bonjour le monde
The English phrase "hello world" is translated into French as bonjour le monde.
In a programming context, bonjour le monde is the standard French translation for the "Hello, World!" test program used by beginners to verify that their software works.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of bonjour (hello/good day), le (the) and monde (world).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, Canada, the informal greeting Salut ça va? is commonly used to mean "What's up?" In French-speaking Africa, informal greetings to a group include Bonjour la famille (Hello, family) and Salut les frères et sœurs (Hi, brothers and sisters).
Did you know?
- The word monde originates from the Latin 'mundus', which originally meant 'pure' or 'clean'.
- A French speaker would never use bonjour le monde to greet a crowd, as the required idiomatic expression is bonjour tout le monde.
- The word monde carries a double meaning that the English word 'world' does not. Beyond meaning the planet, it is frequently used to mean 'people' or a 'crowd', such as in the phrase il y a du monde to say 'there are people here'.
Examples in context
- Bonjour, comment ça va ?Hello, how are you?
- Salut, ça roule ?Hey, everything good?
- Bonsoir, enchanté(e)Good evening, nice to meet you.
- Bonjour, ça fait longtemps !Hello, long time no see!
- J'ai écrit un programme « bonjour le monde ».I wrote a "hello world" program.
- Le premier message était « bonjour le monde ».The first message was "hello world".
- Affiche simplement « bonjour le monde » dans la console.Simply display "hello world" in the console.
Example conversation
Gabriel and Manon are studying programming together in a cafe.
- GabrielRegarde, mon code affiche enfin « bonjour le monde » !Look, my code finally displays "hello world"!
- ManonBravo Gabriel, c'est la première étape !Well done Gabriel, it's the first step!
- GabrielC'est difficile, mais je commence à comprendre.It's difficult, but I'm starting to understand.
- ManonTu vas vite progresser, je suis sûre.You will progress quickly, I'm sure.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bonjour, le, monde, CC BY-SA 4.0.
