French greetings for beginners

Common French greetings

• bonjour: hello / good morning
• bonsoir: good evening
• salut: hi / bye (informal)
• au revoir: goodbye
• merci: thank you / thanks
• merci beaucoup: thank you very much
• s'il vous plaît: please (polite)
• oui: yes
• non: no
• madame: madam / Mrs
• monsieur: sir / Mr

When to use each greeting

• Bonjour ! The everyday greeting from morning until early evening. In France, saying bonjour when you walk into a shop or start a conversation is basic politeness.
• Bonjour, madame ! Bonjour, monsieur ! Adding madame or monsieur makes a greeting more polite. It is very common with shopkeepers and strangers.
• Bonsoir ! Used from about 6 p.m. It doesn't mean "goodnight": at bedtime you say bonne nuit.
• Salut ! Informal. Use it with friends and family, for both hello and goodbye.
• Oui, s'il vous plaît. / Non, merci. Yes, please. / No, thank you. With friends, "please" is s'il te plaît.

Practise with LinguaFlow

LinguaFlow is a beginner (A1) French course for English speakers, with short lessons, listening, speaking practice and review. There's no sign-up, and the first three lessons are free.

Start learning French