How to Say Goodbye in French: 20+ Useful Phrases

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Au revoir is the standard way to say “goodbye” in French, but it is only one option. The phrase that sounds natural depends on when you expect to meet again, how well you know the person and whether you are speaking or writing.

As a native French speaker, I hear and use different options depending on the situation. This guide groups them by timing and relationship so you can make the same choice.

Here is the short version:

• Goodbye: au revoir
• Bye (informal): salut
• See you soon: à bientôt
• See you later today: à tout à l’heure
• See you tomorrow: à demain
• Have a good day: bonne journée
• Take care (informal): prends soin de toi
• Farewell: adieu

Start with au revoir, salut, à bientôt and bonne journée. Those four cover many everyday situations. The rest of this guide explains the timing and register behind each choice.

If you also need to open the conversation, review these French greetings.

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How to Say “Goodbye” in French: Au revoir

Au revoir is the safest general-purpose French goodbye. It works with strangers, colleagues, friends and family, although close friends often choose a more casual phrase.

Grammatically, au is the contraction of à and le, while revoir is the infinitive “to see again.” In the fixed expression au revoir, the infinitive is used as a noun. Treat the whole expression as one useful chunk instead of forcing a word-for-word English translation.

You can add a name or form of address: Au revoir, Madame or Au revoir, Thomas. In everyday speech, the middle syllable may be reduced, so listening to natural audio is more useful than relying on an English-style phonetic spelling.

How to Say “Bye” in French: Salut

Salut means both “hi” and “bye.” It is informal, so use it with friends, relatives, children and people with whom you already use tu.

You may also hear ciao or the English loanword bye as casual goodbyes. Ciao is normally a goodbye rather than a greeting in French. To address a group, add tout le monde: Salut, tout le monde ! In conversation, allez can mark the close of an exchange: Allez, salut !

How to Say “See You Soon” in French: À bientôt

À bientôt means “see you soon.” It expresses an expectation that you will meet again reasonably soon, without fixing the exact time.

The phrase is friendly and polite, and it is not limited to people you address with tu. It can close a conversation, message or email in a range of ordinary contexts.

How to Say “See You Later” in French: À tout à l’heure

Use à tout à l’heure when you expect to see the person again later the same day. The context supplies the exact interval.

À toute is a clipped, very informal version. Save it for relaxed speech with people you know.

How to Say “See You Very Shortly” in French: À tout de suite

À tout de suite means you will see the person again almost immediately. It fits the end of a phone call when you are just about to meet, or a brief parting when one of you will return in a few minutes.

How to Say “See You” in French: À plus

À plus is the casual short form of à plus tard (“see you later”). It is useful with friends and in informal messages. The final s is pronounced in à plus, but not normally in à plus tard.

How to Say “See You Next Time” in French: À la prochaine

À la prochaine means “until next time” or “see you next time.” It is useful when you expect another meeting but do not know when it will happen.

How to Say “See You Tomorrow” in French: À demain

À demain means “see you tomorrow.” It is a natural choice when the next meeting really is the following day.

How to Say “See You on…” in French

Put à before a day of the week: à lundi (“see you Monday”), à mardi (“see you Tuesday”) and so on. French day names are lowercase unless they begin a sentence.

Confirming When You Will Meet Again: On se voit…, alors ?

On se voit lundi, alors ? means “So, we’re seeing each other Monday, then?” With question intonation, it confirms an arrangement. As a statement, On se voit lundi, alors can close the planning part of a conversation: “We’ll see each other Monday, then.”

• On se voit demain, alors. – “We’ll see each other tomorrow, then.”
• On se voit la semaine prochaine. – “We’ll see each other next week.”
• On se voit lundi à treize heures. – “We’ll see each other Monday at 13:00.”

How to Say “Have a Good Day” in French: Bonne journée

Bonne journée is a parting wish: “Have a good day.” Do not confuse it with bonjour, which is normally a greeting. You can also say Passe une bonne journée to one person you address informally, or Passez une bonne journée to a vous recipient.

How to Say “Have a Good Afternoon” in French: Bon après-midi

Bon après-midi is commonly used as “Have a good afternoon” when parting. Dictionaries accept both masculine un après-midi and feminine une après-midi, so you may also encounter bonne après-midi. The masculine form is the safer default for learners. This guide to “good afternoon” in French gives more examples.

How to Say “Have a Good Evening” in French: Bonne soirée

Bonsoir is primarily an evening greeting. Bonne soirée wishes someone a good evening as you part. It does not depend on whether dinner has happened.

How to Say “Good Night” in French: Bonne nuit

Use bonne nuit when someone is going to bed, or when a late-night parting clearly marks the end of the night. For an ordinary evening departure, bonne soirée is usually the better fit.

You can also say passe une bonne nuit (“have a good night”). Compare passe une bonne journée, passe un bon après-midi and passe une bonne soirée.

How to Say “Take Care” in French: Prends soin de toi

Prends soin de toi is a warm “Take care” for one person you address with tu. Use Prenez soin de vous for one person you address formally or for more than one person.

Fais attention à toi and Faites attention à vous can also express care, but they lean towards “Be careful” or “Look after yourself.” They are especially natural when there is a reason for caution.

How to Say “You Too” in French: Toi aussi or Vous aussi

Reply with toi aussi to someone you address with tu, and vous aussi to a formal or plural vous. De même (“likewise”) is another compact response.

How to Say “Goodbye, Until Next Time” in French: Au revoir, à la prochaine

You can pair au revoir with a phrase that says when you will meet again: Au revoir, à demain, Au revoir, à lundi or Au revoir, à la prochaine. In relaxed conversation, one of the shorter à… phrases is often enough on its own.

How to Say “Kisses” in French: Bisous

Bisous (“kisses”) and Je t’embrasse (“Kisses” or literally “I kiss you”) are warm closings for people close to you. They can end a call, text, letter or email. Je vous embrasse may address several close people, or a vous recipient in a relationship where that warmth is appropriate. None of these is a neutral business sign-off.

How to Say “Keep in Touch” in French: On s’appelle or On s’écrit

On s’appelle means “We’ll call each other,” while On s’écrit means “We’ll write or message each other.” They suggest future contact instead of translating “keep in touch” word for word. Use them only if you genuinely expect to follow up.

How to Say “It Was Nice to Meet You” in French

Avoid wording built around avoir connu (“to have known”), such as a literal translation of “glad to have known you,” after a first meeting. It can sound as though the relationship is over.

A simple, agreement-free option is Ça m’a fait plaisir de te rencontrer (“It was nice to meet you”) with an informal singular te. Use Ça m’a fait plaisir de vous rencontrer for formal or plural address.

How to Say “Farewell” in French: Adieu

Adieu is much more final than au revoir. In modern everyday French it can sound solemn, literary or as though you do not expect to meet again. Do not use it as your default goodbye.

The word contains à and Dieu (“to God”). It comes from a shortened form of an older expression meaning “I commend you to God.” You may also meet it as a noun in faire ses adieux, “to say one’s farewells.”

How to Choose the Right French Goodbye

Choose by answering two questions: when will you meet again, and what is your relationship?

• You are unsure: use au revoir.
• You are close and informal: use salut or à plus.
• You know the next time: use à demain, à lundi or à tout à l’heure.
• You want to add a good wish: use bonne journée, bonne soirée or prends soin de toi.
• The farewell is truly final or deliberately dramatic: use adieu.

Practise Your French Goodbyes

Pick three phrases for situations you encounter regularly. For example, practise bonne journée when leaving a shop, à demain with a classmate and salut with a friend.

Say each phrase aloud in a short exchange, then check the pronunciation with a teacher, conversation partner or reliable French audio dictionary. Learning the situation with the phrase makes it much easier to choose the right goodbye in a real conversation.

Continue with these useful French words or browse our French learning resources. À bientôt !