Let’s list the most common French greetings
Bonjour – Good day
You probably heard of this one before. You can say this in any situation during the day. It is pretty formal but when in doubt – always use this one.
Bonsoir – Good evening
It is also quite formal but you can use it if it is after 5 PM and you are not sure what else you can use in your situation.
Salut – Hello/Hi
This one is a lot less formal and used mostly with friends. You can make it even less formal and say “Salut toi!” – hi to you!
Coucou – Hi
The most informal and kind of a cutesy way to say Hi to your closest friends.
Comment ça va – How is it going
Not too formal
Ça va – How is it going
Less formal
Comment allez-vous – How are you doing
This may be a little too familiar
Ça roule – How is it going
Ouoi de neuf – What’s up
Tu vas bien – Are you ok
These are all quite informal
Less commonly used greetings
Bon matin – Good morning
This is considered an Americanism. It is better not to use it in France and simply say Bonjour in the morning. But I heard it is ok to use in Quebec.
Wesh, wesh ma gueule – wassup, bro
This comes from Arabic and is quite dated and super casual. Use it only with good friends.
How to say goodbye in French
À plus, À plus tard – until later
À la prochaine – until next time
À bientot – see you soon
Salut – goodbye
The 4 phrases above are very casual
Au revoir – formal goodbye
Adieu – farewell
How to greet people in emails
Cher confrère – dear colleague (male)
Chère consoeur – dear colleague (female)
Monsieur …, Madame … – mister or ms (can add Cher/Chère in front for “dear”)
How to say goodbye in emails
(Bien/très) Cordialement – Regards
Bien à vous – all the best to you
Je vous prie d’agréer, Madame/Monsieur, l’expression de mes salutations distinguées. – I pray to agree Mr/Ms, expressing my most cordial greetings.
The last one is the most formal.
How to wish someone a good day/evening
Bonne journée – have a good day
Bonne fin de journée – have a good rest of the day
Bon après-midi – good afternoon
Bonne fin d’après-midi – have a good rest of the afternoon
Bonne soirèe – have a good evening
Bonne fin de soirèe – have a good rest of the evening
Bonne nuit – have a good night
How to respond to someone meeting you for the first time
Enchanté(e) – Nice to meet you
You need to add -e at the end if you say this to a woman.
You can also expand this
Enchanté(e) de faire votre connaissance – Enchanted by getting to know you
Ravi(e) de faire votre connaisance – Pleasure to meet you
What do you say if you meet someone for the second time during the day?
You can say Rebonjour but it’s relatively informal.
Do the French kiss each other on the cheek when they meet?
In France, there is a tradition of kissing your friends every time you meet. Women kiss their female friends pretty much every day. Men and women kiss if they are close friends. Men do not usually kiss each other. Interestingly hugging is considered a lot more invasive than kissing.