What does au revoir mean?
In French “au revoir” (pronounced oh-vwahr) means goodbye, bye and farewell. It is the most formal way of saying good-bye. In this post we’ll closely examine the pronunciation of au revoir, salut vs. au revoir and look at some related expressions.
Become an expert n French greeetings!
Here at Frenchlearner.com we have you covered for learning French greetings. This page on our site covers ways of saying hello in French and this page covers ways of saying goodbye. This page provides a complete overview of French greetings.
Pronunciation of au revoir
Before we go any further let’s have a look at how to pronounce au revoir. The “au” is pronounced like “oh” as in “oh my gosh!”. The “re” is completely silent. Do not pronounce it. If you do, you’re pronouncing “au revoir” wrong. The “voir” is pronounce “vwahr”. Hence, the complete pronunciation is: “oh-vwhar”.
This page on Forvo provides some excellent audio samples of the pronunciation of au revoir. In addition, the following video from Julien on YouTube teaches the correct pronunciation:
Allez, au revoir !
When saying “au revoir”, the French often precede it with the word “allez”. This comes from the verb “aller”, which means to go. This page on our site explores “aller” in great detail.
Thus, “aller, au revoir !” can translate to both “Well, goodbye”, according to this page on reverso.net.
How to reply to au revoir
The best way to respond to “au revoir” is to simply reply “au revoir”. In formal situations you can reply with “au revoir madame” or “au revoir monsieur” (goodbye, ma’am or goodbye, sir).
Au revoir vs salut
The greeting word “salut” translate to both “hi!” and “bye!”. It is much less formal than “au revoir”. In more formal settings using au revoir would be much more appropriate. This page on our site covers “salut“ in detail.
Au revoir and adieu?
Adieu also means goodbye in French. Au revoir means goodbye when it’s expected that the two people will see each other again. Adieu, however, means goodbye forever. The word “adieu” is most commonly used when somebody passes away.
A few expressions with au revoir
In French, “au revoir” appears in a few expressions which we’ll observe below:
- Ce n’est qu’un au revoir Meaning: “It’s just a goodbye” and the French name of the song, Auld Lang Syne
- Dire au revoir à quelqu’un to say goodbye to somebody
- Se dire au revoir to say goodbye to each other
Discover more:
- Ways to say good morning in French
- Ways to say good night in French
- Ways to say thank you in French
- Ways to say welcome in French
Suggested audio French courses from Frenchtoday.com
- French Songs: 18 Top French Hits You’ll Love - June 1, 2023
- French appetizers: 20 Hors d’oeuvres You Will Love - May 26, 2023
- 20 Most Famous French Women In History - May 16, 2023
Bonjour! My name is David Issokson. I'm based in Victor, Idaho (near Jackson, Wyoming) and have helped hundreds of students to learn French online since 2013.
