6 different ways to say Hello in French

Summer is here and you might be planning a trip to eat all the croissants in the 5th arrondissement, or drink rosé on a sandy terrace in Saint-Tropez.

Maybe the extra daylight hours have finally motivated you to learn a little French? Either way, there’s no better place to start than with “bonjour”, the iconic greeting that means both “good morning” and “good afternoon”. And if you really want to impress people, you can learn a few other surprising ways to say hello in French. Don’t thank us yet, read the article first!

Despite a reputation for rudeness, politeness (or “politesse”) is a fundamental part of French culture, and this starts with greetings. There is no quicker way to get on a waiter’s bad side than to sit down without saying hello and start barking orders. Uttering a quick bonjour, depending on the time of day, is the foolproof way to avoid such a faux pas. One of the most basic French words, it is used simultaneously for “good morning” and “good afternoon”, but after around 6:00 pm, most people switch to bonsoir, which means “good evening”. Bear in mind there are other ways to greet and start a conversation, such as salut and coucou, but they are less formal and best used with friends and family.

How to say hello in French and not just “Bonjour”

Despite a reputation for rudeness, politeness, or “politesse” is a fundamental part of French culture, and this starts with greetings. There is no quicker way to get on a waiter’s bad side than to sit down without saying hello and start barking orders. Saying a quick bonjour, depending on the time of day, is the foolproof way to avoid such a faux pas. One of the most basic French words, it is used simultaneously for good morning and good afternoon, but after around 6:00 pm, most people switch to bonsoir, meaning “good evening”. There are other ways to greet and start a conversation, such as salut and coucou, but they are less formal and best used with friends and family.

Saying “good morning” in French

Learning French can take some time, but as you may have guessed, the most common way to say good morning is bonjour, which literally translates to “good day”. It can be used in both formal and informal situations, making it the perfect go-to greeting for beginners and experts alike. The most complicated thing about it is the pronunciation. Also, greetings in Quebecois are different and a more direct translation of good morning, bon matin, is used in French Canada.

A handshake or “la bises”?

Greetings in France involve a bit more touch than in some cultures. The infamous kisses, or la bise in French, involves touching cheeks while simultaneously making a kissing sound as a form of introduction, but the handshake is still preferred in more formal situations. If you don’t know what to do, a good rule of thumb is to wait and follow the other person’s lead.

6 different ways to say “Hello” in French

Although we have talked mostly about bonjour, there are many other common ways to say “hello” in French. If you are speaking to friends or family, the more informal versions can be used. If speaking to colleagues at work, to a teacher, or someone you have never met, it’s best to stick to the formal uses. Also, the time of day -morning, afternoon, evening or night- changes the greeting . The table below lists the different variations, but when in doubt, always use the formal.

Expression	Meaning	Situation
Bonjour	Good morning/Good afternoon	Formal and informal until 6pm
Bonsoir	Good evening	Formal after 6pm
Salut	Hey/Hi	Informal (friends and family)
Coucou	Hey/Hi	Informal (friends and family)
Allô	Hello	Informal (to answer the telephone)
Bon matin	Good morning	Formal (only in French Canada)
Enchanté	Delighted, nice to meet you	Formal
Rebonjour	Hello again	Informal
Ça fait longtemps	It’s been a while	Informal (mostly friends)

Bonjour Monsieur.
Good morning, sir.

Bonjour Madame.
Good afternoon madam.

Salut Victor !
Hey Victor!

Coucou Anna !
Hi Anna!

Bon matin Xavier.
Good morning Xavier.

Enchanté Monsieur.
Delighted, sir.

Rebonjour Anna
Hello again Anna

Ça fait longtemps !
It’s been a while!

Follow up with “how are you” in French

Even if you’re a beginner, show your vocabulary skills by following up with one of the many ways to ask “how are you?” Just like in English, it’s common to run into someone and say some variation of “Good morning, how are you?” or “Bonjour, comment ça va?”

The table below shows the various ways of saying “how are you”, which can be mixed and matched with all the different ways of saying hello listed above. In informal situations, you can even omit the hello and jump straight to “how are you” after being greeted.

Expression	Meaning	Situation
Comment allez-vous ?	How do you do?	Formal
Comment ça va ?	How are you?	Less formal
Ça va ?	How are you?	Less formal
Ça roule ?	How’s it going?	Informal
Quoi de neuf ?	What’s new?	Informal

Bonjour with Monsieur, Madame or Mademoiselle.

To be extra polite when greeting someone, all you need to do is add a title after bonjour. Or if you want to be more specific and add some flair, you can use one of the expressions in the table below.

Term	Meaning	Situation
Monsieur	Mister	Formal
Madame	Misses, Madam	Formal
Mademoiselle	Miss	Formal
mon ami(e)	my friend	Informal
mon amour	my love	Informal
mon chéri / ma chérie	my sweetheart	Informal

In the table below, you can see how to add “how are you” when using a title. Don’t forget to follow French word order when asking a question and put the verb before the subject when using être.

Phrase	Meaning	Situation
Bonsoir monsieur, comment allez-vous ?	Good evening sir, how do you do?	Formal
Salut Victor, ça va ?	Hi Victor, how are you?	Informal (friends or close colleague)
Bonjour, mon amour	Good morning my love	Informal (to a lover)

Bonjour or bonne journée?

Although they look quite similar, don’t be fooled! Bonjour and bonne journée have very different meanings. Bonne journée is used when leaving as a way of saying “have a good day.” The same is true of bonsoir and bonne soirée. When you leave someone’s company and want to wish them a good night, a simple bonne soirée is all you need to say goodbye.

Seasonal greetings in French

Phrase	Meaning	Situation
Bonne année !	Happy New Year!	Informal (friends, colleagues, family, strangers, etc.)
Joyeux Noël !	Merry Christmas!	Informal (friends, colleagues, family, strangers, etc.)
Joyeux anniversaire !	Happy birthday!	Informal

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