Meeting People

Okay, so you’re in France (or some other French speaking country) and you’re meeting somebody who is French, or you want to greet the locals...

What do you do?

You learn the basics of meeting and greeting in French. It will only take you a few quick minutes to learn the French needed to greet people.

Hello. = Bonjour.
Good evening. = Bonsoir.
Mr. = Monsieur
Mrs. = Madame
Miss (Ms.) = Mademoiselle
What’s your name? = Comment vous appelez-vous?
My name is = Je m’appelle . . .

 I’m happy to meet you. = Je suis heureux(se) de faire votre connaissance.
I’d like you to meet . . . Je vous presente . . .
How are you? = Comment allez-vous?
Very well. = Tres bien.
Not bad. = Pas mal.
So-so. = Comme ci comme ca.
Good-bye. = Au revoir.
Good night. = Bonne nuit.

And for all you informal people out there, here is some ways to greet people :

Hi. = Salut.
What’s your name? = Tu t’appelles comment?
My name is . . . = Je m’appelle . . .
Pleased to meet you. = Enchante(e).
I’d like you to meet . . . = Je te presente . . .
How are you? = Ca va?
Fine. = Ca va.
What’s new? = Quoi de neuf?
Nothing. = Rien.
See you soon. = A bientot.
See you later. = A tout a l’heure.
See you tomorrow. = A demain.

Okay so you’ve got the basics down, so now it’s time to teach you a little local know-how. Firstly, when you’re in a foreign country...and you want to talk with someone you don’t even know, it’s usually polite to converse with the “formal stuff” (first list). Why? Well, I guess it’s just politeness.

It’s considered a mistake (faux pas) to talk to someone informally if you don’t really know them. It’s best to wait till you know them or make friends with them before you introduce informality.

Also, in France, it’s considered respectful to refer to an older French women as madame, whether they are married or not. When you’re in doubt, just use madame anyway. In French, the word Mademoiselle is used only for younger women.