Saying Good-bye
1.4.1. The Main Idea
To say good-bye in French, use expressions such as au revoir, salut, à bientôt, and à plus tard.
Au revoir. | Goodbye. |
Salut. | Bye. informal |
À bientôt. | See you soon. |
À plus tard. | See you later. |
Use au revoir in most polite everyday situations. Use salut with friends, classmates, family, or people you know well.
1.4.2. Basic Good-byes
Au revoir. | Goodbye. |
Salut. | Bye. informal |
À bientôt. | See you soon. |
À plus tard. | See you later. |
À tout à l’heure. | See you in a little while. |
À demain. | See you tomorrow. |
À la prochaine. | See you next time. |
1.4.3. Formal and Informal Good-byes
Use au revoir in formal or polite situations.
Au revoir, monsieur. | Goodbye, sir. |
Au revoir, madame. | Goodbye, ma’am. |
Au revoir, professeur. | Goodbye, professor. |
Au revoir, bonne journée. | Goodbye, have a good day. |
Use salut or à plus in casual situations.
Salut ! | Bye! |
À plus ! | See you! casual |
À plus tard ! | See you later! |
À demain ! | See you tomorrow! |
1.4.4. Saying When You Will See Someone Again
Use à + time expression to say see you…
À bientôt. | See you soon. |
À plus tard. | See you later. |
À tout à l’heure. | See you in a little while. |
À demain. | See you tomorrow. |
À lundi. | See you Monday. |
À ce soir. | See you tonight. |
À la semaine prochaine. | See you next week. |
1.4.5. Wishing Someone a Good Day or Evening
Bonne journée. | Have a good day. |
Bonne soirée. | Have a good evening. |
Bonne nuit. | Good night. |
Bon après-midi. | Have a good afternoon. |
Bon week-end. | Have a good weekend. |
Bonne semaine. | Have a good week. |
Important difference:
Bonjour. | Hello. / Good morning. / Good afternoon. |
Bonne journée. | Have a good day. |
Bonsoir. | Good evening. |
Bonne soirée. | Have a good evening. |
Bonne nuit. | Good night, usually before sleeping. |
1.4.6. Wishing Someone Well
Bonne chance ! | Good luck! |
Bon courage ! | Good luck! / Hang in there! |
Bon voyage ! | Have a good trip! |
Amuse-toi bien ! | Have fun! informal |
Amusez-vous bien ! | Have fun! formal or plural |
Repose-toi bien ! | Rest well! informal |
Reposez-vous bien ! | Rest well! formal or plural |
Prends soin de toi. | Take care of yourself. informal |
Prenez soin de vous. | Take care of yourself / yourselves. formal or plural |
1.4.7. Responding to Good-byes and Good Wishes
Merci. | Thank you. |
Merci beaucoup. | Thank you very much. |
Merci, toi aussi. | Thanks, you too. informal |
Merci, vous aussi. | Thanks, you too. formal or plural |
À toi aussi. | Same to you. informal |
À vous aussi. | Same to you. formal or plural |
D’accord, à bientôt. | Okay, see you soon. |
À demain ! | See you tomorrow! |
1.4.8. Leaving a Conversation Politely
Je dois partir. | I have to leave. |
Je dois y aller. | I have to go. |
Il faut que je parte. | I have to leave. |
Je vais partir. | I am going to leave. |
On se voit plus tard. | We’ll see each other later. |
On se parle bientôt. | We’ll talk soon. |
1.4.9. Tu or Vous?
Use informal expressions with friends, classmates, family, or people you know well.
Salut ! | Bye! |
À plus ! | See you! |
Amuse-toi bien ! | Have fun! |
Repose-toi bien ! | Rest well! |
Prends soin de toi. | Take care of yourself. |
Use formal or plural expressions with professors, strangers, workers, older people, or groups.
Au revoir. | Goodbye. |
Bonne journée. | Have a good day. |
Amusez-vous bien ! | Have fun! |
Reposez-vous bien ! | Rest well! |
Prenez soin de vous. | Take care of yourself / yourselves. |
1.4.10. Core Patterns
Au revoir. | Goodbye. |
Salut. | Bye. informal |
À bientôt. | See you soon. |
À plus tard. | See you later. |
À demain. | See you tomorrow. |
Bonne journée. | Have a good day. |
Bonne soirée. | Have a good evening. |
Bonne nuit. | Good night. |
Je dois partir. | I have to leave. |
Merci, toi aussi. | Thanks, you too. |
1.4.11. Practice
Goodbye. | |
Bye. informal | |
See you soon. | |
See you later. | |
See you tomorrow. | |
Have a good day. | |
Have a good evening. | |
Good night. | |
I have to leave. | |
Thanks, you too. informal |
1.4.12. Answers
Goodbye. | Au revoir. |
Bye. informal | Salut. |
See you soon. | À bientôt. |
See you later. | À plus tard. |
See you tomorrow. | À demain. |
Have a good day. | Bonne journée. |
Have a good evening. | Bonne soirée. |
Good night. | Bonne nuit. |
I have to leave. | Je dois partir. |
Thanks, you too. informal | Merci, toi aussi. |
1.4.13. Short Dialogue
A : Je dois partir. | A: I have to leave. |
B : D’accord. À plus tard ! | B: Okay. See you later! |
A : À plus tard. Bonne journée ! | A: See you later. Have a good day! |
B : Merci, toi aussi ! | B: Thanks, you too! |
1.4.14. Checkpoint
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to say good-bye formally and informally, say when you will see someone again, wish someone a good day or evening, respond naturally to good wishes, and leave a conversation politely.
1.4.15. Try It Out
Try saying this in French:
Goodbye. See you tomorrow.
Have a good day.
Possible answer:
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