French Lesson 1: Saying Hello

Saying hello in French is very easy, but, depending on the person you are talking to and the situation, you can adapt the phrase. So, if you want to say hello in French, this lesson is what you are searching for!

Bonjour

In French “bon” means “good” and “jour” means “day”. “Bonjour” stands for “hello”, but it also stands for “good morning”, “good day” and “good afternoon”. Have a look at the following examples.

Usage

English	Audio	French
Hello Good morning Good day		Bonjour (formal) or Salut (informal)
Hello, John		Bonjour, Jean (formal) or Salut, Jean (informal)
Good evening		Bonsoir (”soir” means “evening”)
Good evening ladies and gentlemen		Bonsoir mesdames et messieurs (”madame” means “my lady” and “monsieur” means “mister” or “my lord”)
Hi!		Salut (informal)
Hi, everybody!		Salut tout le monde! (very informal, use this only with close friends)

Exercises

Vocabulary

Listen	French	English
	bon	good
	bonjour	hello
	bonsoir	good evening
	jour	day
	le	(article) the
	madame (pl. mesdames)	lady
	monde	world
	monsieur (pl. messieurs)	sir, gentleman
	salut	hi, hello (informal)
	soir	evening
	tout	all

The full French course:

1. French Lesson 1: Saying Hello
2. French Lesson 2: Saying Goodbye