Context:
This lesson should be viewed as a continuation of Lesson 2. Indeed, in that lesson, we learned how to introduce ourselves when meeting somebody for the first time, how to give our names and how to ask someone’s name in various ways.
In this lesson, we expand on it and we now learn how to say things such as “Good morning“, “Hello“, “How are you?“, etc.
Tip: The vocabulary here is pretty straightforward and is therefore quickly acquired. For better result, you will probably need a partner to do the short dialogues that follow.
Goals:
In this lesson, you will learn the common forms of address in French
→ the common forms of address in French
→ which greetings to use when addressing a friend or when you in a more formal context. (Tu and Vous)
Chapter 1 –> Lesson 6:
Level of difficulty: Very Easy
You have probably heard it or said it yourself a million times but how about starting with the most obvious stuff?
  Bonjour Good morning.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
 Bonsoir Good evening.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
 Salut. Hi/Hello.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
 Au revoir Bye bye.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. A bientôt See you soon. Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
Let’s make it a bit more interesting by adding a few more words to them…Please note that there are many different ways and expressions we can list below, but for the sake of simplicity and space, I am listing standard expressions here.
| QUESTIONS | POSSIBLE WAYS TO ANSWER |
|---|---|
| Bonjour. Ça va? Good morning. How are you?/(Are you OK?)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
Bien, merci. Fine, thanks.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
| Bonsoir. Ça va bien? Good evening. How are you?/(Feeling great?)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
Pas mal, merci. Not bad, thanks.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
| Salut. Je m’appelle Frédéric Hello. My name’s Frederic
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
Here, as an answer you may simply repeat the same sentence including your own name.
For example, Salut, je m’appelle Herman. |
In what follows, you are asking a non-intimate “how are you?” . In this case, the subject pronoun vous must be used. |
| Comment allez-vous? How are you?
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
Bien merci. (or Pas mal, merci. Et vous?) Fine, thanks. And you?.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
| Comment vas-tu? “How are you?”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
Bien, monsieur. Et vous? Fine. And you, sir?
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
| Tu vas bien? “You’re doing OK?”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
Oui, et toi? Yes, and you?
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
What’s the deal with Tu and Vous?
Tutoyer or Vouvoyer?That is the question. Tutoyer means to address someone with the subject pronoun TU and Vouvoyer means to address somebody using VOUS.
Well, you need to be careful with these two subject pronouns. As you probably remember from a previous lesson, they both correspond to English you, so it can be very easy, especially for English speakers, to confuse one for the other, which, in some cases, can cause you some embarrassment. I will explain…
Vous is used for those older than you and with people you don’t know well or with whom you wish to keep a certain distance. Tu, on the other hand, is used among peers, with friends and other students. You also use tu with family members in most cases. So if you address someone with tu, that is, as if they were a peer or a common friend, they can take offense or perceive it as a lack of manners on your part. To be safe, make sure to vouvoyer if you are not sure whether to be formal or not. Better leave a nice impression than be sorry and come across as a rude person.
Merci mille fois.