Well, this may make you curious to know how we start a conversation when talking to a French person or even with someone well-known in the language. In other words, how to Greet & Meet French people. So here, let’s understand step by step with a conversational dialogue example!
When talking to the one who is unknown to you, greet them with Bonjour or Salut! It is a formal way of saying Hey, Hello. Also, mention the vous pronoun while conversing as it shows respect and courtesy to the other person. As they say ~ “You get what you give.”
When you are about to leave or when you are ending the conversation, use Enchanté. In English, it is equivalent to saying Nice to meet you! It leaves a good impression as it feels pleasure to know that it was nice meeting to you. Also, it is a basic etiquette in every culture to say ~ It’s nice meeting you!
Vandit: Bonjour.
Tushti: Eh? Salut! Comment vous vous appelez?
Vandit: Je m’appelle Vandit. Et vous?
Tushti: Je suis Tushti. Enchanté.
Vandit: Enchanté.
Hello.
Ah? hey! What is your name?
My name is Vandit and yours?
I am Tushti. Nice to meet you!
Nice to meet you too.
It’s a conversation between two unknown people~ Vandit & Tushti who are meeting for the first time. If you pay attention to the dialogue you can see we have used the “vous” subject pronoun to show respect and to be polite and also the two people are not familiar with each other.
How to Meet & Greet French people when you are talking to someone who is known to you?
Umang: Bonsoir, Anshul.
Anshul: Euh? Quoi de neuf?
Umang: Pas grand-chose. Et toi?
Anshul: Je vais bien! Alors, Au Revoir.
Umang: à la Prochaine.
Good Evening
What’s up?
Nothing Much. And you?
I’m good! Bye.
See you tomorrow!
It’s a conversation between two known people. If two people are familiar with each other, they are friends or they are of the same age group, or even with family members, they can use tu pronoun.
Use tu only when a person can call someone else by their first name otherwise use vous pronoun. As it will show disrespect to the other person.
In French, it is important to know when to use “tu” and when to use “vous”.
- “Tu” is the singular form of “vous” and is used in informal situations.
- Conversely, “vous” is the plural form of ”you” and it is equivalent to “you all, you guys, you all are”. But when using it in a plural sense then no familiarity is being considered.