French vocabulary · 12 words
French greetings and polite phrases
The first phrases the French course teaches: how to say hello and goodbye, please and thank you, and the polite and casual versions of each.
Good to know
- Bonjour is the safe hello all day. Salut is casual, for friends, and works as both hi and bye.
- S'il vous plaît is the polite or plural please. S'il te plaît is for one friend or family member.
- Enchanté means pleased to meet you. A woman writes enchantée, and it sounds the same.
Hello and goodbye
| French | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| bonjourSay it: bohn-ZHOOR — the on is nasal, the n is not spoken | hello / good day | |
| salutSay it: the final t is silent: sa-LU | hi / bye (casual) | |
| au revoirSay it: oh ruh-VWAR | goodbye | |
| bonne nuitSay it: bun NWEE — ui glides like wee, the t is silent | good night | |
| enchantéSay it: on-shon-TAY — both n's are nasal vowels | nice to meet you |
Polite words
| French | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| merciSay it: mehr-SEE | thank you | |
| merci beaucoupSay it: beaucoup = boh-KOO — eau says oh, ou says oo, the p is silent | thank you very much | |
| s'il vous plaîtSay it: seel voo PLEH — s'il is si + il squeezed into one word | please | |
| s'il te plaîtSay it: seel tuh PLEH — the friend-key; «vous» becomes «te» | please (to a friend) | |
| pardonSay it: par-DOHN — nasal ending, the n is not spoken | excuse me / sorry |
Yes and no
| French | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| ouiSay it: sounds like 'we' | yes | |
| nonSay it: nohn — nasal, the n is not spoken | no |
Practice this in Open Lingo
This page comes from the Open Lingo course. In the app it is a short interactive lesson with listening, speaking and spaced-repetition review. Free, and no account needed to try it.