The answer everyone knows: Bonjour. Pronounced bohn-ZHOOR.
Two syllables, stress on the second. It means hello, good morning, and good day
all at once, and it works in virtually every situation from 6am until early
evening.
But if you're preparing for a trip to France, knowing bonjour
is only the beginning of the story — because in France, the greeting isn't just
a word. It's a social contract. And understanding that contract is what separates
travelers who find France warm and welcoming from those who come home saying
the French were rude.
Here's what's actually happening. French culture
places enormous weight on formal acknowledgment at the start of every
interaction. When you walk into a shop, a café, a pharmacy, a hotel — you greet
before you do anything else. The person behind the counter greets you back.
That exchange, brief as it is, establishes that this is a respectful
interaction between two people rather than a transaction. Skip it, and the
whole dynamic shifts in ways that feel inexplicable if you don't know why.
This is why tourists read French people as cold. They
walk up to a counter and start asking what they want, which in France reads as
presumptuous regardless of how politely they ask it. The fix is three seconds
and one word: Bonjour. Said first, said warmly, said every single time
you enter a space or approach a person. The response it generates is noticeably
different from the response you get without it.
So: how to say hello in French, in all the situations
you'll actually encounter.
Bonjour (bohn-ZHOOR)
— the universal greeting, morning through mid-afternoon. Formal enough for any
situation, warm enough for casual ones. This is the one you'll use most.
Bonsoir (bohn-SWAHR)
— good evening, used from late afternoon onward. The transition point varies
but early evening is always safe. Using bonsoir at the right moment
signals that you're paying attention, which French people appreciate.
Salut (sa-LU)
— hi, casual, used with friends or people you've already warmed up to. Not
appropriate for strangers or formal situations. If a French person says salut
to you, it means they've decided you're friendly enough for informality — take
it as a compliment.
Coucou (koo-KOO)
— a very casual, affectionate hello used between close friends. You'll hear it
but you probably won't need to initiate it.
After the greeting, the most common follow-up is Comment
allez-vous? (ko-mahn ta-LAY voo) — how are you, formal — or Ça
va? (sa VA) — how's it going, informal. The standard response to
either is Très bien, merci (treh byahn mehr-SEE) — very well,
thank you — which works in every context. If someone says ça va? you can
also respond with ça va — it works as both question and answer, meaning
roughly "it's going."
The farewell matters as much as the greeting. Au
revoir (oh ruh-VWAHR) — goodbye, universal. Bonne journée (bun
zhoor-NAY) — have a good day — said when leaving somewhere during the day. Bonne
soirée (bun swa-RAY) — have a good evening. These closings are
expected the same way the opening greeting is, and skipping them leaves an
interaction feeling abruptly unfinished.
One last thing worth knowing: in France, you say hello
to everyone when you enter a small space — a lift, a waiting room, a small
shop. Not loudly, not effusively. Just a quiet bonjour as you enter.
It's not a conversation starter. It's an acknowledgment that other people are
present, and it's considered basic courtesy.
All of this — greetings, farewells, and every
practical phrase you'll need between them — is covered in the English-French
Phrasebook for Travel and Everyday Situations by Sophie Redmond, with phonetic
pronunciation written in plain syllables throughout. It's organized by real
travel situations so you can find what you need quickly, and it includes modern
vocabulary that most phrasebooks skip entirely. You can find it on Amazon here.
Bonjour. Bohn-ZHOOR.
Say it first, say it every time, and France will be a completely different
country than the one you've heard about.
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