Saying goodbye in French is as important as saying hello. After all, this is your opportunity to make a positive and long-lasting impression. You should never be afraid to speak a foreign language, no matter how many mistakes you make. Keep practicing until you become a fluent speaker.
Saying ‘goodbye’ in French is as important as saying ‘hello’. There are several ways to say goodbye in French depending on the nature of the situation. In this guide, we will explore all of those prominent ways along with their contextual usage.
Let’s start with the most common and generic French goodbyes. The expression and words below can be used in almost any situation, but we specify the context just in case.
| English | French | French pronunciation | Context |
| Goodbye. | Au revoir. | oh ruh-vwar | All purpose |
| Bye. | Salut. | sah-luh | Informal |
| Goodbye, until next time. | Au revoir, à la prochaine. | oh ruh-vwar, ah-la-pro-shen | All purpose |
| See you soon. | À bientôt. | ah-be-uhn-toh | All purpose |
| Goodbye, have a nice day. | Au revoir, bonne journée. | oh ruh-vwar, bun-jour-neh | All purpose |
| Have a good night. | Bonne nuit. | bun-new-ee | All purpose |
| Good afternoon. | Bon après-midi. | bun-ah-prey-me-dee | All purpose |
| Good evening. | Bonne soirée or Bonsoir. | bun-swar–eh or bun-swar | All purpose |
| See you later. | À plus tard. | ah-plu-tar | All purpose |
| Later. | À plus or À +. | ah-plews | Informal |
| See you in a bit. | À tout de suite or À tout à l’heure. | ah-too-duh-sweet or ah-too-tah-lure | All purpose |
| See you tomorrow. | À demain. | ah-demahn | All purpose |
| Until we meet again. | Au plaisir. | oh-pleh-zir | All purpose |
| See you on Monday. | À lundi. | ah-lund-ee | Can be used with any day of the week. |
| Take care. | Prends soin de toi or Fais attention à toi | prahn-swahn-duh-twah or fey-ah-tahn-cion-ah-twah | Informal |
| Say hi to your dad for me. | Passe le bonjour à ton père. | pass-leuh-bon-jour-ah-tahn-pear | Informal |
| Kisses. | Bisous or Bises. | bee-zoo or beez | Informal |
| Let’s call each other. | On s’appelle. | uhn-sa-pelle | All purpose |
| Let’s keep in touch. | On se tient au courant. | uhn-su-tiuhn-oh-coo-rahn | All purpose |
| Hugs and kisses. | Je t’embrasse. | juh-tahn-brass | Informal |
| Good luck. | Bon courage. | bun-coo-hage | All purpose |
| I’m leaving. | J’y vais. | gee-vey | All purpose |
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Goodbye in formal situations
French is an extremely formal language. Choosing between “tu” and “vous” is difficult enough for English speakers. But don’t worry, we have got you covered with these formal ways to say goodbye in French.
| English | French | Pronunciation |
| Looking forward to seeing you again. | Au plaisir de vous revoir. | oh-pleh-zir-duh-vou-ruh-vwar |
| Farewell. | Adieu. | ah-diuh |
| Nice to have met you. | Ravi(e) d’avoir fait votre connaissance. | rah-vee-dah-vwar-fey-vot-co-ney-sahns |
| All the best. | Bonne continuation. | bun-cohn-tee-new-ah-see-uhn |
Goodbye in French slang
Slang is a great way to meet new people and sound like a local. We have compiled a list of French slang phrases for saying goodbye. In case you are wondering, how long does it take to learn French, know that it mainly depends on how much time you devote to learning. Set up a learning schedule and stick to it.
| English | French | French pronunciation |
| Let’s keep in touch. | On se tient au jus. | uhn-suh-tiuhn-oh-jew |
| Later in the bus. | À plus dans l’bus. | ah-plus-dahnl-boose |
| I’m out of here. | Je me casse or Je me tire. | Juh-muh-cahs or juh-muh-teer |
| See you. | À la revoyure. | ah-lah-ruh-vwar-ure |
| See ya. | À tout’. | ah-toot |
| See you again. | À un de ces quatre. | ah-uhn-duh-seh-catre |
| Let’s call each other and go to eat. | On s’appelle on s’fait une bouffe. | uhn-sah-pell-uhn-sfey-uhn-bewf |
Appropriate ways to sign off in emails
Using the correct term to say goodbye in French is especially important when writing, because intonation, facial expression, and body language are not present to support your message. The expressions below are sure to help, whether it’s a business email or a friendly message.
| English | French | French pronunciation | Context |
| Kind regards. | Bien cordialement. | be-uhn-cor-dia-luh-mont | Formal (friendly) |
| Best regards. | Cordialement. | cor-dia-luh-mont | Formal |
| Yours faithfully. | Mes salutations respectueuses. | meh-sah-luh-tah-cion-res-pec-too-uhz | Formal |
| Distinguished salutations. | Mes salutations distinguées. | meh-sah-luh-tah-cion-dees-tahn-gey | Formal |
| Affectionately. | Affectueusement. | ah-feck-too-uh-zuh-mont | Informal |
| Sincere regards. | Amitiés sincères | ah-mee-tieh-sahn-sare | Informal |
| Yours. | Bien à vous or Bien à toi | beeuhn-nah-voo or beeuhn-nah-tuwah | Formal (vous), informal (toi) |
Ways to say goodbye in French borrowed from other languages
The French are extremely protective of their lovely ” langue de Molière “. However, as a result of globalization and the natural evolution of language, some foreign expressions have made their way into the French “spoken” dictionary.
Here are a few phrases borrowed from other languages that are commonly used to say goodbye in French.
| English | French | French pronunciation | Context |
| Bye. | Bye. | Same as English | All purpose |
| Bye. | Bye bye. | Same as English | Informal |
| Bye. | Ciao or Tchao or Tch’ô. | chow | All purpose |
| See you soon. | Hasta la vista. | hasta la vista | Formal |
| I’m leaving. | J’y go. | gee-goh | All purpose |
Frequently asked questions
Q. What is a French farewell?
A. This is the most common way of saying goodbye in French, and it’s acceptable for the vast majority of situations, formal and informal. It literally means “until we each see each other again.
Q. Does Ciao mean goodbye in French?
A. “Ciao!” comes from Italian and means bye. It’s very informal and used mainly between friends and people you already know very well. Ciao is very common and equates to “salut!” for saying goodbye.
Final words
Learning different phrases to say goodbye in French can help you carry out several formal and informal conversations. If you want to be good at French, try to expand your vocabulary, and improve French grammar and sentence structure.
Learning different phrases such as thank you, sorry, goodbye and you are welcome in French can help you build courteous relationships. If you are a French learner, check out italki and find a suitable teacher for yourself!
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