“Salut” and More Ways To Say Hello In French

There is really nothing wrong with saying a simple “bonjour” in French. Even Emily, you know the Emily in Paris, proved that to us when she bought that yummy pain au chocolat. The lady even taught her how to pronounce it the French way. Not too bad, right?

Anyway, bonjour isn’t the only way of saying hello in French. There are other ways like bonsoir and salut and many more that can help you sound more like a local.

Ways to Say Hello

• good morning / good day: bonjour (bohn-joohr)
• good evening: bonsoir (bohn-swar)
• hi / hello (informal): salut (sah-lu)
• hey you: salut toi (sah-lu twa)
• hi (very cute/casual): coucou (koo-koo)
• what’s up: quoi de neuf (kwah duh nuf)
• what’s new: quoi de beau (kwah duh boh)
• how’s it going (slang): ça baigne (sah ban-yuh)
• how are you: ça va (sah-vah)
• *surprised* hello: tiens (tyehn)
• hey, how’s it going: eh, ça va (eh sah-vah)
• welcome: bienvenue (byen-veh-nuh)
• long time no see: ça fait longtemps (sah fay lohn-tahm)
• *answering the phone* hello: âllo (ah-loh)