Greetings, introductions and polite forms

Welcome — and don't worry if you have never spoken a word of French. We will build everything up from zero, and every French word comes with its English meaning straight after it.

The first thing you say to someone in French is a greeting (a hello). French chooses the greeting based on two things: the time of day and how formal or casual the situation is. That level of formality is called register.

Your safe, all-purpose greeting is bonjour (hello / good day). If you remember only one greeting, make it this one. You can say bonjour to absolutely anyone — a shopkeeper, a teacher, a friend, a stranger — for the whole daytime.

French	Pronunciation	English	Register
bonjour	bon-ZHOOR /bɔ̃.ʒuʁ/	hello / good day	neutral — anyone, daytime
bonsoir	bon-SWAR /bɔ̃.swaʁ/	good evening	neutral — anyone, evening (~6 p.m. on)
salut	sa-LU /sa.ly/	hi / bye	casual — friends, family, peers only
coucou	koo-KOO /ku.ku/	hiya	very casual / affectionate — close friends
allô	a-LOH /a.lo/	hello (on the phone only)	answering the telephone

A few beginner-friendly notes:

• bonjour literally breaks down as bon (good) + jour (day) = "good day". bonsoir is bon (good) + soir (evening).
• The "on" in bon is a nasal sound — air comes partly through your nose, and you do not fully pronounce the "n". Think of the vowel in the English "song" without the hard "g".
• salut can mean both "hi" and "bye" among friends — handy, but never use it with a teacher or a stranger.
• allô is only for answering the phone. Saying allô to someone face-to-face sounds odd.

Mini-example. You walk into a bakery at 10 a.m. The polite, correct opener is simply: Bonjour ! (Hello!) — and French shopkeepers really do expect it before you ask for anything.

English has just one word for "you". French has two, and choosing between them is the single most important politeness decision you make in every French conversation.

French	Pronunciation	English	When to use it
tu	too /ty/	you (informal, one person)	a friend, a family member, a child, a pet, someone your own age
vous	voo /vu/	you (formal or plural)	an adult you don't know, a teacher, a shopkeeper, or any group of two or more people

Two jobs of vous. Notice that vous does double duty:

1. Politeness: addressing one adult/stranger respectfully (this is sometimes called vouvoyer — to use vous with someone).
2. Plural: addressing two or more people, however well you know them.

So if you are talking to two of your best friends at once, you still use vous, because it is plural.

A simple decision flow. Ask yourself:

• Is it more than one person? → vous.
• One person — do I know them well and are we equals/peers (or are they a child)? → tu.
• One person who is an adult I don't know, or someone in authority (teacher, official, customer/shopkeeper)? → vous.

Why it matters so much. Using tu with a stranger or a teacher can sound disrespectful or over-familiar; using vous with a close friend can sound cold or distant. French speakers are sensitive to this, and Cambridge examiners specifically check that you can pick the right one for the situation in the role-play.

Tip for beginners: if you are unsure, vous is the safer choice with one person — it is polite, never rude. You can always switch to tu once invited (a French person may say on peut se tutoyer — "we can use tu with each other").

Mini-example.

• To a classmate: Comment tu t'appelles ? (What's your name? — informal)
• To a teacher: Comment vous appelez-vous ? (What is your name? — formal)

Once you have greeted someone, you often introduce yourself — give your name — and sometimes introduce a third person.

Saying your own name. The standard phrase is je m'appelle... (my name is..., literally "I call myself..."):

French	Pronunciation	English
Je m'appelle Léa.	zhuh ma-PELL lay-AH /ʒə ma.pɛl le.a/	My name is Léa.
Je m'appelle Tom.	zhuh ma-PELL TOM /ʒə ma.pɛl tɔm/	My name is Tom.

That little m' is me (myself) with its "e" knocked out before a vowel — this dropping is called elision, and the apostrophe is compulsory. Writing je me appelle is wrong; it must be je m'appelle.

A simpler alternative also works and is very common in speech:

• Moi, c'est Léa. (I'm Léa, literally "Me, it's Léa.") — mwah say lay-AH.

Introducing someone else. Use présenter (to introduce). The phrase changes with tu/vous:

French	English	Register
Je te présente Marie.	This is Marie. (I introduce Marie to you.)	informal (tu)
Je vous présente Madame Dubois.	May I introduce Madame Dubois.	formal (vous)
Voici mon ami Karim.	This is my friend Karim.	neutral

Note te (informal "to you") vs vous (formal "to you") — the tu/vous rule from the last section follows you everywhere.

Replying to an introduction. A warm, very useful reply is:

• Enchanté ! (Pleased to meet you! — said by a male speaker) — on-shon-TAY /ɑ̃.ʃɑ̃.te/
• Enchantée ! (Pleased to meet you! — said by a female speaker)

It literally means "enchanted/delighted". The extra -e is added when a female speaker says it, because the adjective agrees with the speaker — your first taste of French adjective agreement. The two spellings sound identical.

Mini-dialogue.

• — Bonjour, je m'appelle Sophie. (Hello, my name is Sophie.)
• — Enchanté ! Moi, c'est Hugo. (Pleased to meet you! I'm Hugo.)

After greeting, French speakers usually ask how you are. Once again, the question splits by register.

French	Pronunciation	English	Register
Ça va ?	sa VA /sa va/	You OK? / How's it going?	very informal, super common
Comment ça va ?	ko-mon sa VA /kɔ.mɑ̃ sa va/	How's it going?	informal
Comment vas-tu ?	ko-mon va-TU /kɔ.mɑ̃ va ty/	How are you?	informal, slightly fuller
Comment allez-vous ?	ko-mon ta-lay VOO /kɔ.mɑ̃.ta.le vu/	How are you?	formal / polite

Notice the pattern: questions with tu (vas-tu, ça va) are informal; the vous question (allez-vous) is formal. The same tu/vous decision as before.

The clever thing about ça va. The exact same words answer the question:

• — Ça va ? (You OK?) — — Ça va ! (I'm fine!)

So ça va is both the question and a reply. Here are fuller replies you can give to either question:

French	Pronunciation	English
Ça va bien, merci.	sa va bee-AN mair-SEE	I'm well, thank you.
Très bien, merci. Et toi ?	tray bee-AN ... ay TWAH	Very well, thanks. And you? (informal)
Très bien, merci. Et vous ?	tray bee-AN ... ay VOO	Very well, thanks. And you? (formal)
Ça va, et toi ?	sa va ay TWAH	OK, and you? (informal)
Pas mal.	pah MAL	Not bad.
Comme ci, comme ça.	kom SEE kom SA	So-so.

Always bounce the question back. Adding et toi ? (and you? — informal) or et vous ? (and you? — formal) keeps the conversation going and shows good manners. Examiners love a candidate who asks back.

Mini-dialogue (informal).

• — Salut ! Ça va ? (Hi! You OK?)
• — Ça va bien, merci. Et toi ? (I'm good, thanks. And you?)
• — Pas mal ! (Not bad!)

These tiny phrases are the oil that makes French conversation polite. They appear constantly in the Listening and Reading papers and are expected in your own speaking and writing.

French	Pronunciation	English	Notes
s'il te plaît	seel tuh PLAY /sil tə plɛ/	please	informal (tu)
s'il vous plaît	seel voo PLAY /sil vu plɛ/	please	formal/plural (vous); often written SVP
merci	mair-SEE /mɛʁ.si/	thank you	the basic one
merci beaucoup	mair-SEE bo-KOO /mɛʁ.si bo.ku/	thank you very much	beaucoup = a lot
de rien	duh ree-AN /də ʁjɛ̃/	you're welcome	literally "of nothing"
je vous en prie	zhuh voo zon PREE	you're welcome	more formal "you're welcome"
excusez-moi	eks-ku-zay MWAH	excuse me	formal — getting attention/apologising
excuse-moi	eks-KUZ MWAH	excuse me	informal (tu)
pardon	par-DON /paʁ.dɔ̃/	sorry / excuse me	quick, works either register
je suis désolé(e)	zhuh swee day-zo-LAY	I'm sorry	add -e if a female speaker

Things to lock in:

• s'il te/vous plaît carries the tu/vous distinction inside it: te for friends, vous for everyone formal or plural. The apostrophe (s'il = si + il, "if it") is compulsory.
• de rien is the everyday "you're welcome"; je vous en prie is its more formal cousin.
• excusez-moi (formal) vs excuse-moi (informal) again ride on tu/vous. pardon is a quick all-purpose option when you bump into someone or need to interrupt.
• désolé gains an extra -e → désolée when a female speaker says it (adjective agreement again). The accents on désolé matter — both are é (e-acute), pronounced "ay".

Mini-example (asking politely).

• Un café, s'il vous plaît. (A coffee, please.) — to a waiter (formal).
• — Merci beaucoup ! — De rien. (— Thanks a lot! — You're welcome.)

Closing a conversation politely matters just as much as opening it. Your safe, all-purpose goodbye is au revoir (goodbye).

French	Pronunciation	English	Register
au revoir	oh ruh-VWAR /o ʁə.vwaʁ/	goodbye	neutral — anyone
salut	sa-LU /sa.ly/	bye	casual (yes — same word as "hi")
à bientôt	a bee-an-TOH /a bjɛ̃.to/	see you soon	friendly
à tout à l'heure	a too ta LUR /a tu ta lœʁ/	see you later (same day)	friendly
à plus tard	a plu TAR /a ply taʁ/	see you later	casual (texted as à plus / A+)
à demain	a duh-MAN /a də.mɛ̃/	see you tomorrow	neutral
bonne journée	bon zhoor-NAY /bɔn ʒuʁ.ne/	have a good day	warm, polite
bonne soirée	bon swah-RAY /bɔn swa.ʁe/	have a good evening	warm, polite
bonne nuit	bon NWEE /bɔn nɥi/	good night (going to bed)	bedtime only

Helpful distinctions for beginners:

• au revoir literally means "until the re-seeing" — au (until the) + revoir (seeing again). It is your default; you can say it to anyone.
• The à... phrases all mean "until / see you...": à bientôt (soon), à demain (tomorrow), à tout à l'heure (later today). The à has a grave accent (à) and must not be written as plain a, which means "has".
• bonne nuit (good night) is only for when someone is going to sleep — not a general evening goodbye. For leaving in the evening, say bonne soirée (have a good evening).
• bonne journée / bonne soirée use bonne (the feminine form of bon, "good") because journée (day) and soirée (evening) are feminine nouns — a first glimpse of gender agreement.

Mini-example (formal close).

• Au revoir, Madame. Bonne journée ! (Goodbye, madam. Have a good day!)