![]() ![]() Note that it uses the vous form of the verb, ending in -ez, because that makes it more polite. Excusez-moi? – “Excuse me”Įxcuse me? Excusez-moi is the polite way in French to get someone's attention. It sounds a bit strange at first, but it’s not impolite, it’s just different.) 8. (Side note: In Quebec, many people answer the phone with oui bonjour? (literally, “yes good day?”). if you think the connection may have been dropped). ![]() It's usually said in a rising tone like a question – allô? – when you're not sure if the other person is there (e.g. Unlike “hello”, the only time a French person says allô is when they're on the phone. Years ago, it crossed the English channel and settled in France, where it's spelled phonetically as allô. I literally mean the English word “hello”. Quick: how do you spell “hello” in French? I'm not talking about the spelling of bonjour or salut. Adults might use it, however, in text speak. It literally means “cuckoo”, as in the bird, but you can use it as a greeting or to get someone's attention, like saying “hey!” in English.Ĭoucou is more commonly used by or to children it would be considered a bit strange for an adult to say it, especially in a formal situation. JUST A QUICK NOTE TO SAY HELLO HOW TOIf you want to know how to say hello in French, you should know about coucou. You can also say quoi de beau? – “what's beautiful?”, which is basically the same as saying quoi de neuf?įun fact: in the French version of Looney Tunes, Bugs Bunny says “quoi de neuf, docteur” instead of “what's up, doc?”. It's like saying “what's up?” in English, and is about as informal. Quoi de neuf? literally means “what's new?”. Note that, in French, “how are you?” and its variants always use the verb aller (to go), not être (to be). This literally translates to “like this, like that”, and it means something like “so-so” or “not bad, not great”. If things are a bit iffy, you could respond with “ comme-ci, comme-ça”. In Quebec, you’ll often hear “not bad” as the response: pas pire, which literally means “no worse”. If someone says this to you, you can respond with ça va bien (“it's going well”) or tout va bien (“everything's going well”). So to say “hello, how are you?” in French, simply say bonjour, ça va? or salut, ça va? You can also say comment ça va?, which doesn't really change the meaning. It's an extremely common way of saying “how are you?” or “how's it going?”. The best approximation would be something like “does it go?” It’s a common way to end a phone call with someone you know well. You probably wouldn't say it to your boss. You can say it to your friends and family in informal situations. Salut! – “Hi!”Īnother extremely common greeting, salut is bonjour's younger, laid-back cousin. The only thing that matters is the time of day – it means “good evening”, so only use it at the appropriate hour! 3. Like bonjour, bonsoir is safe and polite. After all, who doesn't like being wished a “good day”? 2. You can use it in any situation, no matter what the level of formality. The nice thing about bonjour is that it's the most safe and polite of all greetings in French. It literally means “good day”, and it's by far the most well-known French greeting. If you ask your teacher “how do you say hello in French?”, they'll almost certainly reply with bonjour. ![]() In this article I'll teach you the French for “hello” and its variations, and give you a brief tour of the most common ways to greet a French person. ?īonjour! There are many ways to say “hello” in French – French greetings can be much more than a simple “hello”. JUST A QUICK NOTE TO SAY HELLO FULLFull disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |