Ways to Say Hello in French Beyond Bonjour 🇫🇷

Bonjour, fellow French learner!

Whether you're visiting France for the first time or diving into the French language from afar, one thing is certain: greetings matter. Knowing how to say hello in French isn’t just about memorizing one phrase—it’s about understanding when, where, and how to use each greeting naturally.

In this post, we’ll walk you through the most common and useful ways to greet someone in French. From the essential bonjour to casual alternatives and cultural nuances like la bise (the kiss), you’ll leave this article ready to say hello like a local—whether in person, over email, or in your next French class.

Bonjour, the most common way to say Hello in French

You can't get away without knowing bonjour. This essential French greeting will take you just about everywhere, no matter your level of fluency. From cafés to supermarkets, doctors’ offices to train stations—saying bonjour when you walk in is more than polite. It’s expected. Failing to do so can even lead to a cold shoulder or less-than-helpful service.

Think of bonjour

as a baseline of French etiquette. Don’t overthink it—just say it.

For English speakers—note that, despite the J, bonjour sounds more like bohn-zhoor. To be more specific, the "j" in jour is pronounced like the s in “measure.” You'll know that you've got this sound right if you can pronounce it in a flowing fashion, with no pauses or interruptions of airflow.

It’s appropriate from early morning until early evening. After that, the more fitting phrase is bonsoir

(“good evening”). That said, many people still say bonjour at night, especially when meeting someone for the first time. It’s not considered rude—just a bit less conventional.

If you’re in a more casual context and already know the people you’re speaking with, you’ll likely want to switch things up and use salut

or some of the other greetings we’ll look at below.

For now, though, here's a few French phrases you'll hear often that include bonjour:

Coucou ! Some more casual French greetings

Once you've got bonjour and bonsoir down, it's time to explore how native French speakers actually greet each other in more relaxed settings. Friends, family, and even coworkers (depending on your relationship) may skip the formalities entirely in favor of these casual alternatives.

Here are some common ways to say hi in French and how to use them:

While coucou and wesh are friendly in the right contexts, they can feel overly familiar or inappropriate in formal settings. Use them only when you’re sure the tone is right.

What to say after (and before) you say hi in French

So, naturally, it'd be kinda boring if you only ever said hello in English, wouldn't it? Well, the same goes for French speakers. While bonjour is always safe, it's not the only greeting you'll hear.

So, when you're ready to spice things up a bit...

After saying salut, ask people how they are

In most French conversations, hello isn’t the end—it’s just the beginning. Very often, greetings are followed by a quick check-in question like ça va ? or quoi de neuf ? These aren’t just pleasantries; they’re part of showing genuine interest in the other person.

Interestingly, in French culture, it’s completely normal to respond to these questions with honesty—even if that means admitting you’re tired, annoyed, or just not having a great day. Don’t be alarmed if someone answers ça ne va pas très bien (things aren’t going so well). It’s not necessarily dramatic—it’s just real.

La bise: Do French people kiss to greet someone?

Yes, the French famously greet with a kiss—or rather, a series of air kisses called la bise. But before you pucker up, let’s break it down.

La bise usually involves touching cheeks and making a kissing sound in the air. Contrary to some expectations, people rarely make actual lip-to-skin contact—it’s more symbolic than intimate.

Here are just some examples among hundreds of regional variations for la bise:

In formal or professional settings, especially at work, la bise is becoming less common. Traditionally, men would shake hands with men, and exchange kisses with women. These days, a simple handshake is often more appropriate for everyone.

Phrases for French emails and some notes on formality

Need to make a booking via email? Want to contact a French teacher or reach out to a coworker? Email greetings follow different rules than in-person conversations—but they’re just as important.

For most everyday exchanges, you can simply start your email with:

Bonjour,

That’s enough! No need to worry about whether to include first names or titles unless it’s a more formal situation.

If you're writing to someone in a position of authority or someone you don’t know well, it’s better to use a more formal tone.

Here’s a quick guide:

Example Email Greeting

Stop memorizing French words; here's a better way to learn French

This has (hopefully) been a pretty solid introduction to the various ways to say hello in French!

... but, if you want to learn French, the best way to do that isn't reading random articles about French words (in English).

For example—say that you're watching a French blog on YouTube, as you do.

In the course of watching normal French people do normal French things, you're naturally going to stumble upon a French greeting or two... like coucou.

If that word is new to you—you can click directly on it in the subtitles. We'll show you what it means, and if our dictionary doesn't have a definition that satisfies you, you can have AI explain what the word means in context.

In this case, this happens to be a pretty perfect depiction of coucou, so I've clicked the orange button in the top-right corner of the dictionary to make a flashcard:

As you can see, it includes your line of dialogue, a snippet of your show's audio, and a screenshot of whatever was on-screen when your selected word (or phrase) was said.

From here, we utilize a spaced-repetition algorithm to periodically nudge you to review the word, ensuring it eventually works its way into your long-term memory.

It's really that simple—consume French media you're interested in, lean on Migaku if you don't quite understand what you see or hear, and then make flashcards out of anything you'd like to remember.

Try Migaku for free

Greetings in French, check! Now go make a good first impression.

We've only just learned to say hello, but it's already time to say goodbye!

In parting, just remember the Golden Rule of Language Learning:

Now, go kick some cul 🫡

(And, also, bonne chance with whoever it is that you're trying to introduce yourself to!)