How to say goodbye in French
Updated: September 19, 2023 by Mylene in French ExpressionsArray ▪
Do you know how to say goodbye in French? Read this article to learn about the many expressions to use when saying Goodbye in French.
In this post, you’ll learn:
- How to say goodbye in French
- Goodbye if you’ll meet again
- Goodbye if you’ll never meet again
- Goodbye if you don’t know when you’ll meet
- More greeting expressions
Goodbye in French
Do you know that there are more than 10 ways to say Goodbye in French? But each of these expressions is to be used in a particular situation. Some expressions are casual ways of saying goodbye in French. Others are appropriate for situations where you want to sound formal.
Au revoir
There are different ways to say goodbye in French, and I’ll start with a well-known expression that you certainly know “au revoir”. Au revoir, literally, means goodbye. Au revoir is the most common way of saying goodbye in French. The good news is that you can use this expression in any situation.
If you know when you’ll meet again
A tout de suite
If you’re on the phone talking to someone, and you’re going to meet just after the phone call, so you’ll say “à tout de suite”. You can also use this expression if you’re seeing the person within a matter of hours or minutes.
A tout à l’heure
You may be planning to meet someone on the same day or today. If so, then you can use the expression “à tout à l’heure”, You can use this expression in a formal context or informal.
A tout’
In an informal context, you can use a shorter-expression à tout’. This is a common expression used in spoken French today. The ‘ at the end of tout’ is to reflect the way that this word is pronounced when speaking French. “a tout” is pronounced /.a.tut/.
A demain
If you know that you’re going to see this person tomorrow, then “à demain” is the expression to use. It translates to see you tomorrow in English.
A la semaine prochaine
Is it a weekly meeting? Or do you have the plan to meet again next week? In this case, you can say “à la semaine prochaine” which means “until next week”. You can check the pronunciation of “à la semaine prochaine” as well as other expressions in this video.
If you’ll never meet again
Adieu
Is it a final goodbye? Adieu, which means until God, is the way to say that you’re never going to see each other again. If so, then you can say Adieu.
If you don’t know when you’ll meet again
A un de ces quatre
Now, let’s learn a casual way to say goodbye in French. You can use “à un de ces quatre” which means see you later on, see you soon.
Salut
In a casual context, you can use another expression which is “salut”. It translates to bye in English. Interestingly, this French word can be used to say bonjour (hello) and also goodbye (au revoir). Salut!
A la prochaine
Similar to the previous expression (à bientôt), “à la prochaine” is the way to say goodbye in French in an informal situation. This French expression means “until next time”. It might be in 2 days, in a week, or later in time.
A bientôt
Are you’re looking to meet again someone very soon? Or at least would you like to meet this person soon? If so, the expression to use is “à bientôt”. You can use this expression in a formal context or in an informal context.
A plus tard
This is another expression to express the intention or the will to see someone at a later time. The subtle difference with “à la prochaine” is that “à plus tard” can point to later on the same day.
A plus
As an alternative to “à plus tard”, you can use a shorter expression which is “à plus”.
Please take into account that the way the word plus is pronounced can vary depending on various elements. In this example, be sure to pronounce the s in the word plus.
Bonne journée
Whenever you’re leaving a place like a restaurant or a coffee shop or a store you can use the expression “bonne journée”. It means have a good day.
More Greetings Expressions in French
Often, the goal is to retain new French expressions and learn how to use them. In a way, you can think of French expressions as additional vocabulary that you learn.
Therefore, the main purpose of this article is to provide reading materials for French learners looking to master the various ways of saying goodbye in French.
Similar to learning how to say goodbye in French, you can learn more French expressions like:
Beyond Goodbyes in French
Today, perhaps more than ever, learning French is accessible to a large number of people. Beyond learning the basic vocabulary, you can learn how to sound like French.
Ultimately, if you want to discover more French expressions, you can check out our article on useful French expressions and their meanings.
You can also take a further step to boost your learning with our online French courses that will help you learn French faster and better.
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