French Greetings and Farewells: Formal and Informal Examples

French greetings and farewells change with the time of day, the relationship between speakers, and the setting. Bonjour and au revoir are safe in most everyday situations, while salut belongs mainly to friendly, informal conversation. Choosing the right expression also means noticing whether the other person uses tu or vous.

Common French Greetings

Bonjour

Bonjour is the standard daytime greeting. It works with strangers, colleagues, teachers, customers, neighbors, and friends. English speakers sometimes translate it only as “good morning,” but French uses it well beyond the morning.

• Bonjour, Madame. — Hello, ma’am.
• Bonjour, Monsieur. — Hello, sir.
• Bonjour, tout le monde. — Hello, everyone.
• Bonjour à tous. — Hello, everyone.
• Bonjour à toutes et à tous. — Hello to everyone.

In a bakery, hotel, small shop, reception area, or office, saying bonjour before asking a question is part of normal polite interaction. A request such as Bonjour, je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît sounds more natural than beginning directly with the order.

Bonsoir

Bonsoir means “good evening” and is normally used when meeting someone later in the day. There is no fixed national hour when bonjour must become bonsoir. The choice depends on daylight, local habits, season, and the social setting.

• Bonsoir, vous avez réservé ? — Good evening, do you have a reservation?
• Bonsoir, comment allez-vous ? — Good evening, how are you?
• Bonsoir à tous. — Good evening, everyone.

Bonsoir, bonne soirée, and bonne nuit are not interchangeable. Bonsoir greets someone in the evening. Bonne soirée wishes someone a pleasant evening as they leave. Bonne nuit is usually said before sleep or at the end of a very late visit.

Salut

Salut can mean both “hi” and “bye.” It suits people who already address one another with tu, including friends, many relatives, familiar classmates, and some colleagues. It may sound too casual with a customer, an older stranger, a teacher, or a person being met in a formal role.

• Salut, ça va ? — Hi, how are you?
• Salut, Léa ! — Hi, Léa!
• Bon, je dois partir. Salut ! — I have to go. Bye!

Coucou

Coucou is warm, playful, and highly familiar. It often appears in text messages and speech among close friends, family members, and adults speaking affectionately to children. It is not suitable for a first business email or a formal introduction.

Formal and Informal Forms

French politeness is shaped by the contrast between vous and tu. The pronoun affects the greeting, the question that follows, and often the entire tone of the exchange.

When to Use Vous

• With an adult you do not know
• With a customer, client, teacher, manager, or official contact
• In many service encounters
• When speaking to more than one person, regardless of formality
• When the relationship has not yet moved to tu

When uncertain, vous is the safer choice. A French speaker may invite a change by saying On peut se tutoyer (“We can use tu with each other”) or Tu peux me tutoyer (“You can call me tu”).

When to Use Tu

• With close friends and relatives
• With children and many teenagers
• Among classmates or peers in an established informal group
• When another adult clearly proposes tu
• In relaxed online communities where informal address is already normal

Workplace practice varies. Some teams use tu from the first day, while others keep vous between people who do not know each other well. Follow the language used by the group rather than assuming that every modern workplace is informal.

French Farewells and When to Use Them

Au Revoir

Au revoir is the safest general farewell. It is polite without sounding distant and can be used in shops, offices, classrooms, restaurants, phone calls, and social visits.

• Merci, au revoir. — Thank you, goodbye.
• Au revoir, Madame. Bonne journée. — Goodbye, ma’am. Have a good day.
• Au revoir et à bientôt. — Goodbye and see you soon.

Farewells With a Time Reference

Expressions beginning with à point toward the next meeting. The time reference gives the farewell a more personal and precise tone.

• À bientôt — see you soon
• À plus tard — see you later
• À tout à l’heure — see you later, often within the same day
• À demain — see you tomorrow
• À lundi — see you Monday
• À la semaine prochaine — see you next week
• À la prochaine — until next time

In casual speech and messages, à plus is a shortened form of à plus tard. It is informal and is often written as À plus ! The final s in plus may be pronounced in this expression.

Bonne Journée, Bonne Soirée, and Bonne Nuit

These phrases are wishes rather than simple labels for the time of day. They are commonly added after au revoir, though they can also stand alone.

• Au revoir, bonne journée ! — Goodbye, have a good day!
• Merci, bonne soirée ! — Thank you, have a good evening!
• Je vais me coucher. Bonne nuit ! — I am going to bed. Good night!

How to Ask “How Are You?”

The reply should match the pronoun. After Comment allez-vous ?, answer with Et vous ? After Comment vas-tu ? or Ça va ? between friends, use Et toi ?

• Très bien, merci. — Very well, thank you.
• Bien, merci. — Fine, thank you.
• Ça va bien. — I am doing well.
• Pas mal. — Not bad.
• Comme ci, comme ça. — So-so.

Greetings in Everyday Situations

In a Shop, Café, or Hotel

A greeting normally comes before a request. Bonjour or bonsoir acknowledges the person before the practical exchange begins.

At Work or School

Use bonjour with teachers, supervisors, visitors, and colleagues unless a relaxed group habit clearly favors salut. Titles can make a greeting more courteous: Bonjour, Madame, Bonjour, Monsieur, or Bonjour, Madame Dupont.

Among Friends

Friends often use salut, coucou, and ça va ? A person may still say bonjour to a friend, especially at the first meeting of the day. Formality and friendliness are not opposites; bonjour can be both warm and polite.

On the Telephone

Allô ? is used mainly on the telephone. It checks that the connection is open or signals that the call has been answered. After that, the caller normally identifies themselves and uses a regular greeting.

• Allô ? Bonjour, c’est Camille. — Hello? Hi, this is Camille.
• Bonjour, puis-je parler à Monsieur Bernard ? — Hello, may I speak to Mr. Bernard?
• Merci de votre appel. Au revoir. — Thank you for your call. Goodbye.

Written Greetings in Emails and Messages

Written French follows the same formal–informal distinction as speech, though business and academic messages often stay polite for longer. Bonjour is common in everyday professional email. A more formal letter may begin with Madame, Monsieur, or Madame, Monsieur when the recipient is unknown.

For a formal first contact, avoid opening with salut, coucou, or an English-style “Hey.” A polite closing may use Cordialement, Bien cordialement, or Bonne journée, depending on the relationship and message type.

Greeting Customs and Spoken Etiquette

Handshake, La Bise, or Verbal Greeting

A verbal greeting should come first. A handshake may be used in professional or formal settings. La bise, the cheek-kissing greeting, is more familiar and depends on region, age, family habit, and the people involved. The number of cheek kisses is not the same everywhere.

• Do not assume that every French speaker uses la bise.
• Let the other person indicate whether a handshake, cheek greeting, or simple verbal greeting is expected.
• A smile, eye contact, and bonjour are enough when the physical custom is unclear.
• Practices also differ across France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, the Caribbean, Africa, and other French-speaking regions.

Greeting a Group

When entering a small group, greet the group clearly. Useful forms include Bonjour à tous, Bonjour tout le monde, and Bonsoir à toutes et à tous. In a small social gathering, individual greetings may follow, depending on local habit.

Repeating Bonjour During the Same Day

If you meet the same person again later, repeating bonjour may sound like a second first greeting. Speakers often use rebonjour in casual speech, or simply acknowledge the person with nous revoilà, a smile, or a short comment. Rebonjour is useful but remains conversational.

Pronunciation Notes

Approximate spellings can help at the beginning, but they cannot reproduce French vowels exactly. Listen for rhythm and repeat whole expressions rather than pronouncing every written letter separately.

Common Errors to Avoid

• Using salut with everyone: choose bonjour or bonsoir when the relationship is formal or unknown.
• Using allô face to face: allô belongs mainly to telephone speech.
• Using bonne nuit when leaving work in the early evening: bonne soirée is usually more natural.
• Using adieu as an everyday goodbye: au revoir is the ordinary choice.
• Mixing tu and vous: keep the pronoun, verb, and reply consistent.
• Starting a request without a greeting: a short bonjour makes service interactions smoother.
• Assuming one custom applies everywhere: spoken French and social habits vary across French-speaking communities.
• Translating word for word: bonjour covers more of the day than “good morning,” while bonne journée is mainly a leaving wish.

Examples by Level of Formality

Sources

• The Open University: Say Hello — Bonjour
• The Open University: Say Goodbye — Au Revoir
• The Open University: Using Tu and Vous
• TV5MONDE: Les Salutations
• George Washington University: French Email Greetings and Closings
• Five College Center for World Languages: Greetings and Partings

Frequently Asked Questions