bonsoir
/bɔ̃.swaʁ/
bonsoir is the French way to say good evening.
bonsoir is the most common and widely used way to say good evening in French. It is used as a greeting when arriving.
Meaning: greeting said in the evening (intj)
Which one should you use?
While bonsoir is used as a greeting upon arrival, you should use bonne soirée when you are wishing someone a good evening as they are leaving. Additionally, do not use bonsoir to mean 'goodnight' in the sense of 'sleep well'. For that purpose, you should use bonne nuit.
How do you pronounce it?
/bɔ̃.swaʁ/. It has 2 syllables.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use bonsoir to mean 'goodnight' (as in 'sleep well'). Instead, use bonne nuit for that purpose.
Did you know?
- The word soir in bonsoir is a linguistic relative of the English word 'soiree', which refers to an evening party.
- The term bonsoir can be used ironically in French to express annoyance or to signal that a conversation is over, similar to how one might say 'good day' to end an argument.
- The transition from using bonjour to bonsoir is not tied to a specific minute of the clock, but rather to the changing light of the sky and the feeling of the day ending.
Examples in context
- Bonsoir, tout le monde !Good evening, everyone.This sentence shows how to use bonsoir when addressing a group.Tatoeba #2099364 by sacredceltic, translation #2094776 by CK
- Bonsoir ! Comment ça va ?Good evening. How are you?This sentence demonstrates using bonsoir followed by a casual inquiry into how someone is doing.Tatoeba #1114536 by sacredceltic, translation #6985178 by Eccles17
- Bonsoir, comment allez-vous ?Good evening, how are you?This sentence shows bonsoir used in a slightly more formal inquiry about how someone is doing.Tatoeba #5958 by TRANG, translation #413820 by Dorenda
- Bonsoir, madame. Comment ça va ce soir?Good evening, madam. How are you tonight?
- Bonsoir, Monsieur Dupont. J'espère que vous passez une bonne soirée.Good evening, Mr. Dupont. I hope you're having a good evening.
- Salut, ça va? Bonne soirée!Hi, how are you? Have a good evening!
- Bonsoir, mes amis. Comment ça va?Good evening, my friends. How are you?
- Bonsoir à vous, chers collègues. J'espère que vous avez passé une bonne journée.Good evening to all of you, dear colleagues. I hope you had a good day.
- 16 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Gabriel meet at a cafe as the sun sets.
- EmmaBonsoir, Gabriel.Good evening, Gabriel.
- GabrielBonsoir, Emma. Tu vas bien ?Good evening, Emma. Are you doing well?
- EmmaOui, je vais très bien, merci.Yes, I am doing very well, thank you.
- GabrielC'est super, alors allons boire un café.That's great, so let's go drink a coffee.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good evening” translations and entries bonsoir, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
