GREETINGS

Hello! In this post I will be teaching you several greetings in French. Let´s begin!

1. Bonjour! – Hello! (Also, Good Morning!)

This is your run of the mill, basic French greeting, and it works in any setting, formal and informal alike. It’s probably the first word that most French language beginners learn, and for good reason! It’s only common courtesy to utter a little bonjour to the baker as you walk into the corner boulangerie or to the waiter before you order a coffee on the terrasse of a Parisian café. Not using this greeting is deemed utterly impolite by many and may merit a disdainful glance. Once the sun sets, you’ll want to replace this little pleasantry with bonsoir! (Good evening!) All in all, using either bonjour or bonsoir is your best bet for first greeting someone in either a formal or informal setting.

2. Salut! – Hi!

This is a great greeting to use with anyone you see rather often or someone you know rather well, i.e. a colleague with similar standing as you or a good friend. It is an informal greeting, and should be used as such, since it is not exactly an expression you’ll want to whip out at to begin a business meeting. Note that the ‘t’ on the end of the word is silent, thus following the general rule in French that if a final consonant is not followed by an ‘e’ or other vowel, it is not pronounced.

3. Coucou! – Hey there!

This is an extremely informal way of greeting someone, so reserve this one for close friends and family, otherwise you might get a few quizzical stares. As an added tidbit, the verb phrase faire coucou (à quelqu’un) means to wave at or say hey (to someone), and is also a form of informal language. Adding on to that, the verb phrase jouer à coucou means to play peekaboo, like a mother does with her baby. Thus, you can see the rather playful and familiar tone behind this word.

4. Quoi de neuf? – What’s up ?

While remaining informal, this is a slightly more involved greeting, in that you’re likely to glean more from the person you are speaking with than you would with the traditional bonjour. This literally means ‘what’s new?’ and is an excellent greeting to use with a friend you haven’t spoken with in a while, with the intent of starting a conversation.

5. Allô? – Hello?

While a cognate of English, this is not used in the same capacity as bonjour, in that you cannot use it to greet people on the street. This greeting is used solely on the phone to determine whether or not someone is on the line. It can also be used ironically to get the attention of someone that hasn’t heard you, the point being that it’s as though the person wasn’t there. You probably won’t hear it used in any other situations.

BONUS VIDEO!

TEST TIME!

1. "Allô?" means



What's up?
 Hello?


2. "Hey there!" means

 Salut!
 Bonjour!
 Coucou!

3. "Good Morning!" means

 Bonjour
 Salut
 Coucou
 Quoi de neuf

 Allô

4. "Quoi de neuf" means

 Hello
 Hey there
 What’s up

ANSWER KEY:

1. Hello?
2. Coucou
3. Bonjour
4. What’s up

NOW YOU KNOW HOW TO GREET IN FRENCH!!