French - Greetings & Openings

Lesson 1 of 159

Friendly learners practicing French greetings — Bonjour and Salut — in a casual setting for beginners.

Goal: Everyday French hellos for first meetings

Free French lessons with guided practice, audio, and speaking support.

Welcome to Lesson 1! This is a short, friendly start — we listen, practice, and then speak. You'll hear simple greetings, try a few small quizzes, and say the phrases out loud. Take it easy, repeat aloud, and have fun — Yak Yacker-style: little yaks, big progress.

Level A1: In this lesson you'll learn and practice basic French greetings and short openings (polite and casual). We'll focus on phrases like Bonjour, Salut, Ça va ?, introductions (Je m'appelle ...), and polite questions such as Je peux me joindre à vous ?. This CEFR-aligned starter helps you greet people, ask names, and join conversations.

After this lesson you'll be able to:

  • Recognize and use basic greetings (Bonjour, Salut, Bonsoir) at level A1.
  • Ask and answer very short personal questions: Tu t'appelles comment ? / Je m'appelle ___.
  • Politely join a conversation and check how someone is: Je peux me joindre à vous ? and Ça va ?.
Two people exchanging simple French greetings and introductions — lesson focuses on Bonjour, Salut, and Ça va ?.

Ready? Let's go!

When you tap play on phrases, we track your progress through this lesson.

1. Reading + Listening Practice

Hear core phrases, repeat aloud.

Bonjour.

Hello.

Meaning: Hello.

When to use: Use this standard, polite daytime greeting when meeting people in neutral or polite situations.

Bonjour, comment allez-vous ?
Hello, how are you?
Bonjour. Je suis Sophie.
Hello. I'm Sophie.

Salut

Hi.

Meaning: Hi.

When to use: Use this casual greeting with friends, family, or people you already know.

Salut ! Tu veux du café ?
Hi! Do you want some coffee?
Salut, ça va ?
Hi, how's it going?

Bonjour.

Good morning.

Meaning: Good morning.

When to use: Use Bonjour in the morning as the normal polite greeting.

Bonjour ! Bonne matinée.
Good morning! Have a good morning.
Bonjour, vous avez dormi bien ?
Good morning, did you sleep well?

Bonjour.

Good afternoon.

Meaning: Good afternoon.

When to use: Also use Bonjour during the afternoon for polite daytime greetings; switch to Bonsoir in the evening.

Bonjour, comment s'est passée votre après-midi ?
Good afternoon, how was your afternoon?
Bonjour, est-ce que je peux vous aider ?
Good afternoon, can I help you?

Bonsoir.

Good evening.

Meaning: Good evening.

When to use: Use Bonsoir as a polite greeting in the evening.

Bonsoir, bienvenue au dîner.
Good evening, welcome to dinner.
Bonsoir ! Comment était votre journée ?
Good evening! How was your day?

Ça va ?

How are you?

Meaning: How are you?

When to use: Use Ça va ? as a very common short question to ask how someone is in informal or neutral situations.

Salut ! Ça va ?
Hi! How are you?
Bonjour, ça va aujourd'hui ?
Hello, how are you today?

Ça va, merci.

I'm good, thanks.

Meaning: I'm good, thanks.

When to use: Use Ça va, merci. as a short, polite reply to Ça va ?

— Ça va ? — Ça va, merci.
— How are you? — I'm good, thanks.
Merci de demander, ça va, merci.
Thanks for asking, I'm good, thanks.

Je m'appelle ___.

I'm ___.

Meaning: I'm ___. / My name is ___.

When to use: Use Je m'appelle + name to introduce yourself with a first name or full name.

Bonjour, je m'appelle Anna.
Hello, my name is Anna.
Je m'appelle David, enchanté.
I'm David, nice to meet you.

Tu t'appelles comment ?

What's your name?

Meaning: What's your name?

When to use: Use Tu t'appelles comment ? to ask someone's name casually; use the polite version Vous vous appelez comment ? with strangers or in formal settings.

Tip: Beginners sometimes say 'Comment tu t'appelles ?' — it's fine informally, but 'Tu t'appelles comment ?' is very natural.

Salut ! Tu t'appelles comment ?
Hi! What's your name?
Excuse-moi, tu t'appelles comment ?
Excuse me, what's your name?

Je peux me joindre à vous ?

Can I join you?

Meaning: Can I join you?

When to use: Use Je peux me joindre à vous ? to ask politely if you may join a group or conversation; with friends you can use a more casual phrase.

Bonjour, je peux me joindre à vous ?
Hello, can I join you?
Excusez-moi, je peux me joindre à vous pour le déjeuner ?
Excuse me, can I join you for lunch?

Salut

Hey.

Meaning: Hey.

When to use: Use this casual 'Hey' greeting with friends or peers. It's similar to Salut above but often very informal.

Salut ! Hé, tu veux venir ?
Hey! Hey, do you want to come?
Salut, ça fait longtemps !
Hey, long time no see!

C'est bien ___ ?

Are you ___?

Meaning: Are you ___? / Is this ___?

When to use: Use C'est bien ___ ? to check you are speaking to the right person or confirming identity, often on the phone or at a door.

Bonjour, c'est bien M. Martin ?
Hello, is this Mr. Martin?
Allô, c'est bien Marie à l'appareil ?
Hello, is this Marie on the line?

Tu as une minute ?

Do you have a minute?

Meaning: Do you have a minute?

When to use: Use Tu as une minute ? (or Vous avez une minute ? formally) to politely start a short interaction or ask for someone's time.

Salut, tu as une minute ? J'ai une question rapide.
Hi, do you have a minute? I have a quick question.
Bonjour, vous avez une minute pour parler ?
Hello, do you have a minute to talk?

2. Conversational Listening Practice

Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.

Anna and David meet and exchange names and greetings.

A short conversation where Anna and David say Bonjour, ask names, and check how each other is.

What do Anna and David ask each other?

Portrait of Anna in a French lesson dialogue

Anna

Bonjour.

Hello.

Portrait of David in a French lesson dialogue

David

Salut, je m'appelle David.

Hi, my name is David.

Portrait of Anna in a French lesson dialogue

Anna

Tu t'appelles comment ?

What's your name?

Portrait of David in a French lesson dialogue

David

Je m'appelle David. Et toi ?

My name is David. And you?

Portrait of Anna in a French lesson dialogue

Anna

Ça va ?

How are you?

Portrait of David in a French lesson dialogue

David

Ça va, merci.

I'm good, thanks.

3. Guided Practice

Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.

Which French phrase means “Good evening.”?

How do you ask “How are you?” in casual French?

You're meeting your teacher in the morning. Which greeting is most appropriate?

Which phrase politely asks if you can join a group?

You would say 'Bonjour.' to your teacher in the morning.

You meet your teacher in the morning. You say: ___.

A natural short reply is 'Ça va, merci.'

Someone asks you 'Ça va ?'. You reply: ___.

Ask 'Je peux me joindre à vous ?' to join a group politely.

You want to join a polite conversation at a table. You ask: ___.

Match the core phrases

Match the extra phrases

4. Speaking Practice

Say phrases yourself (mic/recording).

Recording stays on your device only. Check speech uses your browser's speech tools when available.

Say this phrase out loud:

Bonjour.

Good afternoon.

Say this phrase out loud:

Salut

Hey.

Say this phrase out loud:

Bonjour.

Good afternoon.

Say this phrase out loud:

Bonjour.

Good afternoon.

Say this phrase out loud:

Bonsoir.

Good evening.

Say this phrase out loud:

Ça va ?

How are you?

Say this phrase out loud:

Ça va, merci.

I'm good, thanks.

Say this phrase out loud:

Je m'appelle ___.

I'm ___ / My name is ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

Tu t'appelles comment ?

What's your name?

Say this phrase out loud:

Je peux me joindre à vous ?

Can I join you?

Say this phrase out loud:

Salut

Hey.

Say this phrase out loud:

C'est bien ___ ?

Is this ___?

Say this phrase out loud:

Tu as une minute ?

Do you have a minute?