bonsoir
/bɔ̃.swaʁ/
bonsoir is the French way to say good evening.
bonsoir is a greeting used when meeting someone in the evening. You can use it to address a group of people by saying Bonsoir tout le monde, which means "good evening, everyone".
What does it mean word for word?
The word is a compound of bon (good) and soir (evening).
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish between a greeting and a farewell. Use bonsoir to greet someone when arriving in the evening, but use bonne soirée to wish someone a good evening when leaving.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 2 syllables: /bɔ̃.swaʁ/.
Did you know?
- While bonsoir is the standard greeting, some French speakers use it ironically as a way to announce that a situation has become hopeless or that a mistake is irreversible.
- The word soir is related to the English word 'soiree', which was borrowed from French to describe a sophisticated evening party.
- There is no strictly defined hour when bonjour ends and bonsoir begins, but using bonsoir too early in the afternoon can be seen as a subtle hint that you are tired or ready to leave.
Examples in context
- Bonsoir, madame. Comment allez-vous ce soir?Good evening, madam. How are you this evening?
- Bonsoir, Monsieur Dupont. Je suis ravi de vous rencontrer.Good evening, Mr. Dupont. I am delighted to meet you.
- Salut, ça va? Bonsoir, tu as passé une bonne journée?Hi, how are you? Good evening, did you have a good day?
- Bonsoir tout le monde! Comment s'est passée votre journée?Good evening, everyone! How was your day?
- Bonsoir, monsieur. Je suis ici pour l'entretien.Good evening, sir. I am here for the interview.
- Salut! Bonsoir, ça te dirait de sortir ce soir?Hey! Good evening, how about going out tonight?
- Bonsoir, comment allez-vous ?Good evening, how are you?
- Bonsoir à tous les deux.Good evening to both of you.
Example conversation
Chloé and Hugo meet at a restaurant in the evening.
- ChloéBonsoir, Hugo !Good evening, Hugo!
- HugoBonsoir, Chloé. Tu vas bien ?Good evening, Chloé. Are you doing well?
- ChloéOui, ça va très bien, merci.Yes, I am doing very well, thank you.
- HugoJe suis ravi de te voir.I am delighted to see you.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry bonsoir, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bonsoir, CC BY-SA 4.0.
