Ways to say it
| French | Note |
|---|---|
| plein de bonnes choses | familiar |
| sincères salutations |
While plein de bonnes choses acts as a way to wish someone well, sincères salutations serves as a formal sign-off in written correspondence.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase plein de bonnes choses literally translates to "full of good things".
Which one should you use?
Plein de bonnes choses is a casual way to say "all the best" used with friends or family, whereas sincères salutations is a formal closing used in professional correspondence, meaning "sincere greetings".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Plein de bonnes choses is a familiar expression. In contrast, sincères salutations is formal and appropriate for professional letters or emails. If you need a formal way to say "I wish you good luck", you may use Je vous souhaite bonne chance.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase plein de bonnes choses, the word plein (full) is used as an adverbial expression and does not change to pleine even if the implied subject is feminine.
Did you know?
- In France, wishing someone bonne chance can sometimes be seen as suggesting they need luck because they lack skill, whereas plein de bonnes choses is purely positive.
- While sincères salutations is a standard formal closing, French professional letters often use much longer, highly ritualized phrases to express the same sentiment of 'all the best'.
- The word salutations in a formal sign-off is not used to mean 'hello' as it is in English, but rather to close a conversation.
Examples in context
- Je vous souhaite une bonne présentation. Que tout se passe bien.I wish you a good presentation. May everything go well.
- Bonne chance pour ton examen demain !Good luck for your exam tomorrow!
- Je te souhaite plein de bonnes choses.I wish you all the best.
- Plein de bonnes choses pour ton nouveau job !All the best for your new job!
- On te souhaite plein de bonnes choses pour la suite.We wish you all the best for the future.
Example conversation
Emma is saying goodbye to Gabriel before his exam.
- EmmaBonne chance pour ton examen, Gabriel !Good luck with your exam, Gabriel!
- GabrielMerci beaucoup, Emma.Thank you very much, Emma.
- EmmaPlein de bonnes choses, tu vas réussir !All the best, you're going to pass!
- GabrielC'est gentil, à plus tard !That's kind of you, see you later!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “all the best” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
