You can greet someone in French with bonjour, salut, or bonsoir. The right choice depends on who you are speaking to, the situation, and the time of day.
To end a conversation, see How to say goodbye in French.
Start with bonjour
Bonjour is the most useful greeting to learn first. You can use it during the day with people you know and people you have never met.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Bonjour ! | Hello! / Good morning! |
| Bonjour, Madame. | Hello. |
| Bonjour, Monsieur. | Hello. |
English has several everyday greetings, including "hello," "hi," and "good morning." Bonjour covers much of this ground in French, so you should not expect one fixed English translation.
You will hear bonjour in many everyday interactions. You can use it when you enter a bakery, speak to someone at a hotel, arrive at work, or meet a neighbor.
Use salut with people you know
Salut is an informal greeting for friends and other people you know well. It is similar to "hi" in English.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Salut ! | Hi! |
| Salut, Julie ! | Hi, Julie! |
| Salut, ça va ? | Hi, how are you? |
The difference between bonjour and salut is mainly social. Salut shows familiarity, while bonjour works across a wider range of situations.
With a friend, salut may be natural. When you enter a shop or greet someone you do not know, bonjour is the safer choice.
Use bonsoir in the evening
As the day moves into the evening, bonsoir can replace bonjour as a greeting.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Bonsoir ! | Good evening! |
| Bonsoir, Madame. | Good evening. |
| Bonsoir, tout le monde ! | Good evening, everyone! |
There is no single clock time when bonjour becomes bonsoir. The choice depends partly on the situation and local habits. At A1, the useful distinction is to recognize bonsoir as an evening greeting.
Salut can still be used informally in the evening. It remains informal regardless of the time of day.
Other informal greetings you may hear
Friends and people who know each other well have other ways to greet each other and start a conversation. These are useful to recognize, even if you begin by using salut yourself.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Ça va ? | How's it going? |
| Quoi de neuf ? | What's new? |
| On dit quoi ? | What's up? / What's going on? |
| Ça dit quoi ? | What's up? / How's it going? |
These expressions do more than say hello. They also ask how things are going, so they can open a conversation.
On dit quoi ? and ça dit quoi ? are very informal. You may hear them among friends and in casual spoken French. They are useful to recognize, but they would sound out of place with a stranger or in a more formal interaction.
Quoi de neuf ? is also informal, but it asks more directly whether there is anything new. Like English "What's new?", it can work as a greeting or as a genuine question.
From learning to practice
In everyday conversation, the situation often makes the greeting clear. The more you encounter these situations, the easier it becomes to greet someone without stopping to consider which expression fits.