French people value politeness. Even if you only know a few words, saying them with a smile will make conversations much easier. Let’s start with the most important ones.

1. Bonjour / Bonsoir / Salut

• Bonjour /BONJOOR/ → hello / good morning. Use it until the end of the afternoon.

• Bonsoir /BONSOAR/ → good evening. Use it after about 6PM (or even later in the summer)

• Salut /SALU/ → hi / bye. Very informal. Use it only with friends or people your age.

• Au revoir /ORVOAR/→ Good bye (formal, with strangers only).

• à plus ! / Ciao → see you later (or another day) / bye. Very informal. Use it only with friends or people your age.

  Pronounce them /A+/ and /TSHAO/

• à bientôt ! / à la prochaine → see you soon (another day) / see you next time. A little informal but not inappropriate. Use it with friends, neighbors or salespeople from your usual store. Pronounce them /ABI-1TO/ and /ALAPROSHENN/

• Bonne journée ! (until 2PM) / Bon après-midi / Bonne soirée (after 6PM) → have a good day / good afternoon / good evening. In French, just saying "au revoir"(goodbye) can feel a bit cold, like you're in a hurry to leave. It's much more polite and friendly to add a nice wish for the person's day.. Pronounce them /BONNJOORNé/ /BONAPRéMIDI/ and /BONNSOARé/

  Bonne journée:

  Bon après-midi:

  Bonne soirée:

• But you should never say "Bonne nuit" to say goodbye. That phrase is only used at home, or at the end of a get-together with friends, but only when the person is leaving to go to sleep. Pronounce it /BONN-NUI/

👉 Sometimes you’ll hear Bonjour more than once. For example, a cashier might say it when you arrive, and then again when your eyes meet a second time. That’s just how it works, c'est la France! And yes, you repeat it back.

👉 With friends it’s different: usually you only say Bonjour once. If you see each other again the same day, some people just say “re”, short for rebonjour, like saying again. Personally, I really don’t like it but you’ll hear it.

2. Merci / Merci beaucoup

• Merci → thank you.

• Merci beaucoup → thank you very much. /MERCIBOCOO/

• De rien → you’re welcome. /DERI-1/

• Y’a pas de quoi → same meaning but literally: no need to thank me. /YAPAD-KOA/

• Je vous en prie → you’re welcome. /JEVOO-ZANPRI/

👉 Use this after every interaction: at the bakery, café, or when someone gives you information.

3. How to say hello the French way (avoid cultural shocks) - What to call each other

People usually shake hands when they meet, and again when they leave. In a professional setting, it’s common to shake hands with everyone present, both on arrival and when leaving.

With friends or family, a handshake often turns into “la bise” a kiss on both cheeks. Among friends, some men will just stick to a handshake. There isn’t one single rule: habits change depending on social background, region, workplace, or group of friends.

With strangers, a simple “Bonjour” is enough. You don’t always need “Monsieur” or “Madame.” Sometimes, people might still say “jeune homme” or “mademoiselle,” it's frequent but that’s getting rare. In some places, like Marseille, you might even hear someone call an older person “tonton” (uncle) or “tata” (auntie) as a sign of respect. And the other way around, older people may call someone younger “mon fils” (my son) or “ma fille” (my daughter) as a gesture of affection.

Among young people, it’s very common to hear “frère” (brother) or “frérot”, the French version of “bro.” It can be used both as a friendly term and as a way to confront someone, just like "dude" in English. "Ma soeur" exists, but it'is not used nearly as often or as universally as "frère."

Then comes the big one: tu vs vous. Vous is polite and formal; tu is more casual, for friends, family, and kids. Sometimes even strangers, like a café waiter, might use tu. That’s fine. But the golden rule is simple: don’t be the one to start with tu, always wait until the other person does.

👉 Pronunciation:

la bise /LABIZ/

mon fils /MONFISS/ ma fille /MAFIY/

frère, frérot /FRERR/ /FRéRO/

/TU/ vous /VOO/

4. How to pronounce Monsieur

A very common mistake is the way learners pronounce Monsieur.

✅ Correct: /MEUCIEU/
❌ Not: /MONCIEURR/ (I know it's bizarre, it should be pronounced like that)
❌ Not: /MéCIEU/ (that’s the plural form).

👉 The final “r” is silent.

If you greet a mixed group of men and women, you may sometimes hear:
“Messieurs dames” /MéCIEUDAM/ = “ladies and gentlemen.”

But honestly, you don’t need it in daily life. Some waiters use it, but for you a warm Bonjour is usually enough.

5. S’il vous plaît / S’il te plaît

• S’il vous plaît → please (formal, polite, to strangers, shopkeepers, waiters).

• Pronunciation: /SILVOOPLé/

• S’il te plaît → please (informal, to friends, family, children)

• Pronunciation: /SILTEUPLé/ or more informal and very common: /STEUPLé/

6. Excusez-moi / Pardon

• Excusez-moi /EXCUZéMOA/ → excuse me (to get someone’s attention).

• Pardon → sorry (if you bump into someone).

• Je suis désolé→ I'm sorry.

• Non c'est moi / C'est moi /CéMOA/ → I'm the one who's sorry.

• C'est rien /CéRI-1/→ It's okay.

👉 In French, when someone apologizes and you want to say “No, it’s me!” (meaning “I’m the one who should apologize”), you literally say: “Non, c’est moi !”. Just smile and that's it.

Mini dialogue

• A: Bonjour ! Un café, s’il vous plaît.

• B: Bonjour ! Voilà, un euro soixante-dix, s'il vous plaît.

• A: Voilà.

• B: Merci bien, au revoir, bonne journée.

• A: Merci, vous aussi.

👉 With just these words, you can already enter a shop, order something, or ask for help politely.

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