When French people greet their friends, or are being introduced to new people, they faire la bise - lightly kiss one another on the cheek - and say:
Salut! - Hello!
Bonjour! - Good morning / good day!
All about me
Greetings
Bonsoir! - Good afternoon / evening! (After about 6pm)
For someone you don't know (and who is older than twelve), you say:
Comment allez-vous? - How are you?
They might respond:
Bien, merci. - Fine, thanks.
Bien, et vous? - Fine, what about you?
If you are talking to a friend, you can say:
(Comment) ça va? - How's it going?
You might hear the following in reply:
Ça va. - Fine.
Ça va bien. - Well.
Pas mal. - Not bad.
Bof! - So so!
When it's time to leave, you would normally say:
Au revoir! - Goodbye!
You can also say:
À tout à l’heure! - See you later!
À demain! - See you tomorrow!
À bientôt! - See you soon!
It’s polite to say Madame or Monsieur to all grown-ups and teachers. Listen to how you pronounce Monsieur – it might surprise you!
Monsieur/Madame - Sir/Madam, Mr/Mrs
There are two ways to say please:
s’il te plaît - please (to a friend)
If you're talking to a grown-up or someone you don't know, you say:
s’il vous plaît - please
merci - thanks
DID YOU KNOW... It depends where you live as to how many times you kiss when you meet. In Paris, they kiss twice - once on each cheek, in the north and in Brittany it’s three times and in the south, FOUR times - left right left right!