bon après-midi à tous
The English phrase "good afternoon everyone" is translated into French as bon après-midi à tous.
bon après-midi à tous is a greeting used to address a group of people during the afternoon. Note that bon après-midi is also frequently used as a way to say "have a good afternoon" when departing.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of bon (good), après-midi (afternoon) and à tous (to all).
Which one should you use?
You can use the more colloquial bon après-midi à tout le monde to say "good afternoon to everyone".
How does it change in a sentence?
If the group being addressed consists entirely of women, you should use bon après-midi à toutes instead of bon après-midi à tous.
Did you know?
- In France, if you say bon après-midi to someone you are meeting, they may think you are already saying goodbye.
- While après-midi is usually masculine, it is one of the rare French words that can be used as both masculine and feminine without changing its meaning.
- The word midi in après-midi refers to the 'midday' point, but it is also the name for the southern region of France.
Examples in context
- Salut tout le monde, j'espère que vous passez une bonne après-midi.Hi everyone, I hope you're having a good afternoon.
Example conversation
Emma enters a room where Nathan and their colleagues are sitting.
- EmmaBon après-midi à tous !Good afternoon everyone!
- NathanBonjour Emma, comment vas-tu ?Hello Emma, how are you?
- EmmaJe vais très bien, merci.I am doing very well, thank you.
- NathanC'est super, assieds-toi avec nous.That's great, sit down with us.
