Learn Greetings in French: Essential Words and Phrases for Greeting People
Greetings are a crucial part of every conversation. Learning them properly is essential to avoid mistakes when meeting someone. In French, as in English, there are different ways to say “hello” depending on the situation, whether it’s a job interview, at school, in a store, or with relatives.
This is particularly important if you plan to travel to France or if you are already living there. In this lesson, you will learn the common greetings in French and how to use them properly and confidently with the help of audio files and a video for pronunciation.
Boost your French language skills with our comprehensive guide on French greetings.
Formal greeting – Salutation formelle
Bonjour = Hello
You can use it from morning until 6 pm. We use it for good morning as well, so using “Bon matin” is not correct. (matin = morning)
Example :
Bonjour monsieur = Hello Sir
Bonjour madame = Hello Madam
Bonsoir = Good evening
You can use it after 6 pm to say hello, but also sometimes to say goodbye.
Example :
Bonsoir monsieur = Good evening Sir
Bonsoir madame = Good evening Madam
Au revoir = Goodbye
Example :
Merci, au revoir = Thank you, goodbye
Informal greeting – Salutation informelle
Salut = Hi
You can use it with your family, friends, colleagues, teammates, and kids, to say hi and goodbye.
Example :
Salut Martin = Hi Martin
Comment vas-tu ? = How are you?
Je pars, salut. = I am leaving, goodbye.
If you live in France, you will notice that we also say, “bye” or “ciao” sometimes.
À plus tard = See you later
You can use it with your family, friends, colleagues, and teammates to say goodbye.
Example :
J’y vais, à plus tard. = I am going, see you later.
If you live in France, you will notice that we also say, “à plus” sometimes.
À plus = See you
J’y vais, à plus. = I am going, see you.
À tout à l’heure = See you later.
You can use it with your family, friends, colleagues, and teammates to say goodbye.
Example :
J’y vais, à tout à l’heure. = I am going, see you later.
If you live in France, you will notice that we also say, “à toute” sometimes.
J’y vais, à toute. = I am going, see you.
À bientôt = See you soon
Example :
J’y vais, à bientôt. = I am going, see you soon. (informal greeting)
Au revoir, à bientôt. = Goodbye, see you soon. (formal greeting)
À demain = See you tomorrow
Example :
J’y vais, à demain. = I am going, see you tomorrow. (informal greeting)
Au revoir, à demain. = Goodbye, see you tomorrow. (formal greeting)
À la semaine prochaine = See you next week
Example :
Salut, à la semaine prochaine. = Bye, see you next week. (informal greeting)
Au revoir, à la semaine prochaine. = Goodbye, see you next week. (formal greeting)
Bonne journée = Have a good day
Example :
Salut, bonne journée. = Bye, have a good day. (informal greeting)
Au revoir, bonne journée. = Goodbye, have a good day. (formal greeting)
Bonne après-midi = Have a good afternoon
You can also write “bon après-midi”, both are correct.
Example :
Salut, bonne après-midi. = Bye, have a good afternoon. (informal greeting)
Au revoir, bonne après-midi. = Goodbye, have a good afternoon. (formal greeting)
Bonne soirée = Have a good evening
Example :
Salut, bonne soirée. = Bye, have a good evening. (informal greeting)
Au revoir, bonne soirée. = Goodbye, have a good evening. (formal greeting)
Bonne nuit = Have a good night
Example :
Salut, bonne nuit. = Bye, have a good night.
By using “bonne nuit”, you assume that your friend is going home to sleep, however, if you left a party, and your friend/friends are still staying, you will use “bonne soirée” instead.
You can also watch our video to learn how to greet people in French :
