à bientôt
/a bjɛ̃.to/
The French phrase for "goodbye for now" is à bientôt.
à bientôt is used to say goodbye when you expect to see the person again soon.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the preposition à (to/at) and the adverb bientôt (soon).
Which one should you use?
While au revoir is a general way to say "goodbye", à bientôt specifically implies that the next meeting will happen in the near future.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /a bjɛ̃.to/ and consists of 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- If you are meeting someone in a few minutes, it is more natural to say à tout à l'heure rather than à bientôt.
- The phrase à bientôt is often paired with a 'bisou' or 'bise' (a light cheek kiss) in social settings between friends.
- In very casual settings, French speakers might shorten the sentiment to just à plus, which is a clipped version of à plus tard.
Examples in context
- Monsieur Dupont, je vous salue et prends congé. À demain.Mr. Dupont, I greet you and take my leave. See you tomorrow.
- Salut les gars, à plus tard! Passez une bonne journée.Hi guys, see you later! Have a good day.
- Merci, à bientôt !Thank you, goodbye for now!
- À bientôt, tout le monde !Goodbye for now, everyone!
Example conversation
Lucas and Manon are leaving a small coffee shop after a quick meeting.
- LucasC'était super de te voir, Manon.It was great to see you, Manon.
- ManonMoi aussi, Lucas. À bientôt !Me too, Lucas. Goodbye for now!
- LucasÀ bientôt !Goodbye for now!
- ManonBonne fin de journée !Have a good rest of your day!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry à bientôt, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
