I was wondering if there is an object personal pronoun in French to be used when you don't want to reveal or are not sure of the gender of the person or the person concerned can be either male or female.
In English in such cases there is a tendency to use third person plural, “them”. What would be the equivalent of this in French? I think “L'on” works as a subject. Is it possible to use it as an object also?
How can I translate “Whenever I meet someone I say ‘hi’ to them.” ?
Quand je recontre quelqu'un je leur dis « hi ».
or
Quand je recontre quelqu'un je on dis « hi ».
Can I use cela, ceci etc here, as I think “ça” can often be used to talk about people in sentences of the type: “c'est + noun”?
Edit: Thank you for the answers. I guess the example I gave inadvertently does not demonstrate the confusion since both to him and to her are “lui”. What about another verb such as regarder? “Je le regarde” or “je la regarde”? I specifically want to be gender-equivocal. I don't want the reader to go away thinking I meant him/her. As in English, when we say “I thank them”, when the object is actually singular, I am being ambiguous about the gender of the person.