Headed over to France? Here are the thirty most common French greetings you can use in all situations. Audio is provided for all of the words! Click, listen, repeat and speak French!
Common French greetings
Hello / hi!
- Bonjour Hello, good morning! [bon-joor]
- Salut Hi!/bye [sah-lu]
- Ça va? How’s it going? [sah-vah]
- Comment ça va ? How’s it going? [como-sah-vah]
- Comment vas-tu ? How are you? (informal) [como-vah-tu]
- Comment allez-vous ? How are you? (formal or to group) [como-allay-voo]
- Bon après-midi Good afternoon! [boh-apray-mee-dee]
- Bonsoir Good evening. [boh-swahr]
Goodbye
- Au revoir Good-bye [ohv-voir]
- Salut ! Bye! (informal) [sah-loo]
- Bonne nuit Good night [bun-nwee]
- Bonne journée Have a nice day [bun-joor-nay]
- Bonne soirée Have a nice evening [bun-swahr-ay]
- À bientôt ! See you soon! [ah-bi-ehn-toh]
How you are doing
- Ça va I’m okay. [sah-vah]
- Ça va bien, merci. I’m well, thanks. [sah-vah-bi-ehn, mersee]
- Ça va mal I’m not doing well. [sah-vah-mahl]
- Ça va comme ci comme ça I’m so-so. [com-see-com-sah]
- Je vais bien. I’m fine. [zhuh vay bienh]
- Je vais mal. I’m not doing well / I’m doing poorly. [zhuh vay mahl]
- Je vais comme ci, comme ça. I’m so-so. [zhuh vay som-see-com-sah]
- Tout va bien. Everything is going fine. [too vah bienh]
Nice to meet you!
- Enchanté(e) ! Nice to meet you! [uhn-shan-tay]
- Ravi de faire votre connaissance ! Nice to meet you (formal) [ravee-duh-fair-vo-truh-co-nay-sanse]
- Bienvenue ! Welcome! [biehn-vuh-noo]
Slang greetings
- Quoi de neuf ? What’s new? [kwah-duh-nuf]
- Tu es en forme ? Are you feeling well? (informal) [too-ay-ehn-form]
- Coucou ! Hey there! (very informal) [coo-coo]
- Ça baigne ? How’s it going? [sah-banyuh]
- Ça bouge ? How’s it going? [sah-boozhe]
Related lessons:
- 20 ways to say hello in French
- 15 ways to say goodbye in French
- Nice to meet you
- Au revoir – goodbye
- Bonjour – hello
- Ça va – fine / How’s it going?
- Salut – Hi! / Bye!
- Coucou – Hi there!
French vocabulary | Lessons by David Issokson
