Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| salut | /sa.ly/ | informal |
| coucou | /ku.ku/ | informal |
salut is a common and versatile way to say hello among friends, peers and acquaintances. It can also function as a way to say goodbye in these same informal contexts.
Which one should you use?
coucou is a more colloquial, familiar and playful way to say hello, often used among close friends and family members or when speaking to children.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
salut is an informal greeting. coucou is even more casual, carrying a colloquial, cute or affectionate tone. For formal situations, you should use Bonjour during the day or Bonsoir from around 6 p.m. onwards.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, the informal greeting salut is often used even in formal situations, although it remains less formal than Bonjour.
How do you pronounce it?
/sa.ly/
When do people say it?
When using formal greetings, Bonjour is the standard way to say good day until the early evening, while Bonsoir is used for good evening during the evening and night.
Did you know?
- In France, if you walk into a shop and fail to say Bonjour to the shopkeeper, it is often considered a significant social insult rather than a mere oversight.
- The informal greeting salut shares its roots with the English word 'salvation', as both stem from a concept of 'wholeness' or 'safety'.
- In France, it is customary to accompany an informal salut with la bise, which consists of kissing each other on the cheeks.
Examples in context
- Salut à tous !Hello everyone!This example shows how to use salut to greet a group.Tatoeba #10625667 by felix63, translation #854117 by piksea
- Salut ma belle !Hello, beautiful!This example uses salut as a greeting for a person.Tatoeba #594147 by sacredceltic, translation #1265548 by Jefepeters
- Salut mon vieux !Hello, old friend!This example uses salut to greet an old friend.Tatoeba #1551225 by sacredceltic, translation #1549913 by miflhanc
- Bonjour, madame/monsieurGood day, madame/sir
- Bonsoir, comment allez-vous ?Good evening, how are you?
- Salut, ça va ?Hi, how are you?
- Coucou, tu vas bien ?Hey, are you doing well?
- 66 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Lucas meet in a park.
- LéaSalut, Lucas !Hello, Lucas!
- LucasSalut, Léa. Ça va ?Hello, Léa. How are you?
- LéaÇa va très bien, merci.I'm doing very well, thank you.
- LucasMoi aussi, je suis content de te voir.Me too, I am happy to see you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hello” translations and entries salut, coucou, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries coucou, salut, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
