salut
/sa.ly/
The French word for "hi" is salut.
salut is an informal way to greet someone, equivalent to "hi" or "hey" in English.
Meaning: friendly, informal greeting (intj)
How do you pronounce it?
/sa.ly/
When do people say it?
The practice of greeting each other with a light kiss on both cheeks is known as la bise.
Did you know?
- In a religious context, le salut does not mean 'hi' but refers to 'salvation'.
- Depending on the region in France, the number of kisses accompanying a greeting like salut can vary from two to four.
- The word salut shares an ancient root with the English word 'whole' via the Latin 'salus', which referred to health and well-being.
Examples in context
- Salut à tous !Hi everyone!This sentence shows how to use salut to greet a group.Tatoeba #10625667 by felix63, translation #13188716 by glossboss
- Salut, mon amie !Hi, my friend!This sentence uses salut to greet a friend.Tatoeba #3270739 by Aiji, translation #3270741 by Ricardo14
- Salut, les mecs !Hi, guys.This sentence uses salut to greet a group of guys.Tatoeba #5050011 by sacredceltic, translation #2561375 by Hybrid
- Bonjour, Madame Dupont. Comment ça va aujourd'hui?Hello, Mrs. Dupont. How are you doing today?
- Bonjour, Monsieur. Je suis ravi de vous rencontrer.Hello, Sir. I'm pleased to meet you.
- Salut Marie, ça va?Hi Marie, how's it going?
- Salut les gars, qu'est-ce qu'on fait aujourd'hui?Hey guys, what are we doing today?
- Coucou papa, devine qui est arrivé?Hi dad, guess who's arrived?
- Coucou, ma chérie! C'est génial de te voir ici.Hi, darling! It's great to see you here.
- 63 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Chloé meet in a cafe.
- HugoSalut, Chloé !Hi, Chloé!
- ChloéSalut, Hugo. Ça va ?Hi, Hugo. How are you?
- HugoÇa va bien, merci.I'm doing well, thanks.
- ChloéSuper, on commande ?Great, shall we order?
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hi” translations and entries salut, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries salut, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
