There are many more ways to say hello in French than the most common words such as bonjour and salut. This post teaches lots of “real” ways to say hello that you’d actually hear on the steets of Paris. Keep reading to learn how to say “hello” in French like a native!
Hello in French
1. Bonjour !
If you go to France, the single most common word for hello is “Bonjour”. “Bonjour” means both good morning and hello. It can be used throughout the day.
2. Salut !
The second most common way of saying hi is “Salut !”. The word “Salut” translates to “Hi!” is seen as informal and is most commonly used between peers. Salut also means “Bye!”.
3. Bonsoir !
“Bonsoir !” (pronounced boh-swar) is a formal way of saying hello during the evening hours. Generally, “bonsoir !” is used after around six o’clock p.m.
4. Coucou !
“Coucou !” (pronounced coo-coo) is by far the most common informal way of saying hi in French and translates to both “Hey there!” and “Hi There!
5. Bien le bonjour !
The expression “Bien le bonjour !” is literally means to “Well the hello!”. This is a very way of saying hello and translates to “Well hello!” in English.
6. Bienvenue !
“Bienvenue !” is a way of saying hello but really means “Welcome!”. You can also say, “Vous êtes le bienvenue!“. This would translate to “You are the welcomed person.”
7. Ça gaze ?
“Ça gaze ?” is a slightly dated informal greeting which means to “How’s it going?” or even “What’s up?”. The direct translation of “Ça gaze ?” is “It gases?”
8. Quoi de neuf ?
“Quoi de neuf ?” is a commonly used informal way of saying hi. The literal translation of “Quoi de neuf ?” is “What of new?”. English meanings of this greeting include “What’s new?”, “Any news?” and “What have you been up to?”
9. Allô !
At first glance, it looks like “Allô !” is what you would use to say hi to somebody. However, “Allô !” is what you used to say, “Hello” when you pick up the telephone.
10. Enchanté(e) ! / Ravi(e) !
Both “Enchanté(e) de faire votre connaissance !” and “Ravi(e) de faire votre connaissance” mean “Nice to meet you!”. The -e would be added to each of these sentences in to indicated the feminine form.
While “Enchanté(e) !” means “Nice to meet you!”, it is included in this list because it also translates to “Hello!” for when meeting somebody for the first time.
11. Ça roule?
“Ça roule ?” is an informal way of saying hi, and translates directly to “It rolls” or “It drives”. English equivalents are “How’s it going?” and “How are things?”.
The question, “Ça roule?” can be answered with “Ça roule !”, which means “It’s going good!”.
12. Ça fait longtemps !
“Ça fait longtemps !” translates to “It’s been a long time”. You would use “Ça fait longtemps !” when you haven’t seen somebody for a long time. An English translation is “Long time no see!”.
13. Ça baigne ?
“Ça baigne ?” is another slang way of you could ask somebody, “How’s it going?”. The expression literally means, “It bathes?” or “It swims?”.
However, in the context of this greeting, the verb “baigner” translates to “to go well” or “to go swimmingly?”.
14. Quoi de beau ?
The expression “Quoi de beau ?” translates literally to “What of beautiful?”. The full French expression is: “Tu fais quoi de beau?”, which translates to “What have you been up to lately?” or “What are you up to?”.
15. Salut toi !
“Salut toi !” is a highly informal way of saying hi, typically to a peer or younger person. The direct meaning is “Hi you!”. The English transaltion is “Hey you!”.
16. Salut mon grand ! Salut ma grande !
In French, “mon grand” and “ma grande” are both terms of endearment for an older peer. Hence, “Salut mon grand !” or “Salut ma grande !” could translate to “Hello, my older friend!”.
17. Salut ma belle !
In French “ma belle” translates to “my beautiful woman or girl”. Thus, “Salut ma belle !” is a highly informal way of saying hello to a close female companion. A loose English translation could be, “Hello my dear”.
18. Tiens, un revenant!
The expression, “Tiens, un revenant!” translates to “hello, stranger!”. “Tiens!” means “hey!” or “say!”. The word “revenant” translates to “spirit”, “ghost” or “stranger”.
19. Salut ma puce !
In French, “ma puce” is a term of endearment which men often use for their girlfriends and wives. Hence, “Salut ma puce !” could translate to “Hello honey!”.
20. Bon matin !
“Bon matin !” translates to “Good morning!”. This expression is used in the place of “bonjour” but is strictly used in French speaking Canada (Quebec and other provinces ) and not in French-speaking Europe.
Related lessons:
- French greetings
- Goodbye in French
- Bonjour – Hello
- Ça Va – Fine / How’s it going?
- Salut – Hi! / Bye!
- Au Revoir – Goodbye
French phrases | Lessons by David Issokson
