More About Taking Leave of People and Wishing Them Well
16.2.1. The Main Idea
To take leave of people in French, use expressions such as au revoir, à bientôt, à plus tard, and bonne journée.
Au revoir. | Goodbye. |
À bientôt. | See you soon. |
À plus tard. | See you later. |
Bonne journée. | Have a good day. |
These expressions help you end a conversation politely, warmly, or casually.
16.2.2. Basic Goodbyes
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 lundi. | See you Monday. |
À la prochaine. | See you next time. |
16.2.3. 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. |
Use bon with masculine nouns and bonne with feminine nouns.
bon week-end | good weekend |
bon après-midi | good afternoon |
bonne journée | good day |
bonne soirée | good evening |
bonne nuit | good night |
bonne semaine | good week |
16.2.4. 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. formal or plural |
16.2.5. For School, Work, and Exams
Bonne chance pour ton examen ! | Good luck on your exam! informal |
Bonne chance pour votre examen ! | Good luck on your exam! formal |
Bon courage pour tes études ! | Good luck / stay strong with your studies! informal |
Bon courage pour votre travail ! | Good luck / stay strong with your work! formal |
Travaille bien ! | Study / work well! informal |
Travaillez bien ! | Study / work well! formal or plural |
À plus tard en classe. | See you later in class. |
16.2.6. For Travel and Movement
Bon voyage ! | Have a good trip! |
Bonne route ! | Have a safe trip! / Drive safely! |
Rentre bien ! | Get home safely! informal |
Rentrez bien ! | Get home safely! formal or plural |
Fais attention sur la route. | Be careful on the road. informal |
Faites attention sur la route. | Be careful on the road. formal or plural |
À bientôt à Montréal ! | See you soon in Montreal! |
16.2.7. For Health and Rest
Repose-toi bien. | Rest well. informal |
Reposez-vous bien. | Rest well. formal or plural |
Soigne-toi bien. | Take care of yourself / get well. informal |
Soignez-vous bien. | Take care of yourself / get well. formal or plural |
Bon rétablissement. | Get well soon. |
Prompt rétablissement. | Get well soon. more formal |
J’espère que tu iras mieux bientôt. | I hope you will feel better soon. informal |
16.2.8. For Celebrations and Special Occasions
Joyeux anniversaire ! | Happy birthday! |
Bon anniversaire ! | Happy birthday! |
Félicitations ! | Congratulations! |
Tous mes vœux de bonheur ! | Wishing you every happiness! |
Bonnes fêtes ! | Happy holidays! |
Bonne année ! | Happy New Year! |
Joyeux Noël ! | Merry Christmas! |
16.2.9. Responding to 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 |
C’est gentil, merci. | That is kind, thank you. |
16.2.10. Formal vs. Informal
Use informal expressions with friends, classmates, family, or people you know well.
Informal | English |
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, or groups.
Formal / Plural | English |
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. |
16.2.11. Core Patterns
À + time | See you at / on ___ |
Bonne + feminine noun | Bonne journée. |
Bon + masculine noun | Bon voyage. |
Bonne chance pour + noun | Good luck with / on ___ |
Bon courage pour + noun | Good luck / stay strong with ___ |
verb command + bien | Repose-toi bien. |
Merci, toi aussi. | Thanks, you too. |
16.2.12. Practice
Goodbye. | |
See you soon. | |
Have a good day. | |
Have a good weekend. | |
Good luck on your exam. informal | |
Have a good trip. | |
Get home safely. informal | |
Rest well. formal | |
Thanks, you too. informal |
16.2.13. Answers
Goodbye. | Au revoir. |
See you soon. | À bientôt. |
Have a good day. | Bonne journée. |
Have a good weekend. | Bon week-end. |
Good luck on your exam. informal | Bonne chance pour ton examen ! |
Have a good trip. | Bon voyage ! |
Get home safely. informal | Rentre bien ! |
Rest well. formal | Reposez-vous bien. |
Thanks, you too. informal | Merci, toi aussi. |
16.2.14. Short Dialogue
A : Je dois partir. À plus tard ! | A: I have to leave. See you later! |
B : D’accord. Bonne journée ! | B: Okay. Have a good day! |
A : Merci, toi aussi. | A: Thanks, you too. |
B : Bonne chance pour ton examen ! | B: Good luck on your exam! |
A : Merci beaucoup ! À demain. | A: Thank you very much! See you tomorrow. |
16.2.15. Checkpoint
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to take leave of people, wish someone well, choose between formal and informal expressions, and respond naturally to good wishes with expressions such as merci, toi aussi, à vous aussi, and c’est gentil, merci.
16.2.16. Try It Out
Try saying this in French:
See you soon.
Have a good day.
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