Salutations et présentations
Bonjour, salut, ça va — greeting people and introducing yourself.
Greetings
Which greeting you choose depends on who you are speaking to and what time of day it is. French keeps the formal/informal split much more strictly than English does.
| French | English | When |
|---|---|---|
| Bonjour | Hello / Good morning | Any polite situation, until early evening |
| Bonsoir | Good evening | From roughly 6 p.m. |
| Salut | Hi / Bye | Friends, family, people your own age only |
| Coucou | Hey | Very informal — close friends, children |
| Bonne nuit | Good night | Only when someone is going to bed |
Careful. Bonne nuit is not a way to say goodbye in the evening. If you are leaving a restaurant at 9 p.m., you say bonsoir, not bonne nuit.
Asking how someone is
| French | English | Register |
|---|---|---|
| Comment allez-vous ? | How are you? | Formal / plural |
| Comment ça va ? | How are you? | Neutral |
| Ça va ? | You OK? | Informal |
| Ça va bien, merci. | I'm well, thank you. | Any |
| Pas mal. | Not bad. | Informal |
Notice the space before ? and ! in French. It is not a typo — French
typography puts a thin space before double punctuation marks.
Introducing yourself
- Je m'appelle Prachi. — My name is Prachi.
- Je suis professeure de français. — I am a French teacher.
- J'habite à Delhi. — I live in Delhi.
- Enchanté (m) / Enchantée (f) — Pleased to meet you.
The adjective agrees with you, the speaker — a woman writes enchantée with
the extra e, however the person she is meeting identifies.
Tu or vous?
Use vous with anyone you do not know, anyone older, and in any professional situation. Use tu with friends, family, children, and classmates.
When in doubt, start with vous. A French speaker will tell you on peut se tutoyer ("we can use tu") when they are comfortable — it is a small social moment, and it is theirs to offer.
Exercises
1. You walk into a bakery at 10 a.m. What do you say?
Show answer
Bonjour. Salut would be too familiar with a shopkeeper, and it is not yet evening, so not bonsoir.
2. Translate: "Hello, my name is Marie. I live in Lyon."
Show answer
Bonjour, je m'appelle Marie. J'habite à Lyon.
Note j'habite, not je habite — je elides before a vowel sound.
3. Your friend's grandmother asks how you are. Do you reply to ça va ? or comment allez-vous ?
Show answer
She would most likely ask comment allez-vous ?, and you would answer Ça va bien, merci. Et vous ? — keeping vous because she is older and you do not know her well.