Au Revoir and Beyond: 10 Ways to Say Goodbye in French!

French is a rich language with a wide range of vocabulary to facilitate verbal expression. There are several ways of saying goodbye in french, each unique to a certain context. Boosting your vocabulary in French can further help you strengthen the basics and leave a strong impression on anyone. Want to know how to say goodbye in French in 10 different ways? Scroll through the blog to learn the best 10 phrases you can use to say goodbye in French (each to be used in a specific situation) which will help you sound like a native speaker. 

Want to Study in France? Here is the complete guide you need!

Au Revoir (oh rhe-vwah)

This is probably one of the first words most French Students have learnt. It is also the most common way of saying goodbye in French and is used the vast majority of times. Au revoir can be used in both formal as well as informal situations. The literal translation of the phrase would “until we see each other again”. 

Check Out: How to Learn New Languages?

Bonne Journée / Bonne Soirée (Bun-zhoor-nay/Bun-swah-ray)

Bonne Journée literally translates as “Have a good day” and is often used as an alternative for goodbye in French. While these expressions are relatively formal, they are used commonly by the native french speakers. These expressions are used as you part with someone for the day/evening. The translation of these two phrases would be ‘’Have a good day/ Have a good evening.” By adding Monsieur, Madame or Mademoiselle, the formality can be increased.

À plus tard  (Ah plue tahr)

À plus tard is used in informal circumstances and is a typical way of ending the conversation. The translation of this expression is “see you later.” Note that the s is silent in “plus”. A more casual, abbreviated version would be À plus, in which case the ‘s’ must be pronounced. 

Learn 50 New Common Words in Spanish!

À demain (A deh-mahn)

Another common way for goodbye in French is À demain. This phrase is informal and is used when you are meeting a person on a daily basis. It literally translates to “see you tomorrow”. You can utilise this phrase while talking to your colleagues, friends or people you meet every day!

À la prochaine (Ah la prosh-enne)

Rather than saying goodbye to someone while leaving, we often say phrases like “see you again”. Similarly, in French, À la prochaine is used when you are planning on seeing the person again but you are unsure of when. The translation of this expression is “see you next time”.

Salut (Sah-lou)

Salut is a very flexible expression that can be used as a greeting as well as for saying goodbye in French. Remember that it is often used in a casual manner and sometimes, “salut” also means “hi”.

Ciao (cha – oh)

Ciao is not an original French word and is borrowed from Italian. It is one of the many words that French has borrowed from different languages. This term is typically used in France after a phone call and is an excellent way to say goodbye to a friend of any language.

À tout de suite  (Ah too deh sweet)

This phrase means the same as “see you soon” but is another way to say goodbye in French. Here’s the catch. It is used only when you will be meeting the person immediately following a conversation. Like for instance you are on the phone with your friend and deciding on where to meet, you could end your conversation with ‘’À tout de suite.’’

À tout à l’heure (Ah too tah leuhr)

Want to say “see you later, alligator” in French? It is another way to say goodbye and you can either say “À tout à l’heure, Alligator” or “à plus tard, Alligator”. This expression translates to “see you later” and can be used in formal and informal situations. It is often used when you are meeting the person later in the day.

Adieu (Ah d’yew) 

This term is probably the most misunderstood. Adieu does not mean a casual goodbye. There is a sense of finality to it. When translated Adieu would mean “until god”. For that reason, Adieu is used only when you are certain to never see a person again. More formally it is used when someone is on their deathbed.

We hope that you now learned some new ways to say goodbye in French. We hope you find this blog helpful in strengthening your French vocabulary. For more interesting blogs, stay tuned to Leverage Edu and give us a follow on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Quora.