Hello and goodbye

In France you say bonjour when you walk into a shop, a waiting room or a lift, even to people you do not know.

The first French word almost everyone learns is bonjour, and it is the most useful one too. It literally means good day, and it works from morning until early evening, with strangers and with friends, in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec and across French-speaking Africa. This unit covers bonjour and the informal salut, the everyday ways to say goodbye, and how to choose between them. The next unit adds the greetings for other times of day.

Saying hello

Bonjour is the safe choice in almost every situation. In France it is also more than a greeting: it is the polite way to open any exchange. You say it when you enter a bakery, before you ask a question in the street, when you get on a bus, and to the receptionist before you give your name. Starting straight with your request, without bonjour first, can come across as rude. Adding Madame or Monsieur makes it warmer and more polite: Bonjour, Madame. The eCampusOntario open textbook Introduction to French lists Bonjour, Monsieur as the basic formal greeting.

Salut is the informal hello, used with friends, family, classmates and children. The same word also means bye, so a conversation between friends can begin and end with salut. Coucou is even more familiar, a playful hi used with close friends and family. Quebec’s Office québécois de la langue française notes that salut and allô are familiar greetings that work at any hour, while bonjour and bonsoir are the usual standard ones.

Saying goodbye

Au revoir is the standard goodbye, polite enough for anyone. It means until we see each other again. À bientôt means see you soon, à plus tard see you later, and in casual speech this is cut to à plus, pronounced a-plus with the s sounded. À tout à l’heure means see you later today, and à demain see you tomorrow. Bonne journée (have a good day) and bonne soirée (have a good evening) are often added to au revoir, especially in shops: Au revoir, bonne journée !

Adieu is a word to handle with care. In standard French it is a farewell for a long time or for good, so it sounds heavy if you only mean see you next week. Among friends you may also hear ciao, written tchao, borrowed from Italian.