Starting and Ending a Conversation

When you start a conversation in French, you use greetings depending on the formality and the time of day.

• Bonjour is used as "hello" during the day and works for both formal and informal situations.
• Bonsoir is used in the evening.
• Salut is a casual "hi" you use with friends or people your age.

To say goodbye, you have several options:

• Au revoir is formal or neutral ("goodbye").
• À bientôt means "see you soon."
• À demain means "see you tomorrow."
• Salut can also work for "bye" in informal situations.

Examples:

• Bonjour, comment vas-tu ?
• Salut, à bientôt !
• Au revoir, à demain.

Asking and Answering How Are You

To ask someone how they are, there are multiple forms, depending on formality:

• Comment allez-vous ? is formal or for a group.
• Comment ça va ? is neutral and suitable for most situations.
• Comment vas-tu ? is informal, used with friends.

Responding:

• Bien for "good."
• Pas mal for "not bad."
• Plus ou moins for "so-so."
• Ça va for "fine" or "okay."
• For reciprocating: Et toi ? or Et vous ?

Examples:

• Comment vas-tu ? – Je vais bien, merci. Et toi ?
• Comment ça va ? – Pas mal, merci.
• Comment allez-vous ? – Plus ou moins.

Expressing Gratitude and Politeness

Politeness is important in French conversation.

• Merci means "thank you."
• De rien is used for "you're welcome."
• S'il vous plaît is the polite "please," and s'il te plaît is informal "please."
• Excusez-moi (formal) or pardon can mean "excuse me" or "sorry."
• Tu es vraiment trop gentil means "you are really too kind" and is used to thank someone sincerely.

Examples:

• Merci pour ton aide ! – De rien !
• S'il vous plaît, pouvez-vous m’aider ?
• Excusez-moi, où est la gare ?
• Tu es vraiment trop gentil.