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Level A1 — Day 2

Day 2: Greetings and Goodbyes

Pascal: Bonjour! Welcome back for Day 2. Yesterday, we learned the sounds of French. Today, we'll use them to make a great first impression! Greetings are incredibly important in France. Let's learn how to say "hello" and "goodbye" like a true Parisian.

🎯 Today's Mission

  • Learn to greet people at different times of the day.
  • Distinguish between formal and informal greetings.
  • Master the most common ways to say goodbye.
  • Learn a few extra polite touches used in shops and offices.
  • Avoid the most common greeting mistakes English speakers make.

Document Déclencheur

Un échange de SMS entre amies, un soir à 19h30: Léa: Coucou ! Ça va ? Marie: Salut ! Oui et toi ? Léa: Bonsoir, on se retrouve devant le cinéma à 20h ? Marie: Parfait, à toute à l'heure !

Qu'est-ce que tu remarques ?

  • Léa commence par "Coucou," un mot très casual — pourquoi n'utilise-t-elle pas "Bonjour" ? → Elle parle à une amie proche, donc le ton informel est naturel
  • Léa dit ensuite "Bonsoir" — pourquoi le changement ? → Il est 19h30, donc après la limite du soir (environ 18h)
  • Est-ce que Marie répond de façon formelle ou informelle ? → Informelle — elle utilise "Salut," pas "Bonjour"

Section 1: Greetings by Time of Day (Les Salutations)

Pascal: In France, you greet people depending on the time. It's a small detail that makes a big difference!

  • Bonjour [bohn-ZHOOR]

    • Meaning: Good day / Hello
    • When to use: This is your go-to greeting! Use it all morning and afternoon, until about 6 PM.
    • Formality: Works in any situation, formal or informal.
    • Example: Bonjour, Madame Dubois! (Hello, Mrs. Dubois!)

  • Bonsoir [bohn-SWAHR]

    • Meaning: Good evening
    • When to use: Use this in the evening, from about 6 PM onwards.
    • Formality: Also works in any situation.
    • Example: Bonsoir, tout le monde! (Good evening, everyone!)

  • Bonne nuit [bun NWEE]

    • Meaning: Good night
    • When to use: Be careful! This is not a greeting. You only say it when someone (or you) is about to go to sleep.
    • Example: Bonne nuit, dors bien! (Good night, sleep well!)

  • Coucou [koo-KOO]

    • Meaning: A super casual "hi!" or "hey there!"
    • When to use: Only with close friends, children, or family — it's cute and playful, but too informal for anyone else.

Pascal's Tip: When you enter a shop or a bakery in France, it is considered very polite to say "Bonjour, Monsieur" (to a man) or "Bonjour, Madame" (to a woman). You'll always get a friendly greeting in return! Skipping this greeting is one of the fastest ways to seem rude to a French shopkeeper, even by accident.

Here's a quick mini-dialogue showing the time-of-day rule in action:

Boulanger (baker): Bonjour, Madame! Vous désirez? (Hello! What would you like?) Vous: Bonjour! Une baguette, s'il vous plaît. (Hello! A baguette, please.) Boulanger: Voilà! Bonne journée! (Here you go! Have a good day!)

Common Mistakes

  • Wrong: Saying "Bonne nuit" as a way to say goodbye in the evening. Correct: Use "Bonsoir" when arriving or leaving in the evening; save "Bonne nuit" for right before someone goes to sleep. Why: "Bonne nuit" specifically means "sleep well" — saying it to someone heading to a restaurant sounds like you're telling them to go to bed!
  • Wrong: Walking into a French shop and just saying nothing, or launching straight into a request. Correct: Always open with "Bonjour, Madame/Monsieur" first. Why: In French culture, greeting someone before making a request is a basic sign of respect — skipping it can come across as cold or even rude.

Section 2: Formal vs. Informal (Formel ou Informel)

Pascal: Knowing who you're talking to is key. You wouldn't greet your best friend and the President of France the same way!

  • Salut! [sah-LOO]
    • Meaning: Hi! / Hey! / Bye!
    • When to use: This is your casual, friendly greeting. Use it with friends, family, and people your own age that you know well.
    • Rule of thumb: If you would hug the person, you can probably say "Salut!"
    • Example: Salut, ça va? (Hey, how's it going?)

Pascal's Tip: "Salut" is a double-duty word! You can use it to say "hi" when you arrive and "bye" when you leave. Super useful! But never use it with your boss, a teacher, or an older stranger — stick to "Bonjour" there.

Pascal's Tip: France has a strong culture of formality between strangers, colleagues, and elders. When you're unsure whether to be formal or casual, always lean formal — French speakers appreciate the effort, and you can always loosen up once someone invites you to.

Section 3: Saying Goodbye (Au Revoir)

Pascal: Leaving is just as important as arriving!

  • Au revoir [oh ruh-VWAHR] - The classic. It means "goodbye" and you can use it anytime, anywhere.
  • À bientôt [ah byehn-TOH] - "See you soon." Use this when you don't know when you'll see the person next.
  • À demain [ah duh-MAIN] - "See you tomorrow." Perfect for colleagues or classmates you'll see the next day.
  • À plus tard [ah plu TAR] (often shortened in texting to "À+") - "See you later." Casual, used when you'll see the person again the same day.
  • Bonne journée [bun zhoor-NAY] - "Have a good day." A friendly, warm way to close a conversation, often added after "au revoir."

Pascal's Tip: You can combine these! It's very natural to say "Au revoir, bonne journée!" when leaving a shop — it means "Goodbye, have a good day!"

🔊 Phonétique: Listen for the nasal "on" sound in Bonjour and Bonsoir — air passes through your nose, and you should not pronounce a final "n." Compare that to Bonne nuit, where "Bonne" has a full, oral "un" sound with a clear "n" — the double "n" in spelling is your clue that this one is NOT nasal.

Lesson Summary

Pascal: Excellent work! Today you've learned:

  • Bonjour for the day, Bonsoir for the evening.
  • Salut is for friends, Bonjour is for everyone else.
  • Au revoir is the perfect way to say goodbye in almost any situation.
  • Extra farewells like à bientôt, à demain, and à plus tard let you be specific about when you'll meet again.

You're one step closer to navigating a real French conversation!

Recap

  • Greet according to the time of day: Bonjour (day), Bonsoir (evening).
  • Bonne nuit is only for bedtime, never a general goodbye.
  • Salut works for both hello and goodbye, but only with people you know well.
  • Always greet shopkeepers with "Bonjour, Monsieur/Madame" before making a request.
  • Match your farewell to the situation: à demain (tomorrow), à bientôt (soon), à plus tard (later today).

✨ Coming Up Next...

Pascal: Now that you can greet people, let's learn how to be extra polite. Tomorrow, we'll cover the magic words: "please," "thank you," and "you're welcome." À demain!

Practice Exercises

You enter a bakery at 10 AM. What do you say?

You arrive at a restaurant for a dinner reservation at 8 PM. What is the appropriate greeting?

Your French host father is heading to bed. What do you say?

You're greeting your best friend, whom you see every day. What is the most natural greeting?

You're greeting your new boss for the first time. What should you say to be polite?

You are leaving a shop in the afternoon. What is the most common and polite thing to say?

You are saying goodbye to your French classmates and you will see them again tomorrow. What do you say?

You're leaving a coworker's desk but you'll see them again in an hour at a meeting. What's the most natural thing to say?

Day 1