salut
/sa.ly/
The French way to say howdy is salut.
salut is an informal greeting used to say hello to someone. The most common way to say 'hello' in French is bonjour.
Which one should you use?
While salut is an informal greeting like 'howdy' or 'hi', it can also mean 'bye' in informal contexts. Coucou is an endearing way to say 'hi' in French, often used between friends or family.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word salut is an interjection and does not change its form based on the gender or number of the people being greeted.
How do you pronounce it?
/sa.ly/
Did you know?
- Beyond a greeting, salut is the French word for 'salvation' or 'safety'.
- While salut is common, the alternative coucou is often used when someone is playing a game of peek-a-boo with a child.
- The word salut is linguistically related to the English word 'salute', though in English the latter is much more formal than the French interjection.
Examples in context
- Salut les gens !Howdy folks!This example shows how to greet a group of people using salut.Tatoeba #1628679 by sacredceltic, translation #1627304 by Spamster
- Salut !Howdy!This example shows how to use salut as a standalone greeting.Tatoeba #509819 by Aiji, translation #6021890 by Theocracy
- Bonjour! Comment ça va?Hello! How are you?
- Salut! Comment allez-vous?Hi! How are you?
- Salut les amis! Quoi de neuf?Hi, friends! What's new?
- Salut, ça va ?Howdy, how are you?
Example conversation
Manon and Lucas run into each other on the street.
- ManonSalut, Lucas !Howdy, Lucas!
- LucasSalut, Manon. Tu vas bien ?Howdy, Manon. Are you doing well?
- ManonOui, très bien, merci.Yes, very well, thanks.
- LucasMoi aussi, ça va.Me too, I'm good.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry salut, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
