59
votes
Accepted
Should I use Bonjour or Salut to a clerk in France?
I'm French and I have never heard anyone say "salut" to greet a clerk. It's just too familiar. You either say "bonjour" or "bonsoir". I'd recommend you to just repeat the word they use to greet you, ...
- 666
28
votes
Should I use Bonjour or Salut to a clerk in France?
It's true that “hi” is less formal than “good morning” and “salut” is less formal than “bonjour”, but they are not used in the same circumstances. You pretty much never say “salut” to someone you don'...
24
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between “Bises” and “Bisous” when ending a letter?
Bises usually means kisses on the cheeks and is the kind of closing you write to someone you precisely kiss that way in real life (family, close / female friends, female colleagues). This kind of kiss ...
- 145k
17
votes
Accepted
When to say "Bonne nuit" vs "Bonne soirée"
As you guessed, bonne nuit ! is only used when you know the person is going to his/her bedroom. It is then common in a family, or when you leave people going back to their rooms in a hotel. Otherwise, ...
- 145k
8
votes
Accepted
“Enchanté” vs “ravi de vous rencontrer”
"Ravi de vous rencontrer" and "Enchanté" are very similar but "Enchanté" is a bit stronger, older and less formal.
"Enchanté" is more for someone you met in a casual way (friends of someone, parents ...
- 141
7
votes
Should I use Bonjour or Salut to a clerk in France?
While all the answers recommending to use Bonjour are absolutely right, if you're ever in Valais, in Switzerland, there Salut is fine as well and clerks will probably greet you with it anyway.
- 171
7
votes
Should I use Bonjour or Salut to a clerk in France?
I read that a cafe-owner in the South put up the following price-list, to discourage rudeness.
Un café ... 8€
Bonjour, un café ... 4€
Bonjour, un café s'il vous plaît ... 2€
- 1,645
7
votes
Accepted
Colloquialism for “see you later”
Are you sure it was “À tout alors”? I think you've heard “À toute, alors !”. Here is an exemple of context:
— Je vais à la conférence du logiciel libre cet après-midi.
— Ah oui ? J'y vais aussi !
— ...
- 822
6
votes
When to say "Bonne nuit" vs "Bonne soirée"
Bonne nuit = Late evening
Bonne nuit is often used just before going to bed, even if you don't sleep in the same bed as the person. You say that when you know the person will go to bed just after you ...
- 389
6
votes
What is the difference between “Bises” and “Bisous” when ending a letter?
Bisous is for very close people like family / girlfriend...
Young french people say la bise to their friends at the end of their messages
I've never seen Bises without la in a message
- 171
6
votes
Should I use Bonjour or Salut to a clerk in France?
Most have been say already, but I'll add that it's not uncommon to great a person by adding "Monsieur" (sir), Madame (madam) or Mademoiselle (miss): bonjour Madame, etc; for example to great the baker ...
- 161
6
votes
Accepted
Joke ways to say hello and goodbye, like "see you later alligator"
For now, but I promise I will add more if they come to my mind, here are some of the best... or worst, depends on the point of view:
There are three of a kind:
À plus dans l'bus
See you later in the ...
- 327
5
votes
Accepted
How did French people greet in 1400?
You could use one of the following expressions :
[Hé,] Que y'a ?
What's up?
Ayez un bon jour
Literally "Have a good day", used to say "Hello" (became "bonjour").
Diex vos sait (very ...
- 66
5
votes
Accepted
« Hear!, Hear! » : variantes pour la marque d'approbation lors du discours/toast ?
accord sur l'argumentaire:
Oui !
Tout à fait !
C'est ça !
accord et encouragement :
Ouaaaaais !
- 677
4
votes
Accepted
Usage of ça baigne
We can find the origin of the word in an article by l'Internaute :
Sens : Tout fonctionne bien.
Origine : Cette expression date du XXe siècle et prend ses origines sur les établis de
bricolage....
- 707
4
votes
Quand dire « Bonjour » et quand dire « Bonsoir » ?
En France métropolitaine, « Bonjour » s'utilise le matin et l'après-midi.
On emploie « Bonsoir » à partir de la fin de l'après-midi, au coucher du soleil et toute la soirée.
« Bonne nuit » est ...
- 173
4
votes
What does “à bientôt” mean exactly?
It's more about how soon you expect to meet that person again, and how close you are to the person (if you're close, you'll probably meet again soon, though).
Au revoir litterally means "until next ...
- 141
4
votes
« Hear!, Hear! » : variantes pour la marque d'approbation lors du discours/toast ?
Je pense que l'on dirait plutôt bravo.
- 4,628
4
votes
Seeking an appropriate response to "bienvenue"
« Bienvenu ! » is a pretty direct translation of "Welcome!" and gets the same direct response you would give in English, in which case you have several options -
« Merci ! »
« Merci ...
- 2,274
4
votes
Accepted
Majuscule après la formule d'appel dans une lettre
C'est une très bonne question qui trouve une réponse facile :
Il ne s'agit que de typographie. Et, en matière de typographie, il n'est que des usages.
Usage venu de l'habitude de commencer par une ...
- 9,020
4
votes
Colloquialism for “see you later”
Both are correct, the first one à tout à l'heure (without a s at the end) is the most common.
And the second one à toute, alors, is more familiar. It is a contraction of the first example (https://...
- 1,214
4
votes
Comment puis-je commencer un courrier?
À titre personnel, j'aime me montrer chaleureux envers mes collègues (dans la mesure du possible) lors des différents échanges. Dans la période actuelle, un petit mot de sympathie montrant que tu te ...
- 3,111
4
votes
Accepted
Word/Expression corresponding to 'good afternoon'
I don't know if there is a good reason but:
"Bonjour"
"Bonsoir"
are used when meeting someone while
"Bonne journée"
"Bon/Bonne après-midi"
"Bonne soirée&...
- 1,772
4
votes
Accepted
Usage de "bon mois"
Cela n'est pas d'usage.
Si je devais tenter une explication, je dirais que la transition d'un mois à l'autre n'apporte aucun changement particulier.
Notre mode de vie est en effet rythmé par une ...
- 1,509
4
votes
Usage de "bon mois"
Je n'ai jamais entendu cette expression en français (juste "bon mois"), quoique j'imagine qu'on pourrait dire :
Je vous souhaite un bon mois (d'avril), plein d'accomplissements.
J'ai aussi ...
- 621
3
votes
« Hear!, Hear! » : variantes pour la marque d'approbation lors du discours/toast ?
In French, for expressing short, not overly disruptive agreement with words and ideas uttered during a public discourse (which is your first example), for what it’s worth, I’d probably go more with ...
- 6,736
3
votes
Accepted
Bonjour at night
It is not wrong to say Bonjour at night even if it is more frequent to say Bonsoir than Bonjour after, let's say, 7pm. There is no strict rule that defines when it is time to say Bonsoir, and it is ...
- 146
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible