au revoir, bonne soirée
au revoir, bonne soirée is the French way to say 'bye, have a good evening'.
This phrase is a polite way to say goodbye at the end of the day. You will typically use it when departing from a social gathering, a restaurant or a shop during the evening hours.
What does it mean word for word?
The part bonne soirée is composed of bonne meaning 'good' and soirée meaning 'evening' or 'the duration of the evening'.
Which one should you use?
Use bonne soirée instead of bonsoir when you are actually leaving someone and wishing them a pleasant rest of their evening.
Did you know?
- The word revoir in au revoir literally contains the verb 'to see' again. It is not just a generic 'goodbye' but a linguistic promise that you intend to see the person again.
- In many French-speaking cultures, saying only au revoir can sometimes feel abruptly formal or even cold in a shop if you do not follow it with a wish like bonne soirée. Adding the wish softens the departure and signals warmth.
- If you are in a very formal setting, such as a high-end hotel, you might hear the staff use bonne fin de soirée instead. This literally means 'have a good end of evening' and is even more precise than the standard phrase.
Examples in context
- Au revoir, passez une bonne soirée.Goodbye, have a good evening.
- Bonne soirée.Have a good evening.
- Passez une agréable soirée.Have a pleasant evening.
- Je vous souhaite une excellente soirée.I wish you an excellent evening.
- À plus tard, profite bien de ta soirée!See you later, enjoy your evening!
- Au revoir, bonne soirée !Goodbye, have a good evening!
- Merci, au revoir, bonne soirée à vous.Thank you, bye, have a good evening.
- Allez, au revoir, bonne soirée tout le monde.Alright, bye, have a good evening everyone.
Example conversation
Manon and Gabriel are leaving a small bakery at closing time.
- ManonMerci pour le pain, au revoir, bonne soirée !Thank you for the bread, bye, have a good evening!
- GabrielDe rien, au revoir, bonne soirée à vous aussi.You're welcome, bye, have a good evening to you too.
- ManonMerci, à demain !Thank you, see you tomorrow!
- GabrielÀ demain, au revoir !See you tomorrow, bye!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries revoir, soirée, CC BY-SA 4.0.
