bonjour
/bɔ̃.ʒuʁ/
bonjour is the French way to say good day.
bonjour is used as a greeting between sunrise and sunset.
Meaning: greeting between sunrise and sunset (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The word bonjour is a compound of bon (good) and jour (day).
Which one should you use?
While bonjour is used during daylight hours, bonsoir is used instead once the sun has set or during the late afternoon and evening.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /bɔ̃.ʒuʁ/. It has 2 syllables.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly write bon jour as two words, but it should always be written as the single word bonjour.
Did you know?
- In France, it is considered remarkably rude to start any interaction, even with a shopkeeper or a stranger, without first saying bonjour. Failure to do so can be perceived as treating the other person as if they are invisible.
- The word jour in bonjour is a cognate of the English word 'journal', which originally referred to a daily record.
- The letter 'j' in bonjour was originally pronounced with a harder 'dj' sound, similar to the English word 'judge', before evolving into the soft 'zh' sound used today.
Examples in context
- Bonjour à tous sans exception !Good day to everyone without exception!This sentence shows how to use bonjour when addressing a group.Tatoeba #5255492 by martin9, translation #12262404 by Miktsoanit
- Bonjour. Comment allez-vous aujourd'hui ?Good day. How are you today?This sentence shows a polite way to follow a bonjour with a question about someone's well-being.Tatoeba #10683104 by Micsmithel, translation #54599 by AlanF_US
- Bonjour ! Police ! Pourrais-je voir vos papiers ?Good day! Police! Can I see your papers?This sentence shows bonjour being used in a formal or official context.Tatoeba #6206132 by felix63, translation #6814126 by Eccles17
- Bonjour, monsieur. Comment allez-vous aujourd'hui?Good day, sir. How are you today?
- Je vous souhaite une bonne journée.I wish you a good day.
- Bonne journée! On se voit plus tard?Have a good day! See you later?
- 11 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Nathan meet in a sunlit street during the afternoon.
- EmmaBonjour, Nathan !Good day, Nathan!
- NathanBonjour, Emma. Ça va ?Good day, Emma. How are you?
- EmmaÇa va très bien, merci.I am doing very well, thank you.
- NathanTant mieux, bonne journée !That's good, have a good day!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good day” translations and entries bonjour, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
