Day 3 · A1 · Lesson 3
Bonjour! Greetings, tu and vous
Say hello and goodbye at the right time of day, ask how someone is, introduce yourself, and choose between tu and vous without offending anyone.
Cold guess
Before any rules, pick what you'd say. For the first five, choose tu (casual) or vous (polite). Your score is private. You'll get a fresh set at the end to compare.
Your best friend
A police officer
Your two cousins at once
A five-year-old
Your new boss on day one
9 p.m., walking into a restaurant
Answering the phone
Someone says merci. You reply…
Comment allez-vous ? → Je ___ bien.
Meeting someone for the first time
Score: / 10
Why it matters
In French, how you greet someone says as much as what you say. Pick the wrong level and you’ll sound either rude or oddly stiff, before you’ve even asked your question.
Bonjour madame. Voici mon passeport.
Hello madam. Here's my passport. Polite, smooth, done.
Salut ! Ça va ? Voici mon passeport.
"Hiya! How's it going?" to an officer. Expect a raised eyebrow.
Salut ! Ça va ?
Hi! How's it going? Warm and normal.
Bonjour madame, comment allez-vous ?
To your friend. It sounds like you're about to sell her insurance.
And one rule that surprises everyone: in France, say bonjour the moment you walk into a shop, a café or a waiting room. Skipping it isn’t casual, it’s rude. A cheerful Bonjour ! first and Au revoir, bonne journée ! on the way out will get you better service than perfect grammar.
The greeting toolkit
1. Hello and goodbye, by time of day
| bonjour | hello, all day until about 6 p.m. |
|---|---|
| bonsoir | good evening, from about 6 p.m. |
| salut | hi, with friends, any time |
| allô | hello, on the phone only |
| au revoir | goodbye, works everywhere |
|---|---|
| salut | bye, with friends |
| à bientôt | see you soon |
| à demain | see you tomorrow |
| à plus (tard) | see you later, casual (texts: à+) |
| bonne journée | have a good day |
| bonne soirée | have a good evening |
| bonne nuit | good night, only at bedtime |
Use à + a time to say “see you then”: à demain, à lundi, à ce soir, à la semaine prochaine. In Québec you’ll often hear Bonjour ! as a goodbye too, in casual daytime situations (in a formal setting, like ending a work call, it’s au revoir), and Bonne fin de semaine ! for “have a good weekend” (France says Bon week-end !).
2. Tu or vous?
French has two words for “you”. This is the decision every speaker makes, every time, without thinking. You’ll get there too.
friends and family
children and pets
classmates, and often colleagues
anyone who says On se tutoie ? (shall we use tu?)
strangers and older people
anyone serving you: shops, cafés, offices
bosses, doctors, officials, teachers
any group of two or more people
When in doubt, use vous. Being too polite is never a mistake; being too familiar can be. Let the other person offer tu. French even has verbs for it: tutoyer (to use tu with someone) and vouvoyer (to use vous).
Québec uses tu more readily than France, especially with people your own age and at work. Online, in apps and in ads, tu is everywhere. But with an officer, a doctor or an exam examiner, it’s still vous.
3. Asking how someone is
The question and the answer use the same verb, and they come in three levels:
| Level | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| polite | Comment allez-vous ? | Je vais bien, merci. Et vous ? |
| neutral | Comment ça va ? | Ça va bien, merci. Et toi ? |
| casual | Ça va ? | Ça va ! Et toi ? |
French literally asks “how are you going?”, so you answer “I’m going well”: je vais bien. Ça va works both as the question (rising voice: Ça va ?) and the answer (falling voice: Ça va.).
Très bien ! → Bien → Ça va → Pas mal → Bof… → Pas terrible → Mal
Great → good → OK → not bad → meh → not great → bad. Bof comes with a shrug. In Québec, pas pire (literally "not worse") means pas mal: not bad, pretty good.
4. Names and introductions
| Je m'appelle Sam. | My name is Sam. (literally "I call myself Sam") |
|---|---|
| Moi, c'est Sam. | I'm Sam. Casual and very common. |
| Comment vous appelez-vous ? | What's your name? (polite) |
| Tu t'appelles comment ? | What's your name? (casual) |
| Je vous présente Marc. | Let me introduce Marc. (to vous) |
| Je te présente Marc. | This is Marc. (to tu) |
| Enchanté(e) ! | Nice to meet you! Literally "enchanted". |
Enchanté follows the person speaking: a woman writes enchantée. Both sound identical. The longer, more formal version is Enchanté(e) de faire votre connaissance.
5. The polite words
| s'il vous plaît / s'il te plaît | please (vous / tu) |
|---|---|
| merci / merci beaucoup | thank you / thank you very much |
| de rien | you're welcome (literally "of nothing") |
| je vous en prie / je t'en prie | you're welcome, more polite |
| il n'y a pas de quoi · pas de quoi | don't mention it |
| bienvenue | welcome! (to greet someone arriving). In Québec you'll also hear it after merci, copied from English "you're welcome", but the OQLF advises de rien or je vous en prie instead |
| pardon · excusez-moi | excuse me, sorry |
| désolé(e) | I'm sorry (an apology) |
6. Madame, monsieur, and la bise
Add madame or monsieur to a greeting for instant politeness: Bonjour madame. Merci monsieur. No surname needed. Mademoiselle (miss) now sounds old-fashioned, and many official forms have dropped it. Use madame for any adult woman.
As for touching: in France, friends and family greet with la bise, a light kiss on each cheek (the number varies by region, usually two). At work and with strangers, people shake hands. In Québec, friends often do the bise too, but a handshake or a wave is always safe. When unsure, follow the other person’s lead.
Examples
- Bonjour madame, comment allez-vous ?Hello madam, how are you? (polite)
- Très bien, merci. Et vous ?Very well, thanks. And you?
- Salut ! Ça va ? Ça va, et toi ?Hi! How's it going? Good, and you? (casual)
- Bonsoir monsieur, une table pour deux, s'il vous plaît.Good evening sir, a table for two, please.
- Je m'appelle Sam. Et vous ?My name is Sam. And you?
- Moi, c'est Léa. Enchantée !I'm Léa. Nice to meet you! (a woman: enchantée)
- Je vous présente Marc.Let me introduce Marc.
- Merci beaucoup ! De rien.Thanks a lot! You're welcome.
- Pardon, excusez-moi !Sorry, excuse me!
- On se tutoie ?Shall we use tu with each other?
- Allô ? Oui, c'est Sam.Hello? Yes, it's Sam. (phone only)
- Au revoir, bonne journée !Goodbye, have a good day!
- À demain ! Bonne soirée !See you tomorrow! Have a good evening!
- Bonne fin de semaine ! Ça va pas pire.Have a good weekend! Things are not bad. (Québec)
Memory tricks
Vous is for VIPs and crowdsVery Important People (strangers, bosses, officials) and anything with more than one person. Everyone else is tu.
Tu is for two legs or fourFriends, family, kids… and the dog. If it would sit on your sofa, it's tu.
Bonjour is the key to the shopNo bonjour, no service. Think of it as the password you say at the door.
When the soleil sets, the soir beginsAround 6 p.m., bonjour clocks off and bonsoir clocks on.
Bonne nuit is a pillowYou only hand it to someone who's going to sleep. It's never a hello.
Allô ringsAllô sounds like a phone ringing "a-LO, a-LO". Phones only.
French "goes" wellEnglish "is" fine; French "goes" fine: Comment allez-vous ? Je vais bien. Same verb in, same verb out.
De rien: it was nothingLiterally "of nothing". You're brushing the thanks away, like flicking a crumb off the table.
Don’t get French fried
Say the right thing
The first six are tu or vous. The rest are about time of day, politeness and set phrases.
A shop assistant
Anyone serving you in a shop, café or office gets vous.
Your sister
Family gets tu.
Two friends at the same time
Vous is also the plural. Talking to more than one person is always vous, even close friends.
A child at the park
Children get tu.
Your doctor
Professionals you don't know personally get vous.
A colleague who asked « On se tutoie ? »
On se tutoie ? means 'shall we say tu to each other?'. Once agreed, switch to tu.
8 a.m. at the bakery: ___, madame !
Bonjour all day, until about 6 p.m.
7 p.m., arriving for dinner: ___ !
Bonsoir says hello in the evening. Bonne nuit is only for bedtime.
Your roommate is off to bed: ___ !
Bonne nuit = sleep well. It's a goodbye, never a hello.
Leaving a shop at 2 p.m.: Au revoir, ___ !
Bonne journée = have a good day.
Comment ___-vous ?
How are you? (polite)
French asks 'how do you go?' With vous, the verb is allez.
Comment ___ va ?
How's it going?
Comment ça va ? = how's it going. Ça = it.
Tu t'appelles ___ ?
What's your name? (casual)
Literally 'you call yourself how?'
A woman writes: ___ de faire votre connaissance.
Enchanté agrees with the person speaking. A woman adds -e in writing. It sounds the same.
Merci beaucoup ! – Je vous en ___.
Je vous en prie = you're welcome (polite).
Getting past someone on the bus: ___ !
Pardon = excuse me, sorry.
Someone says merci. The best reply is…
You'll hear bienvenue after merci in Québec, but it's copied from English 'you're welcome'. The OQLF advises de rien or je vous en prie instead.
In Québec, « Ça va pas pire » means…
Literally 'not worse', but it means pas mal: not bad, pretty good.
Score: / 18
The whole lesson on one card
| Hello | bonjour (all day) · bonsoir (from about 6 p.m.) · salut (friends, any time) · allô (phone only) |
|---|---|
| Goodbye | au revoir · salut · à bientôt · à demain · à plus · bonne journée / bonne soirée · bonne nuit (bedtime only) |
| Tu | friends, family, children, pets, often colleagues · when unsure, ask: On se tutoie ? |
| Vous | strangers, shops, offices, older people, bosses · and any group of two or more |
| How are you? | Comment allez-vous ? → Je vais bien, merci. Et vous ? · Ça va ? → Ça va, et toi ? |
| Names | Je m'appelle… · Comment vous appelez-vous ? / Tu t'appelles comment ? · Enchanté(e) |
| Polite words | s'il vous plaît / s'il te plaît · merci (beaucoup) · de rien / je vous en prie · pardon, excusez-moi |
| Québec | bonne fin de semaine · ça va pas pire = not bad, pretty good · bonjour can also mean goodbye (casual, daytime) · you'll hear bienvenue after merci, but de rien is better |
Your turn to talk
Introduce yourself twice, out loud. First to a new boss (vous, Comment allez-vous ?). Then to a new friend (tu, Ça va ?). Notice how your voice changes too.
Did it stick?
A fresh set. Each answer tells you why.
Your grandmother
Most families use tu, grandparents included. A few traditional families still use vous.
A customs officer
Officials always get vous.
Your three classmates together
More than one person = vous.
Comment allez-vous ? — ___ bien, merci.
Answer with the same verb: je vais bien. Je suis bien means 'I'm comfortable'.
9 p.m. at a hotel desk: ___ !
Evening hello = bonsoir.
Someone heading to bed
Bonne nuit = sleep well.
Answering the phone
Allô is the phone hello. Never use it face to face.
Merci ! — ___
De rien = it was nothing, you're welcome.
s'il ___ plaît (to a friend)
s'il te plaît for tu, s'il vous plaît for vous.
A man writes: Enchant___ !
Enchanté follows the speaker. A man writes enchanté.
Bonne fin de semaine is mostly said in…
France says bon week-end. Québec says bonne fin de semaine.
Is mademoiselle still normal for any young woman?
Mademoiselle sounds old-fashioned now. Madame works for any adult woman.
Score: / 12