![\"\u201cBonjour\u201d](\"https:\/\/www.clozemaster.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/word-image.jpeg\")
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I think we can all agree that you\u2019d struggle to find someone who doesn\u2019t know that \u201cbonjour\u201d is French for hello<\/em>. But how many people know other ways to say hello in French? There are different French greetings at different times of the day, and on top of that, there are also different words to use when speaking to your friends, or even when answering the phone.<\/p>\n Today we\u2019re going to look at the basics, the formalities, and everything in between!<\/p>\n The most common way to say hello in French is of course \u201cbonjour\u201d. This literally means good day<\/em> and can be used for good morning<\/em> in French too. This is used all day until around sunset, when you should stop saying bonjour and start saying \u201cbonsoir\u201d, which means good evening<\/em> in French.<\/p>\n This is something that can be difficult to get used to, because native English speakers have the habit of just saying \u201cbonjour\u201d as we would \u201chello\u201d, but a French person would never say \u201cbonjour\u201d at night, unless they\u2019re not thinking straight!<\/p>\n Another important thing to note is that you can address someone directly by adding their name to the end of the word \u201cbonjour\u201d:<\/p>\n If you want to go one step further and wish someone a warmer welcome, then I would recommend the phrase \u201cBien le bonjour\u201d. This is similar in meaning to both \u201cgood day<\/em>\u201d and \u201cwell hello\u201d, <\/em>and sounds overall more cheery than a plain \u201cbonjour\u201d.<\/p>\n There are several different ways to say \u201chello everyone\u201d in French, but they\u2019re all centered around the word \u201ctout\u201d, meaning all:<\/em><\/p>\n Later we\u2019ll look at formal greetings, and that’s where you\u2019ll learn how to politely say hello<\/em> in French to men, women and large crowds.<\/p>\n If we can say good day and good evening, then surely we must be able to say good morning<\/em> or good afternoon<\/em> in French too? Actually, we can\u2019t. While we would say \u201cgood morning\u201d in English to greet people before midday, this is not the case in France. French people stick to the usual \u201cbonjour\u201d. That said, if you\u2019re wondering how to say hello in French Canadian then look no further. In Canada, particularly in Quebec, we can say \u201cbon matin\u201d.<\/p>\n As far as afternoons are concerned, there\u2019s no other special way to say hello during the day until the evening.<\/p>\n The following terms are all used to wish someone a good day in French, and cannot be used as a greeting<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Next, we\u2019re going to look at the slightly more informal ways to say hello in French, notably the widely used \u201csalut\u201d and \u201ccoucou\u201d which both translate loosely to hi<\/em> in French.<\/p>\n \u201cSalut\u201d can mean both hi<\/em> and bye<\/em>, similar to the Italian \u201cciao\u201d (speaking of ciao, the French use that to say goodbye too!). While \u201chi\u201d can be said in English in almost any situation without raising any eyebrows, the same cannot be said for \u201csalut.\u201d This kind of greeting should only really be used to address people you know, be it close friends or just acquaintances, it\u2019s just not something you\u2019d say to a complete stranger.<\/p>\n Remember: the \u2018t\u2019 at the end of \u201csalut\u201d is silent!<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cCoucou\u201d is used slightly less often. It is extremely common amongst children, but adults do use it when speaking to women too, if it\u2019s a female friend or family member. Some parts of the French language are slightly outdated, and this might just be one of them, because a man would never greet another man with \u201ccoucou\u201d unless they were joking around. In any case, know that this is very informal, and certainly isn\u2019t a greeting you should say to your boss! When in doubt, leave \u201ccoucou\u201d to the kids.<\/p>\n Both of these French greetings are also commonly used by text message and online, though they are usually shortened. The \u2018text-talk\u2019 versions are \u201cslt\u201d (for salut) and \u201ccc\u201d (for coucou). For example:<\/p>\n Now that we\u2019ve covered the informal greetings, let\u2019s look at the opposite: formal greetings in French. This is an easy thing to learn, as you just have to address the person you\u2019re speaking to more politely with sir<\/em> or madam<\/em>, or their name if you know it.<\/p>\n To elaborate, the French president would address the public using the highly formal \u201cMesdames, mesdemoiselles, messieurs, bonjour\u201d (ladies, young ladies, gentlemen, hello<\/em>). This is the most formal way to address a group of people.<\/p>\n On the contrary, \u201cmessieur-dames\u201d is an abbreviated term for ladies and gentlemen that is actually informal as it isn\u2019t grammatically correct, yet it is very polite. It is used to say hello to a group of several men and women, for example saying hello when entering a shop, or the way a Ma\u00eetre D\u2019 might greet a group of both male and female diners in a restaurant.<\/p>\n This comes as a surprise to everyone, because it simply doesn\u2019t sound French! When francophones answer the phone, they say \u201c\u00e2llo\u201d. This might sound like the English \u201chello\u201d, or even the German \u201challo\u201d, but it actually comes from Hungarian.<\/p>\n Tivadar Pusk\u00e1s invented the telephone exchange, and when testing his incredible invention back in 1877, he said \u201challod?\u201d meaning \u201ccan you hear me?\u201d in Hungarian, to which the response was \u201challom, hallo\u201d (I can hear you, I\u2019m listening).<\/p>\n This short exchange between the two gentlemen has since been simplified to the last part: Hallo (I\u2019m listening).<\/p>\n French people tend to answer the phone as if they\u2019re asking a question, with the intonation rising at the end. It\u2019s almost as if to say, \u201cHello, what do you want?\u201d, all in one short and simple word.<\/p>\n The person making the phone call, however, wouldn\u2019t necessarily reply with \u201c\u00e2llo\u201d. They could simply say \u201cbonjour\u201d and introduce themselves, typically with their name followed by \u201c\u00e0 l’appareil”, meaning \u201con the phone\u201d.<\/p>\n *phone rings* Here\u2019s a word that doesn\u2019t have an exact English equivalent, but you\u2019ll recognize the word if you know your prefixes! If a word comes from Latin and it starts with \u201cre-\u201d then it means \u201cback\u201d or \u201cagain\u201d. Here, \u201crebonjour\u201d simply means hello again<\/em>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not uncommon to hear people say \u201crebonjour\u201d when they greet someone for the second time on the same day. It might be when you go back into a shop because you\u2019ve forgotten something, or when you bump into someone twice in one day.<\/p>\n Helpful hint: When you want to say you did something again in French, you can always add \u201cre\u201d before the verb, for example remanger, redemander<\/em>, refaire, r\u00e9crire\/r\u00e9\u00e9crire<\/em> (eat again, ask again, re-do, re-write).<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t so much how you would greet somebody, but it\u2019s definitely how you would get their attention. \u201cExcusez-moi\u201d means excuse me<\/em> in French, and is polite so can be used to address strangers, as opposed to family or friends. The informal equivalent is \u201cexcuse-moi\u201d.<\/p>\n If you approach somebody with \u201cexcusez-moi\u201d then it\u2019s apologetic, so it\u2019s good for asking for assistance in a shop, or trying to get a stranger\u2019s attention because you need help.<\/p>\n Our first slang word that French youngsters use is what the French call \u201cverlan\u201d, backward words. The word verlan <\/em>itself is \u201cl\u2019envers\u201d (meaning back to front) pronounced back to front. Confused? It\u2019s okay, you can learn more about backwards words later, but for now we\u2019re just going to focus on one word: jourbon.<\/em><\/p>\n If you split bonjour in half you have bon<\/strong> and jour<\/strong>. Now flip them back to front, and you have “jourbon”, your first slang word for hello.<\/p>\n Finally, I\u2019m going to tell you a few more ways to say \u201chello\u201d in French slang, but please don\u2019t use them<\/strong> when speaking to your elderly neighbours or in a work meeting, or you\u2019ll get us both in trouble! These words tend to only be used amongst young people, or on the internet.<\/p>\n The first one is a term that you\u2019ll probably recognize, Yo!<\/em> This of course comes from American rap, and is used by French teens and young adults.<\/p>\n English isn\u2019t the only language to influence French vocabulary. The slang term \u201cWesh\u201d comes from Arabic, and is also used to mean \u201chiya\u201d or \u201chey\u201d.<\/p>\n And finally, \u201ckikou\u201d is a variation of \u201ccoucou\u201d, which we saw earlier. It is used almost exclusively on the internet; in chat rooms and on social media.<\/p>\n Youngsters aren\u2019t the only ones to use English words more and more. Don’t be surprised if an older French person who barely speaks a word of English walks into a room and says \u201chello\u201d.<\/p>\n There you have it, a whole variety of different ways to say hello in French. Now that you know how to greet people both online and in real life, in different situations and at various times of the day, all that\u2019s left to do is go out and make small talk.<\/p>\n If you’d also like to learn how to say goodbye in French, check out our blog post Goodbye in French: Bidding a fond farewell!<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Clozemaster\u00a0<\/strong>has been designed to help you learn the language in context by filling in the gaps in authentic sentences. With features such as Grammar Challenges, Cloze-Listening, and Cloze-Reading, the app will let you emphasize all the competencies necessary to become fluent in French.<\/p>\n<\/a>Good Day<\/em> and Good Evening<\/em> in French<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>Hello Everybody!\u00a0<\/em>in French<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>Good Morning<\/em> in French<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>Informal French Greetings<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>Formal French Greetings<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>Answering the Phone<\/h2>\n
\n<\/em>\u00e2llo ?<\/strong> \u2013 Hello?
\n<\/em>Bonjour, c\u2019est Sarah Lacroix \u00e0 l\u2019appareil, je souhaite parler avec Monsieur Bernard. \u2013 <\/strong>Hello, Sarah Lacroix speaking, I\u2019d like to speak to Mr Bernard.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Hello Again in French<\/em><\/h2>\n
<\/a>Excuse Me\u00a0<\/em>in French<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Slang Terms for Hello\u00a0<\/em>in French<\/h2>\n
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