Salut c’est Géraldine, bienvenue sur Comme
une Française TV, Sound French, even to the French.
Whether it’s to make small talk or to start
long discussions with a friend, French greetings
are always useful to know.
It’s one of the first parts of any study
of the language : first you say “oui," you
say “non," you say “au revoir," and I
say “Bonjour.”
Hellos, goodbyes, let’s dive in !
Bonjour !
Bonjour ! Hello!
You know this word.
It's the usual way to say hello in french, in the morning or during the day.
You can say it to one person or to several people.
If you’re talking on your own to a group
of people, you could also use the formal “Bonjour à tous,"
Hello everyone, or the colloquial
and cheerful “Bonjour bonjour !."
It’s a simple word, really – so much that it’s
proverbial : “Simple comme bonjour”
is French for “easy as ABC."
It also use to express irony,
Eh bah, bonjour l'ambiance!
Well, so much for the cheerful atmosphere.
“Dire Bonjour” can also mean “making
small talk," as in “Si tu passes dans le coin, viens dire bonjour !
“If you’re around, come over to say hello!”
By extension, Passer le bonjour is to send
someone’s regards : “Mon frère te passe le bonjour” :
My brother sends his regards.
So, when can’t you say Bonjour, then ? Well,
in the evening or at night, for starters.
We use Bonsoir, then.
But also, when you’ve already said hello
to someone before in the day.
“Don’t say bonjour twice!”
I’ve already made an episode about that
by the way, and you’ll find a link to it
below this one.
As I explained, you can use Rebonjour, hello
again, or colloquially : Re.
Or even Salut or coucou.
Salut !
Salut ! Hi !
You also know this word.
It’s mildly colloquial, for people you already
know well.
It can be used as Goodbye as well.
Formally, the word also means Salvation.
...And that’s why, when I was a little girl,
I believed for a long time that the Salvation
Army, l’Armée du Salut, were really friendly
soldiers who would greet people a lot.
Anyway, another cheerful friends greeting is coucou, coucou
It’s low-key and friendly.
J'ai vu que tu etais rentree, je voulais passer te dire un petit coucou.
“I saw that you were back, I wanted to drop
over and say a little hi!”
Ca va? How are you? or Comment ca va?
is very often part of the greeting after hello in the conversation.
You can also opt for Tu vas bien ? / Comment tu vas ? or the more formal Vous allez bien ? / Comment allez-vous ?
– but then you have to choose between tutoyer , for a friend,
and vouvoyer, for someone you respect.
The usual answers can also be divided between
tu and vous : Ça va, et toi ? Bien, et vous
? Both mean “I’m fine, and you ?”
Au revoir !
Au revoir !
Maybe you had a captivating conversation.
Maybe you just came in to say “Hi” and
leave quickly.
Anyway, it’s time to say goodbye.
You can also wish them good things : Bonne
journée ! Have a good day!
Bonne soirée ! Have a good evening!
Bon week-end ! Have a nice week-end ! Bonne
continuation ! All the best!
This one is more formal and generic.
For goodbyes, you can also use Bonsoir in
the evening, and Salut at any time for a friend,
but not Bonjour or Coucou.
Taking time to say goodbye is dire au revoir,
or more formally faire ses adieux.
“Le temps que je fasse mes adieux, j’ai
raté mon avion.”
“While I was taking time to say goodbye,
I missed my plane.”
Adieu by itself is the formal word you’re
supposed to use when you know you won’t
see the person ever again.
There’s no good way to say Adieu, really.
But as we love to sing over the Scottish melody
of Auld Lang Syne (OU: over a famous scottish
melody) : “Ce n’est qu’un au revoir,"
hopefully it’s only a goodbye, and we’ll
see each other again someday.
Et toi ? Did you know these words?
Which part of daily French conversation do
you struggle with?
How do you say Hello in your own language?
Tell me in the comments on the blog, I want
to hear from you!
I read all the commments and answer the questions
on the blog Comme une Française.com
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sound French, even to the French.
Allez, salut !
