Bonjour: 20+ ways to say “Hello” in French

August 10, 2021
by Gymglish

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.

Everyone knows “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.

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… but it’s 17 heures 40 here, and you’re at a loss: is it time for “bonjour” or “bonsoir” ?

When to say “bonjour” and “bonsoir” in French?

One of the most basic French words, “bonjour” is used simultaneously for “good morning” and “good afternoon”, but after a certain magic hour, 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.

What’s the magic hour? We’ll let you figure it out, because it’s only fun when you confidently say “bonsoir” and the person replies with a most natural “bonjour“. Awkward.

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.

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.

When in doubt, remain formal!

Also, greetings in Quebecois are different and a more direct translation of good morning, bon matin, is used in French Canada.

The most common ways to say “Hello” in French 

ExpressionMeaningSituation
BonjourGood morning/Good afternoonFormal and informal, use until the magic hour (usually when the sun sets)
BonsoirGood eveningFormal and informal, use after the magic hour
SalutHey/HiInformal (friends and family)
CoucouHey/HiInformal (friends and family)
WeshHeyVery informal (friends)
AllôHelloInformal (to answer the telephone)
AlloHelloInformal (only in Canadian French)
Bon matinGood morningFormal (used in Canadian French, may be heard on TV / Radio)
EnchantéDelighted, nice to meet youFormal, informal
RebonjourHello againInformal 
Ça fait longtempsIt’s been a while / long time no seeInformal (mostly friends, can be used in business)
Examples:
  • Bonjour Monsieur. / Good morning, sir.
  • Bonjour Madame. / Good afternoon madam.
  • Salut Victor ! / Hey Victor!
  • Bon matin Xavier. / Good morning Xavier.
  • Enchanté Monsieur. / Pleased to meet you, sir. 
  • Rebonjour Anna / Hello again Anna
  • Coucou Anna ! Ça fait longtemps ! / Hey, Anna! It’s been a while! 

Greeting formally: a handshake, or “la bise”?

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.  

How to do la bise correctly?

The dreaded bise.

  • Which cheek first? Left cheek? Right cheek?
  • And how many times? Twice? 8 times?!
  • Should I put my hand over their shoulder as well?
  • Should I even do la bise?

To make things more complicated: it all depends on where you are!

The northern half of France tends to initiate la bise from the right cheek (your right cheek gently bumping into the greeted person’s right cheek), where as the south tends to kiss the left cheek first. It’s not even a rule, you may end up in front of someone from Bordeaux in Paris, or a Strasbourgeois in Brest.

Don’t worry – use the same tip we just gave you above: in case of doubt, follow the other person’s lead. At worst, you’ll both awkwardly look at each other, and it’s fine!

Important note: La bise is almost never appropriate in a professional context.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, you’ll find that a lot of people dropped the custom of la bise.

Follow ups 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.

ExpressionMeaningSituation
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 up?Informal
Ça farte ?What’s up?Very informal (street cred –)
Ça gaze ?What’s up?Very informal (street cred -)
Ça dit quoi ?*What’s up?Very informal (street cred ~)
Wesh*Hey, what’s up?Very informal (street cred +)
Bien ou bien ?*What’s up?Very informal (street cred++)

*add a “et la famille ?” after those examples to increase your street cred even further, yo.

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.

TermMeaningSituation
MonsieurMisterFormal
MadameMisses, MadamFormal
MademoiselleMissFormal
Maître / MaîtresseTeacher (only used in elementary school)Formal
mon ami(e)my friendInformal
mon amourmy loveInformal
mon chéri / ma chériemy sweetheartInformal

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.

PhraseMeaningSituation
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 amourGood morning my loveInformal (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

PhraseMeaningSituation
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 

The greetings above are regarded as “informal”, but it’s easy to make them formal by simply adding “Je vous souhaite un(e)” beforehand. Examples:

  • Je vous souhaite une très belle année 2025 ! / I wish you a very happy 2025!
  • Je vous souhaite un joyeux Noël. / I wish you a Merry Christmas.
  • Je vous souhaite un joyeux anniversaire. / I wish you a happy birthday.

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