16 French Greetings: Say Hello (and Goodbye) Like a Local

In France, a greeting is not small talk — it is a social password. Walk into a bakery without saying bonjour and you have, by local standards, been quietly rude before ordering a single croissant. The upside: master a handful of greetings and French people will warm to you instantly, whatever the state of your grammar. Here are the 16 that cover real life, and exactly when to use each one.

Saying hello

1. Bonjour ! — Hello / Good day (bon-ZHOOR) The king of French words. Use it with everyone — shopkeepers, waiters, neighbours, bus drivers — every time you enter a shop or start a conversation. When in doubt, bonjour is never wrong before sunset.

2. Bonsoir ! — Good evening (bon-SWAHR) The evening twin. There is no official switchover, but around 6 pm — or once the light fades — bonjour hands over to bonsoir. Hear which one the other person uses and mirror it.

3. Salut ! — Hi (sah-LOO) Informal, for friends, family and people your age in relaxed settings. Never for the bakery lady or your landlord. The t is silent.

4. Coucou ! — Hey there! (koo-KOO) Extra-cute and extra-informal — what friends text each other and parents say to kids. Charming with people you know well; odd with anyone else.

5. Allô ? — Hello? (ah-LO) Phone only. This is how you answer a call — never a face-to-face greeting. Saying allô in person is a classic beginner giveaway.

6. Re-bonjour ! / Re ! — Hello again (ruh-bon-ZHOOR) For the second run-in of the day — you already greeted this colleague this morning, so at the coffee machine it is re-bonjour, or just a playful re !. Greeting someone with a plain bonjour twice in one day feels slightly robotic to French ears.

Asking “how are you?”

7. Ça va ? — How’s it going? (sah VAH) The everyday check-in, and conveniently also its own answer: Ça va ! (I’m fine). Two words, half of French social life.

8. Comment ça va ? — How is it going? (koh-mon sah VAH) A touch fuller than ça va ?, still casual and friendly.

9. Comment allez-vous ? — How are you? (koh-mon tah-lay VOO) The polite, formal version — for elders, professional settings, or anyone you address as vous. Answer: Très bien, merci. Et vous ?

10. Quoi de neuf ? — What’s new? (kwah duh NUHF) Casual catch-up between friends — the French “what’s up?”. A shrugged Pas grand-chose (“not much”) is the standard reply.

Saying goodbye

11. Au revoir ! — Goodbye (oh ruh-VWAHR) The universal exit — polite everywhere, from boardrooms to bakeries. Leaving a shop without it is as noticed as entering without bonjour.

12. À bientôt ! — See you soon (ah byan-TOH) Warm and open-ended. Its precise cousins: À demain ! (see you tomorrow), À tout à l’heure ! (see you later today), À lundi ! (see you Monday).

13. À demain ! — See you tomorrow (ah duh-MAN) For colleagues and classmates you will genuinely see the next day.

14. Bonne journée ! — Have a good day (bun zhoor-NAY) The exit twin of bonjour. You will hear it from every cashier as you leave — answer Merci, vous aussi ! (“thanks, you too”).

15. Bonne soirée ! — Have a good evening (bun swah-RAY) Same idea after dark: bonsoir opens the evening, bonne soirée closes it.

16. Bonne nuit ! — Good night (bun NWEE) Bedtime only. It means “sleep well”, said to someone actually heading to bed — not a way to greet or leave people at 9 pm. That job belongs to bonsoir / bonne soirée.

The two rules that make you sound local

Add Madame / Monsieur. Bonjour, Madame. Au revoir, Monsieur. Those extra words are the difference between “tourist who learned bonjour” and “person with manners” — especially in shops and with anyone older than you.

Match tu and vous. The formal pairs (Comment allez-vous ?, Et vous ?) go with people you would call vous: strangers, elders, officials, shop staff. The casual set (salut, ça va, quoi de neuf) belongs to tu territory: friends, family, kids. When unsure, start formal — being “demoted” to tu is a pleasure; being promoted the other way is awkward.

And la bise — the cheek-kiss hello between friends (two kisses in most regions, more in some) — is real, but as a visitor you never have to initiate it. A smile and bonjour always works.

Put them to work today

Greetings are the easiest French you will ever learn — every one is a complete, ready-made sentence. Say bonjour and merci, au revoir on every shop visit and you are already speaking French daily. When you are ready for the next line of the conversation — ordering deux croissants takes our French numbers, and the rest of the exchange is in our 30 common French phrases. To nail the nasal on in bonjour itself, see how to pronounce French.

Every greeting here is in Learn French for Beginners with native-speaker audio you can copy until the melody sticks. Download it free on Google Play — and open tomorrow with a proper bonjour.