.
fantastic lessons here. welldone!!!! r there any scripts to go with the lessons? thanks you, this is fantastic
Merci! – these lessons are just what I was looking for.
It is very helpful 🙂 Thank you .
Il me plait.C’est utile. Merci
I am just wondering which level of French would i get after finishing this onlline course.( I mean: would it be A1 or A2 or ever better? )
You’re doing it very well.Thank you!=)
merci beaucoup
Dear ShayLa,
Stop trying to correct folks. It basicly says that you think your better than them. So if you got a problem with it, deal with it. The end.
Thank you so much. It is very useful!!!:-)
Don’t ya just love how shayla corrects a guy who has used French for ages and lived in France, yet shayla appears to have no qualification or experience to correct anyone?
Yes. Shayla is wrong.
Thank you very much for these free lessons in French, Spanish and German. I can read French and Spanish quite well and German up to a point, but I am hopeless at speaking or understanding any of these languages when I am listening to someone speaking them. Hopefully this will change after I have listened to these podcasts. Keep up the good work!!
At 83 Y.O.A. My school french is NOT memorable BUT, this has stirred many GOOD memories. EXCELLENT.