FlexiLingoIn one line
In France,
Bonjourbefore any sentence is compulsory — and omitting it counts as plain rudeness, far more than a visitor expects.
Nouns
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
la politesse | /pɔ.li.tɛs/ | politeness |
le respect | /ʁɛs.pɛ/ | respect |
l'excuse (f.) | /ɛks.kyz/ | apology |
le remerciement | /ʁə.mɛʁ.si.mɑ̃/ | thanks |
le service | /sɛʁ.vis/ | service, favour |
la faveur | /fa.vœʁ/ | favour |
le plaisir | /plɛ.ziʁ/ | pleasure |
la gêne | /ʒɛn/ | inconvenience, embarrassment |
Phrases
Greeting and leaving
| French | Pronunciation | When |
|---|---|---|
Bonjour | /bɔ̃.ʒuʁ/ | until about six |
Bonsoir | /bɔ̃.swaʁ/ | from the evening on |
Salut | /sa.ly/ | informal — both hello and goodbye |
Au revoir | /o ʁə.vwaʁ/ | goodbye |
Bonne journée | /bɔn ʒuʁ.ne/ | have a good day |
Bonne soirée | /bɔn swa.ʁe/ | have a good evening |
Bonne nuit | /bɔn nɥi/ | good night — only at bedtime |
À bientôt | /a bjɛ̃.to/ | see you soon |
À demain | /a də.mɛ̃/ | see you tomorrow |
Bon week-end | /bɔ̃ wi.kɛnd/ | have a good weekend |
Thanks and replies
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
Merci | /mɛʁ.si/ | thank you |
Merci beaucoup | /mɛʁ.si bo.ku/ | thank you very much |
Merci bien | /mɛʁ.si bjɛ̃/ | thanks |
Je vous remercie | /ʒə vu ʁə.mɛʁ.si/ | I thank you — formal |
De rien | /də ʁjɛ̃/ | you're welcome |
Je vous en prie | /ʒə vu.z‿ɑ̃ pʁi/ | you're welcome — formal |
Il n'y a pas de quoi | /il nja pa də kwa/ | don't mention it |
Avec plaisir | /a.vɛk plɛ.ziʁ/ | with pleasure |
C'est gentil | /sɛ ʒɑ̃.ti/ | that's kind |
Apologies
| French | Pronunciation | Weight |
|---|---|---|
Pardon | /paʁ.dɔ̃/ | light — bumping into someone, squeezing past |
Excusez-moi | /ɛks.ky.ze mwa/ | medium — interrupting |
Je suis désolé(e) | /ʒə sɥi de.zo.le/ | serious — genuine regret |
Je m'excuse | /ʒə mɛks.kyz/ | counted as incorrect in formal French |
Désolé de vous déranger | /de.zo.le də vu de.ʁɑ̃.ʒe/ | sorry to bother you |
Ce n'est pas grave | /sɛ pa ɡʁav/ | it's fine |
Ce n'est rien | /sə nɛ ʁjɛ̃/ | it's nothing |
Je m'excuseliterally means "I excuse myself" — and it is considered wrong in France. SayExcusez-moi. (In Quebec it is more accepted.)English uses "sorry" for all three levels; French splits them. See
remercier-sexcuser.
Polite requests
| Less polite | Polite | Very polite |
|---|---|---|
Je veux… /ʒə vø/ | Je voudrais… /ʒə vu.dʁɛ/ | Je souhaiterais… /ʒə su.ɛ.tʁɛ/ |
Donnez-moi… /dɔ.ne.mwa/ | Pouvez-vous me donner… /pu.ve.vu mə dɔ.ne/ | Pourriez-vous me donner… /pu.ʁje.vu mə dɔ.ne/ |
Où est… ? /u ɛ/ | Excusez-moi, où est… ? /ɛks.ky.ze.mwa u ɛ/ | Excusez-moi de vous déranger, où est… ? /ɛks.ky.ze.mwa də vu de.ʁɑ̃.ʒe u ɛ/ |
Répétez. /ʁe.pe.te/ | Vous pouvez répéter ? /vu pu.ve ʁe.pe.te/ | Pourriez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît ? /pu.ʁje.vu ʁe.pe.te sil vu plɛ/ |
French politeness comes mainly from the conditional —
voudrais,pourriez,auriez. Seeconditionnel-present.English hedges with extra words — "could you possibly", "I was wondering if" — and French changes the verb form instead. Stacking English-style hedges onto French sounds laboured rather than polite.
Situational formulas
| French | When | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
Bon appétit ! | before eating | /bɔ.n‿a.pe.ti/ |
Santé ! À la vôtre ! | when drinking | /sɑ̃.te/ · /a la votʁ/ |
Bonne chance ! | before an exam or interview | /bɔn ʃɑ̃s/ |
Bon courage ! | to somebody facing something difficult | /bɔ̃ ku.ʁaʒ/ |
Bon rétablissement ! | to somebody ill | /ʁe.ta.blis.mɑ̃/ |
Félicitations ! | congratulations | /fe.li.si.ta.sjɔ̃/ |
Bienvenue ! | welcome | /bjɛ̃v.ny/ |
Bon voyage ! | have a good trip | /bɔ̃ vwa.jaʒ/ |
Meilleurs vœux ! | best wishes, happy new year | /mɛ.jœʁ vø/ |
À vos souhaits ! | after somebody sneezes | /a vo su.ɛ/ |
French has a formula for far more situations than English does.
Bon appétit,Bon courage,Bonne continuation,Bon rétablissement— English has no everyday equivalent for most of these, and their absence from your speech is noticeable.
Verbs
| Verb | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
remercier | /ʁə.mɛʁ.sje/ | to thank |
s'excuser | /sɛks.ky.ze/ | to apologise |
déranger | /de.ʁɑ̃.ʒe/ | to disturb |
saluer | /sa.lɥe/ | to greet |
tutoyer | /ty.twa.je/ | to address as tu |
vouvoyer | /vu.vwa.je/ | to address as vous |
serrer la main | /sɛ.ʁe la mɛ̃/ | to shake hands |
faire la bise | /fɛʁ la biz/ | to kiss on the cheek |
Traps
| Trap | Explanation |
|---|---|
Bonjour is compulsory | Entering a shop, starting a call, addressing any stranger — without it you are being rude. |
| Not twice in one day to the same person | The second time, Re-bonjour or just a smile. |
Bonne nuit only at bedtime | For an evening goodbye, Bonne soirée. |
Do not use Je m'excuse | Excusez-moi is correct. |
Salut is both hello and goodbye | And only with someone you call tu. |
Start with vous | The other person will propose switching to tu. |
De rien and Je vous en prie mean the same | The second is more formal. |
Bonjour — a rule that is cultural, not linguistic
and why omitting it is more than a language mistake
In France Bonjour is not a pleasantry — it is a precondition.
Without it, anything you say is heard as an order:
| ❌ | ✅ |
|---|---|
Un café, s'il vous plaît. | Bonjour, un café s'il vous plaît. |
Où est la gare ? | Bonjour, où est la gare ? |
And it applies everywhere: shops, the doctor's, taxis, phone calls, even a lift in your own building.
The cultural reason is that Bonjour acknowledges the other person before you ask them for anything. Without it, they become an instrument.
Three practical rules:
1. Bonjour first, then everything else. Even if you are in a hurry.
2. In small shops, Au revoir and Bonne journée on the way out too.
3. If somebody says Bonjour to you, answer — even a stranger on the stairs of your building.
The reason this catches English speakers specifically is that English carries its politeness elsewhere. In English, "a coffee, please" is a perfectly polite request — the "please" does the work, and a greeting is optional. In French, s'il vous plaît does not substitute for Bonjour. You need both, and the greeting comes first.
So the adjustment is not "be more polite" — you already are. It is "move the politeness to the front".
And in the speaking exam this is assessed. Starting a conversation without Bonjour costs marks under "sociolinguistic appropriateness" — even if the rest of your French is flawless.