bonjour tout le monde
The English phrase 'good day everyone' is translated into French as bonjour tout le monde.
bonjour tout le monde is a friendly greeting used to address a group of people collectively. It is often used when a speaker is addressing an audience or a room full of people. In this context, while bonjour can literally mean 'good day', it functions as the standard way to say 'hello' during daylight hours.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of bonjour (good day), tout (all), le (the) and monde (world).
Which one should you use?
While bonjour tout le monde is a common way to greet a group, you may also use Bonjour à tous as a standard and widely used formal greeting. If you want to add emphasis on addressing the group directly, you can use Bonjour à vous tous, which translates to 'good day to all of you'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, the casual phrase Salut gang is used, where Salut is a casual greeting and gang refers to a group of people.
Did you know?
- The word monde in bonjour tout le monde comes from the Latin 'mundus', which originally meant 'clean' or 'pure'.
- While bonjour tout le monde is common, French speakers use bonjour as a general 'hello' and will rarely use it to mean a literal 'good day' as a parting wish.
Examples in context
- Bonjour tout le monde ! Comment allez-vous ?Good day everyone! How are you?
- Bonjour tout le monde, comment allez-vous ?Good day everyone, how are you?
Example conversation
Chloé enters a room full of friends.
- ChloéBonjour tout le monde !Good day everyone!
- HugoSalut Chloé !Hi Chloé!
- ChloéEst-ce que vous êtes prêts ?Are you all ready?
- HugoOui, on est prêts.Yes, we are ready.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bonjour, le, monde, tout, CC BY-SA 4.0.
