How to say goodbye in French
In French au revoir means goodbye (formal) and salut means bye (informal). However, there are lots of other informal expressions such as je me casse (I’m outta here!). This post covers 15 formal and slang expressions for goodbye and provides excellent audio.
15 Ways To Say Goodbye In French
1. Au revoir = See you again
“Au revoir” is the most common and most formal way of saying goodbye in French. Au revoir literally means “until I see you again” with the “au” meaning “to” and “revoir” meaning “see again”.
au revoir
goodbye
This page on our site examines au revoir in detail.
2. Salut! = Bye! (Informal)
“Salut!” is another very common way of saying goodbye. However, it’s informal and should only be used with people you know know well and kids. It would be very impolite to say “salut” in a business situation or with total strangers.
This lesson examines the word salut in detail and provides pronunciation tips as well as example sentences.
salut
bye
This page on our site covers salut in detail.
3. À la prochaine = See you next time!
“À la prochaine” is an expression that translates to “see you next time”. The literal translation of à la prochaine is “to the next” and what it really means is “À la prochaine fois”, with the word “fois” meaning “time”.
à la prochaine
see you next time
4. À tout à l’heure! See you later!
“À tout à l’heure” translates to see you later. But, what’s important to keep in mind is that this expression is used to say “see you later” within the same day.
So, if it were the morning and you were seeing somebody a few hours later in the afternoon, you could say à tout à l’heure! If you were seeing at any time other than on the same day, you would not use this expression.
à tout à l’heure
see you later
5. À plus tard! = See you later!
“À plus tard” is another way of saying see you later! Unlike the previous expression you can use this to say “see you later” for the same day or another day or time in the future.
à plus tard
see you later
6. À tout de suite! See you right away!
“À tout de suite” means “see you soon” but what it really implies is “see you right away”. For example, if somebody calls you to tell you they’ll arrive in five minutes you can tell them, À tout de suite!
à tout de suite
see you soon
7. Adieu! Goodbye!
“Adieu” means goodbye but it has a rather serious connotation as it implies “goodbye forever”. It’s used most often when somebody passes away. Adieu” is almost never used as a way to say goodbye conversational French.
adieu
goodbye
8. Ciao! Bye!
“Ciao!” comes from Italian and means bye. It’s very informal and used mainly between friends and people you already know very well. Ciao is very common and equates to “salut!” for saying goodbye.
ciao
bye
9. Bon, Je te laisse! Well, I’m off!
“Bon, Je te laisse!” is an expression which translates literally to “good, I leave you!”. Another translation is “Well, I’m off”. You can use this expression at the end of a conversation or spending some time with somebody. You can also use this expression at the end of telephone conversations. The formal version of this expression is “Je vous laisse”.
bon, je te laisse
Well, I’m off.
10. À demain! See you tomorrow!
“À demain!” means see you tomorrow. The “À” here means see you and “demain” means tomorrow. Hence, “à demain” means “see you tomorrow!”
à demain
see you tomorrow
11. À + day of week!
À plus any day of the week means see you on that given day. “À dimanche!” means “see you on Sunday!”
à dimanche
See you Sunday.
- À lundi! See you Monday!
- À mardi! See you Tuesday!
- À mercredi! See you Wednesday!
- À jeudi! See you Thursday!
- À vendredi! See you Friday!
- À samedi! See you Saturday!
- À dimanche! See you Sunday!
This page on our site covers days of the week in French.
12. Je m’en vais! I’m outta here!
“Je m’en vais!” translates to “I’m off” or “I’m leaving is what you’d say when leaving a group of people after you’ve been with them for a while.
The infinitive, “s’en aller” means to be off. This page covers the conjugation of aller (to go) in detail.
je m’en vais
I’m off / I’m leaving
13. Je me casse! I’m outta here!
“Je me casse!” is slang and is the more informal version of “je m’en vais”. This phrase translates to “I’m outta here!”. The verb casser means “to break”. “Se casser” as a reflexive verb means “to be off” or “to be out of here”.
je me casse
I’m outta here!
14. Bonne continuation!
The expression “bonne continuation!” is used when you’ve known somebody for a given period of time and you’re now parting ways.
You use this to express best wishes in the other person’s future endeavors. According to WordReference, “bonne condinuation” translates to “keep it up. Another loose translation is “good luck you your future”.
bonne continuation
Good luck in your future.
15. Bonjour! Good-bye in French Canadian
It might seem strange to see “bonjour” on this list here because it means hello. However, in Québec and other French-speaking regions of Canada you can use “bonjour” at the end of a conversation to wish somebody a good day.
goodbye (French Canadian)
This page covers “bonjour” in detail.
Goodbye in French – Summary table
| French | English | Usage & notes |
| Au revoir | Goodbye | Formal way of saying good-bye. Do not pronounce the "re". Pronunciation: Oh wvahr. |
| Salut! | Bye! | Informal for friends, close acquaintances and kids. Do not use in formal situations. |
| À la prochaine | See you next time! | Expression used at end of conversations and when parting ways. |
| À tout à l'heure! | See you later! | Use this expression when you'll see the other person again on the same day. |
| À plus tard! | See you later! | Informal expression. Can be used when seeing the other person on the same day or a different day. |
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