French guides · Everyday phrases
French greetings: two rules decide all of them.
The safe answer is always bonjour — “good day”, correct with anyone, anywhere, until early evening. Everything else in French greeting is decided by two questions the language asks before you open your mouth: what time is it, and do you know this person. Get those two right and the whole set falls into place, including the goodbye, the handshake, and the cheek-kiss nobody explains to you in advance.
Every greeting at a glance
| French | Say it | Means | Use with |
|---|---|---|---|
| bonjour | bohn-ZHOOR | hello / good day | anyone, until early evening |
| bonsoir | bohn-SWAHR | good evening | anyone, from about 6pm |
| salut | sah-LEW | hi and bye | friends, family, peers only |
| coucou | koo-KOO | hiya | close friends, children |
| allô | ah-LOH | hello? | telephone only |
| rebonjour | ruh-bohn-ZHOOR | hello again | second meeting, same day |
| enchanté | ahn-shahn-TAY | nice to meet you | a first introduction |
| au revoir | oh ruh-VWAHR | goodbye | anyone, anywhere |
It exists purely to check whether someone is on the line. Saying allô to a person standing in front of you sounds as strange as answering your front door with “hello, are you there?”. Face to face, it is always bonjour.
Rule one: what time is it?
French splits the day where English does not. The changeover is loose — somewhere around 6pm, or when the light goes — and French speakers hesitate over it themselves in June.
| Time | Arriving | Leaving |
|---|---|---|
| Morning to late afternoon | bonjour | bonne journée (bun zhoor-NAY) |
| Evening | bonsoir | bonne soirée (bun swah-RAY) |
| Going to bed | — | bonne nuit (bun NWEE) |
Bonjour greets. Bonne journée — “have a good day” — sends someone off. They look almost identical and do opposite jobs, and mixing them up is the single most common beginner slip in French. Same pattern with bonsoir and bonne soirée.
And bonne nuit is not a way of leaving a party. English uses “goodnight” for that; French keeps bonne nuit strictly for actual sleep. Leaving in the evening, you want bonne soirée.
Rule two: do you know them?
French draws a hard line between people you address as tu and people you address as vous, and the greeting follows that line exactly.
| Stranger, older, professional (vous) | Friend, family, peer (tu) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | bonjour | salut · coucou · bonjour |
| How are you? | comment allez-vous ? | ça va ? · comment ça va ? |
| Goodbye | au revoir | salut · à plus · à bientôt |
| Physical greeting | a handshake | la bise |
Being over-polite in French is invisible. Being too familiar with a stranger, a shopkeeper or someone older is a genuine misstep. Open with bonjour and vous every time, and let the other person invite you to relax — they will, with on peut se tutoyer, “we can use tu”.
Meeting someone for the first time
| French | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| Bonjour, je m’appelle… | zhuh mah-PELL | Hello, my name is… |
| Moi, c’est… | mwah SAY | I’m… (relaxed) |
| Enchanté / Enchantée | ahn-shahn-TAY | Nice to meet you |
| Ravi de vous rencontrer | rah-VEE duh voo rahn-kohn-TRAY | Delighted to meet you |
| Comment vous appelez-vous ? | ko-MAHN voo zah-play VOO | What is your name? |
The written difference between enchanté and enchantée is the speaker’s own gender — a woman adds the silent e. Out loud they are identical, so it only ever matters when you type it.
Saying goodbye
| French | Say it | When |
|---|---|---|
| au revoir | oh ruh-VWAHR | the safe default, anyone |
| salut | sah-LEW | friends — the same word as “hi” |
| à bientôt | ah byan-TOH | see you soon |
| à tout à l’heure | ah too tah LUR | see you later today |
| à demain | ah duh-MAN | see you tomorrow |
| à plus | ah PLOOSS | “laters” — casual; the s is pronounced |
| adieu | ah-DYUH | farewell — final; avoid it |
A bare au revoir is correct but slightly abrupt. What French speakers actually say is the goodbye plus a wish: au revoir, bonne journée ! Leaving a shop, the full natural exit is merci, au revoir, bonne journée — learn it as one block.
La bise: the greeting nobody warns you about
French greeting is physical, and the rules are unwritten. La bise is not a kiss on the cheek — it is cheeks touching lightly while you make a small kissing sound in the air. Lips do not land.
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| Two women, or a man and a woman, who know each other | la bise |
| Two men | usually a handshake; la bise within families and close friends |
| Professional, or meeting for the first time | a handshake |
| Children and relatives | la bise, always |
Two is the most common — but it is three in parts of the south, four around Nantes, and one in a few corners of the country. Most people start by offering the left cheek (so you both move to your own right). If you get it wrong you will bump noses, laugh, and be entirely forgiven. Nobody expects a foreigner to know the local count.
The safest approach is simply to follow: extend a hand, and if they lean in, lean in. Hesitating for half a second is completely normal — French people do it too when they are unsure which region’s rules apply.
The greeting that is almost obligatory
One piece of French etiquette matters more than every phrase above, and visitors miss it constantly: in France you greet the room, not just the person you want something from.
- Walking into a bakery, pharmacy, small shop or market stall — bonjour as you cross the threshold, before you ask for anything.
- A doctor’s waiting room — a general bonjour to whoever is sitting there.
- A lift, a small hotel breakfast room, a train compartment.
- The opening line of any phone call or email to someone you do not know.
Skipping it is the reason a great many tourists conclude that French people are cold. Almost always, the coldness is a reply to a missing bonjour — and it disappears the moment you offer one.
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Quick answers
Greetings, answered.
The questions that come up before your first trip.