Hello in French: Bonjour, Salut, Bonsoir & When to Use Each

The safest way to say hello in French is bonjour. Use it with strangers, shop staff, coworkers, teachers, and people you are meeting for the first time. Use salut with friends and people who already use informal tu with you. In the evening, switch to bonsoir. Those three words cover most real-life greetings; choosing between them is more about relationship and time of day than memorising a long list.

TV5MONDE's beginner materials teach bonjour, salut, and au revoir as a register-and-situation system, not interchangeable translations. That is the useful idea to carry into a conversation: French speakers hear the relationship inside the greeting.

The short decision table

French greeting	Approximate meaning	Use it when	Avoid it when
Bonjour	Hello / good day	Daytime, neutral or polite situations	Late evening
Salut	Hi / bye	Friends, peers, informal relationships	Formal first meetings or service encounters
Bonsoir	Good evening	Evening arrivals and polite evening greetings	Morning or early daytime
Coucou	Hey there	Close friends, family, playful messages	Professional or unfamiliar settings
Allô	Hello?	Answering or checking a phone connection	Ordinary face-to-face greetings

If you are uncertain, choose bonjour. It gives the other person space to set the level of formality. If they immediately answer with salut and use tu, you can usually mirror them.

How to pronounce bonjour

Bonjour sounds roughly like bohn-ZHOOR, but an English spelling cannot capture the nasal first vowel or the French r. Aim first for clarity:

1. Keep bon compact; do not add a strong final n.
2. Make the middle sound the zh in “measure,” not the j in “jump.”
3. Let the final r stay light. A perfect Parisian r is not required to be understood.

French prominence normally falls at the end of a rhythmic group rather than on a fixed lexical syllable. In a short standalone greeting, the ending therefore feels more prominent than the opening. Record yourself saying bonjour madame or bonjour monsieur as a complete group instead of drilling one word forever.

Bonjour versus salut

The difference is not simply “formal versus informal vocabulary.” It signals social distance. Bonjour is the default when you enter a bakery, approach a hotel desk, begin a meeting, or greet a neighbour you do not know well. Salut belongs to relationships where informality is already established.

That matters in France because opening with a greeting is part of the exchange. Walking into a small shop and immediately asking a question can sound abrupt. A compact pattern works:

Bonjour. Excusez-moi, est-ce que vous avez… ?

Hello. Excuse me, do you have… ?

With a friend, the same moment becomes:

Salut ! Ça va ?

Hi! How are you?

To turn the greeting into a full exchange, continue with the guide to practising spoken French with AI.

When to use bonsoir

Bonsoir is the evening counterpart to bonjour. There is no universal minute when all French speakers switch. Daylight, season, region, workplace habits, and the other speaker all matter. A practical rule is to mirror the first greeting you hear. If a receptionist says bonsoir, answer bonsoir rather than consulting the clock.

Do not confuse bonsoir, a greeting, with bonne soirée, a wish for the rest of someone's evening. You can enter a restaurant with bonsoir and leave with bonne soirée. Similarly, bonne nuit is normally said when someone is going to bed, not when arriving at an evening event.

Four mini-dialogues to practise

In a bakery

Bonjour madame. Une baguette, s'il vous plaît.

Hello. One baguette, please.

Meeting a colleague in the evening

Bonsoir, enchanté de faire votre connaissance.

Good evening, pleased to meet you.

Texting a friend

Salut ! Tu es libre ce soir ?

Hi! Are you free tonight?

Answering the phone

Allô ? Oui, bonjour, c'est Léa.

Hello? Yes, hello, this is Léa.

Practise the whole exchange, including the reply. Recognition is not the same as retrieving the greeting while another person is waiting. The AI French tutor can role-play the bakery, hotel, and first-meeting versions aloud.

Common mistakes

Using salut with everyone. It is common, but not socially neutral. Begin with bonjour when the relationship is unknown.

Saying bonne nuit as evening hello. It usually means good night at the end of the day. Use bonsoir when arriving.

Skipping the greeting before a request. In a small shop or service interaction, add bonjour before the question.

Treating allô as a face-to-face greeting. It belongs to telephone speech or checking whether someone can hear you.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most common French word for hello?

Bonjour is the safest and most widely useful greeting. It works in daytime interactions with strangers, staff, coworkers, and acquaintances.

Is salut hello or goodbye?

It can mean either “hi” or “bye.” Context shows whether a person is arriving or leaving. It is informal in both uses.

Can I say bonjour at night?

French speakers generally use bonsoir in the evening, but the switch is not a single official time. Mirror the greeting used by the person or venue.

How do I say hello formally in French?

Use bonjour during the day or bonsoir in the evening, optionally followed by madame or monsieur. A title is useful in service encounters but not required in every sentence.

What should I practise next?

Learn how to respond to ça va ?, then rehearse the greeting and follow-up as one spoken exchange. That is more useful than memorising ten isolated synonyms.

Sources and editorial review

This guide was checked against its primary official or academic reference on 26 July 2026. Language usage can vary by region, relationship, and situation. Review the primary source.