General Salutations and Greetings

Informal and Formal French Salutations

1. Bonjour – Good morning / hello

You can use bonjour to say either “good morning” or “hello” to someone when you’re seeing them for the first time of the day.

2. Enchanté (e) – Nice to meet you

In a more formal setting, it’s polite to indicate that you’re delighted to meet someone after they introduce themselves, and this phrase is the perfect way to do so. It shows that you are actually pleased to meet someone new.

3. Bonsoir – Good evening / hello

This greeting is used in similar situations as bonjour but is reserved for the evening. 

4. Salut – Hi

Considered one of the more casual greetings in French, salut is appropriate when you see someone again later in the day.

5. Coucou – Hey

Close friends, like the ones you’re sure to make because of this new language skill, use this casual French salutation often. You can skip the formal bonjour and use this word, or even ciao, when seeing close friends.

6. Âllo – Hello

This French salutation is used exclusively for conversations on the telephone.

7. Ça va? – How are you?

A very simple way to ask someone how they are doing is to say Ça va? It’s a condensed version of the question Comment ça va? – How are you doing?

9. Quoi de neuf? – What’s up?

This is a very casual option for how to say hello in French, so we recommend using it only with close friends. Strangers or even friends of friends may feel a little put off by an informal question like this from someone they don’t know.

French Phrases to Use When Parting

Now that you know common ways to welcome friends when you see them, you need to learn how to properly part ways. Just like with greetings, these parting phrases can differ based on the context and the familiarity with the person.

11. Au revoir! – Goodbye!

Rather formal, this is a safe way to say goodbye in French no matter the social setting or whether you know the person well or not.

12. Salut! – Bye!

This French word for “goodbye” is much more casual than au revoir. In proper French etiquette, you would normally use this with very close friends and family members at the end of a regular get-together. 

13. Ciao! – See ya!

This phrase is Italian in origin, but is popular among the younger French population and international speakers around the world.

14. À plus! – Later!

This is one of those easy, casual, and friendly greetings in French and a simple way to indicate that you’ll see them at a later, unspecified time.

15. À demain! – See you tomorrow!

The word demain can be replaced with any day of the week if you know that you will see the other person soon.