The three greetings you actually need
| Greeting | When to use it | Register |
|---|---|---|
| Bonjour | Daytime hello on arrival | Neutral; safe with strangers |
| Bonsoir | Evening hello on arrival | Neutral; replaces bonjour after dark |
| Salut | Hi / bye among friends and peers | Casual; not for formal service encounters |
Bonjour is the workhorse. You say it when you enter a bakery, a doctor's waiting room, or a train compartment where people already sit. French service culture treats that first word as the start of the interaction; skipping it is what travelers get labeled for.
Bonsoir takes over in the evening. There is no exact clock time in a grammar book; locals switch when the day feels over, often around dusk or when evening shifts begin. Salut covers friends, classmates, and coworkers you already tutoyer. Using salut with a police officer or a shop clerk you do not know is too familiar.
What to attach after the greeting
In a shop or formal hello, add the title: Bonjour, madame or Bonjour, monsieur. With a named person, Bonjour, Marie is natural once you are on first-name terms. Among friends, Salut ça va ? (Hi, how’s it going?) is the everyday extension.
Common follow-ups:
| Follow-up | Meaning | Reply you can expect |
|---|---|---|
| Ça va ? | How’s it going? | Ça va, et toi/vous ? |
| Comment allez-vous ? | How are you? (formal/plural) | Bien, merci, et vous ? |
| Enchanté(e) | Nice to meet you | Enchanté(e) |
Enchanté is for first introductions, not every morning hello. Ça va is the casual check-in; comment allez-vous keeps distance with people you vousvoie.
Handshake, la bise, or neither
First meetings in professional settings usually start with a handshake. Among friends and many family circles in France, la bise (light cheek kisses) is common; the number of kisses varies by region (often two, sometimes three or four). During illness waves or with strangers, a verbal bonjour alone is enough and is not cold.
In Quebec, greeting customs lean slightly differently in retail: staff still expect a clear hello, and as noted on this site's goodbye in French guide, bonjour can even serve as an informal goodbye during the day. That leaving-bonjour is a Quebec (and some regional France) pattern, not the Paris default.
Greetings to avoid as your opener
Allô is for answering the phone, not for walking into a room. Hey and hi borrowed from English appear among young speakers, but they are not the polite default with strangers. Bonne journée / bonne soirée are well-wishes when parting or sometimes when a clerk hands you a bag, not replacements for bonjour on arrival.
If you need farewell forms rather than hellos, use the farewell guide linked earlier. Related reading: good night in Spanish.