French Greetings: Bonjour, Salut, and 20+ Ways to Say Hello

Greetings are not optional in France

If you remember one thing about French culture, make it this: you greet people. Walk into a boulangerie without saying bonjour and you'll be met with cool service — or worse. The greeting is a small act of acknowledging the other person, and French speakers notice when it's missing.

The good news: a single bonjour will carry you through 90% of situations. The rest of this guide is for the times when bonjour isn't quite right.

The five greetings you actually need

• Bonjour — Hello / Good morning · Default daytime greeting, all situations
• Bonsoir — Good evening · From about 6pm onwards
• Salut — Hi · Friends, family, peers — never to strangers
• Coucou — Hey / Hi there · Very casual, often between friends
• Allô — Hello · Only on the phone

Formal vs. informal: tu and vous

French has two ways of saying "you": tu (informal) and vous (formal or plural). Greetings shift accordingly.

With strangers, anyone older, shopkeepers, waiters, and anyone in a professional context: use vous. With friends, family, kids, and anyone who's said tu to you first: use tu. When in doubt, vous. You can't offend someone by being too polite, but you can by being too familiar.

Greeting someone you know

• Bonjour, ça va ? — Hi, how's it going?
• Comment vas-tu ? — How are you? (informal)
• Comment allez-vous ? — How are you? (formal)
• Quoi de neuf ? — What's new? · Casual
• Ça fait longtemps ! — Long time no see!
• Content(e) de te voir — Good to see you

Bonjour vs. bonne journée

Beginners mix these up constantly. Bonjour is hello — you say it when you arrive. Bonne journée means "have a good day" — you say it when you leave.

Same pattern: bonsoir (good evening, on arrival) vs. bonne soirée (have a good evening, on departure). And bonne nuit (good night) is reserved for when someone is actually going to sleep — don't say it just because it's dark out.

Greeting customs: la bise, the handshake, the wave

The famous French "bise" — a light kiss on each cheek — is for friends, family, and sometimes colleagues. The number of kisses (1, 2, 3, or 4) depends on the region. Two is most common.

In a professional setting, a handshake is standard. With strangers, a simple bonjour and eye contact is enough. Don't initiate a bise unless you're already on tu terms — wait for the other person to lean in first.

Regional and time-of-day variations

• Yo — Yo · Very informal, young people
• Hé — Hey · Casual but can sound rude
• Bien le bonjour — Hello to you · Slightly old-fashioned, warm
• Bonne matinée — Have a good morning
• Bon après-midi — Have a good afternoon
• À tout à l'heure — See you later (today)
• À plus tard / À plus — See you later
• À la prochaine — Until next time

The takeaway

Start with bonjour. Add ça va ? when you know the person. Switch to bonsoir after 6pm. Say bonne journée or au revoir when you leave. That's 95% of French greetings handled.

The rest comes from listening. Notice how French people greet each other in films, TV shows, and (if you can) real life. You'll pick up the nuances faster than any list can teach.