How to Say Hello in French: 7 Steps (with Pictures)

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

Although "bonjour" is the most common in French, there are actually many ways to greet someone. Here are some of the most useful to know.

Steps

Method 1 of 1: Simple Greeting

Step 1. Say "Bonjour" in any situation

This word represents the basic greeting and can be used in both formal and informal situations.

• Bonjour is the combination of the terms "bon," which means "good", and "jour", which means day. The literal translation is "hello".
• This word is pronounced bon-jiùr, with a sweet j.

Step 2. In less formal situations, use "Salut"

Instead of "hello", this term can be translated as "hello".

• Salut comes from the French verb "saluer", which means "to greet".
• The word must be pronounced without the final "t", so go up.
• Another informal greeting that uses this term is "Salut tout le monde!", Which can be translated as "Hello everyone!" The word "tout" means "all" and "le monde" means "the world". This greeting is only used in a group of friends.

Step 3. In an informal situation, you can also say "Hé" or "Tiens"

Both words are a form of greeting, only less formal than bonjour.

• Hé can be translated as "hey". It is pronounced simply and.
• Another informal greeting between friends is "Hé là!" which means "hello!"
• Used as an interjection, tiens! is equivalent to a "hello!" surprised. The "e" is nasal and sounds like "an", so it is pronounced about tiàn

Step 4. Answer the phone by saying "Allô"

It means "ready" and is normally used on the phone.

• This term is pronounced alò with the final o accented and closed.
• You can also say "âllo?" in the form of an application. In this case it means like "Hello? Are you listening to me?"

Step 5. Use "bienvenue" to welcome someone

If someone visits you at home or in the office, you can greet them with this term, which means "Welcome!"

• Bien means "well" and venue means came or arrived.
• The word is pronounced bienveniù.
• A longer way to welcome someone is "être le bienvenu", where "être" is the verb "to be".

Time Based Greeting =

1. Use "Bonjour" in the morning and afternoon. There is no specific greeting for the afternoon.

   

   Since bonjour means "good day", it practically applies to both "good morning" and "good afternoon", as they both consider themselves as part of the day

2. In the evening he uses "Bonsoir". It means "good evening" and should be used as a greeting to the evening and night.

   

   • The term can be used in both formal and informal contexts, although it is more common in formal situations.
   • Bon means "good" and soir means "evening".
   • The term is pronounced bonsuàr.
   • To greet a group of people in the evening, you can use "Bonsoir mesdames et messieurs", which means "Good evening ladies and gentlemen".