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I have a small doubt regarding the usage of Bon soir and Bonne soirée. As far as my understanding goes or you can blindly say what I have been doing till now is: Bon soir, when you meet someone and Bonne soirée when you take leave of the same person(s).

I had a situation recently.So when I begin, I go by a salut in the morning and a salut when I leave for home in the evening. Yesterday, for a change I tried Bonne soirée while leaving and the replies as expected were ciao, salut… and some unexpected Bon soir's. So this confused me a bit!

Should I have used Bon soir or Bonne soirée?

Related queries:

While on the way back home if I meet someone whom I had already greeted in the morning, what should be the greeting in the context of Bon soir or Bonne soirée (no actual conversations involved except the greeting)?

What is the factor (time or sunlight) for switching from Bonjour or Bonne journée to Bon soir or Bonne soirée?

Combinations: Merci Bonne journée Au revoir ; Is this combination acceptable or should Bonne journée be the last in the list. Example situation: while leaving a magasin or a bus.

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That's not a question, in fact, but many.

First of all, that's Bonsoir in one word, not Bon soir. But indeed, the general principle you quote at start is mainly correct (meeting/taking leave of someone).

For the confusion you had with people responding with Bonsoir when you left, although it's probably rarer than Bonne soirée, it's possible also. The only "too odd" usage would be Bonne soirée when meeting someone you're going to spend the evening with. Saying Bonsoir when leaving is acceptable, though more formal than the other alternatives you quoted (Ciao, Salut).

When meeting someone on the way back home (but no actual conversation intended beyond simple greetings), use Bonsoir any time, but Bonne soirée if (and only if) you can suppose your interlocutor hasn't actually finished his soirée (in other words, if you somehow know he's going home to sleep, in case you should use Bonne nuit). And, in a way, it makes sense: it would be pretty absurd to wish someone an event in the past. Following this rule, you "can" (and should ! friendliness is a nice thing...) certainly say Bonne soirée to someone on his way back home, if he just mentioned he's having a party at home for his birthday for example. And of course, you cannot say it if he just said Je n'en peux plus, je rentre me coucher.

In other words, using Bonne soirée (or Bonne journée) has in fact more to do with your interlocutor's activity than it has to do with time or sunlight. Use a neutral Bonsoir when you don't know.

For your last question, Merci, bonne journée, au revoir sounds (to me) redundant (symbolically if not technically) and is slightly too "heavy". Merci et au revoir ! or Merci, bonne journée ! sound best if I may.)

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  • 1
    What about Bonne fin de soirée ?
    – mouviciel
    Jul 23, 2012 at 9:14
  • 4
    @mouviciel Excellent *other* question ;-) Let's say it stands between Bonne soirée and Bonne nuit... though probably closer to the latter.
    – Romain Valeri
    Jul 23, 2012 at 11:46
  • Bon soir, il faut remonter au temps de Voltaire pour le voir écrit souvent comme cela ! De nos jours sur scène, le théâtre aime bien jouer sur ces nuances-là pour insister, ce n’est plus une formule de politesse [« Allez, Bonne soirée » et en aparté « Que le diable l’emporte …»], mais une marque d’attention à l’autre… le contraire des selfies :-)
    – Personne
    Feb 22, 2020 at 23:12
  • disagree, Bonne Soiree is used when you wish someone to have a good time if they have plans to do something fun. Bonsoir is just a standard goodbye/good evening when you leave someone or go home for the evening
    – opale
    Aug 30, 2022 at 21:27
  • @opale What's the disagreement about? I agree with your (succinct) definitions.
    – Romain Valeri
    Aug 31, 2022 at 11:50
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  • Bonsoir pour au revoir lorsque l'on se quitte en fin l'après midi ou juste avant la nuit.
  • Bonsoir peut se dire aussi lorsque l'on arrive dans une assemblée aux mêmes horaires, plutôt qu'un tardif bonjour.
  • Bonne soirée sous-entend : passez une bonne soirée (en général lorsque quelqu'un a l'intention de passer la soirée en dehors de son domicile) si l'on quitte quelqu'un, ou que ce dernier s'en va.

Précision :

  • Bonsoir s'écrit en un seul mot lorsqu'il s'agit d'une locution.
  • Bon soir désigne une fin de journée particulière :
    Vous allez au théâtre ? Que ce soit un bon soir pour vous !
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bonjour, bonsoir are greetings bonne journée, bonne soirée mean have a nice day, have a nice evening.

A native French speaker would never say: "Vous allez au théâtre? Que ce soit un bon soir pour vous!" Instead you could say: "Vous allez au théâtre? Passez UNE BONNE SOIREE!

reference: pages 223 to 227 Le Français déchiffré, clé du langage et des langues Henri Adamcweski

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    Ce n’est pas avec les livres que j’ai formulé ma réponse, mais pour l’avoir entendue … et souvent pour insister : "Bonsoir, et que ce soit un bon soir pour toi [là où tu vas] ; pour moi, le mot never n’est pas de mise,
    – Personne
    Feb 20, 2020 at 18:46
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"Bonsoir" is standard and can be used when you arrive somewhere (in the evening) and when you leave (in the evening).

On the other hand "Bonne soirée" is a little bit more involved and can be used as a goodbye wish when you leave. I have always felt that there is something unpleasant and intrusive in the "Bonne soirée" wish. Why on earth do you need to wish a good evening to somebody when you leave : it seems to mean "Now that I am leaving, I sincerely wish that the remaining part of the evening will be nicer for you". It carries some elements of bitterness and dissatisfaction.

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    Bonne soirée ne signifie pas Meilleure soirée sans moi. Je ne vois pas pourquoi souhaiter une bonne soirée serait moins sincère que bon voyage, bonne nuit ou bon appétit.
    – jlliagre
    Aug 31, 2022 at 9:05
  • Agreed with jiliagre, this negative/ironic subtext you're describing is quite odd to me. Irony can be the underlying intent of any positive wish, by definition. I guess it's a subjective thing.
    – Romain Valeri
    Jan 25 at 11:23

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