Lesson 1: Greetings, Alphabet & Silent Letters
Bonjour ! — Greetings, the Alphabet & Silent Letters · A0 → A1 · Part 0 · Absolute Start
You will greet people, say goodbye, say thank you and please, and spell any word out loud in French. You will also learn the single most important pronunciation rule in French: the last letter of a word is usually silent.
In this lesson
- greetings
- the French alphabet
- silent final consonants
- first words
Vocabulary
| French | Meaning | Say it | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonjour | Hello / Good day | bon-zhoor بون ژُور | Use from morning until about 6 p.m. Works in shops, offices, everywhere. |
| Bonsoir | Good evening | bon-swar بون سوار | Use after about 6 p.m. Same word for hello AND goodbye in the evening. |
| Salut | Hi / Bye (informal) | sa-lü * سالُو * | Friends and family only. Never to a boss or a stranger. The u is a tight rounded sound. |
| Au revoir | Goodbye | o ruh-vwar او رُہ ووار | The r is a soft French r made at the back of the throat. |
| À bientôt | See you soon | a byan-to آ بیاں تو | The final t is silent. |
| À demain | See you tomorrow | a duh-man آ دُو مان | The n is a nasal sound — air goes through the nose. |
| Merci | Thank you | mehr-see میر سی | The final i is a clear 'ee' sound. |
| Merci beaucoup | Thank you very much | mehr-see bo-koo میر سی بو کو | The p of beaucoup is silent. |
| S'il vous plaît | Please (formal / plural) | seel voo pleh سیل وو پلے | Use with strangers, elders, shopkeepers. Literally 'if it pleases you'. |
| S'il te plaît | Please (informal) | seel tuh pleh سیل تُہ پلے | Use with friends, children, family. |
| Excusez-moi | Excuse me | ex-kü-zay mwa ایکسکُوزے موا | Also used to get someone's attention or to pass by. |
| Pardon | Sorry / Pardon me | par-don پار ڈوں | Used for small accidents and to apologise. |
| Oui | Yes | wee وِی | Only two sounds: w + ee. |
| Non | No | non نوں | The n is nasal — the tongue does not touch the roof of the mouth at the end. |
| Monsieur | Sir / Mr | muh-syuh * مُوسْیا * | Irregular! Not 'mon-sieur'. Say 'muh-syuh'. |
| Madame | Madam / Mrs | ma-dam مادام | Used for any adult woman. Do not use 'Mademoiselle' in shops or offices. |
Pronunciation
| Word | Sounds like | Slowly | How to make the sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonjour | bon-zhoor | bon ... zhoor | The 'on' is nasal — send the air through your nose and do NOT close the n with your tongue. The 'j' is like the 's' in the English word 'measure'. The final r is a soft throat r. |
| Salut | sa-lü | sa ... lü | There is no honest way to write the French 'u' with English or Urdu letters. Round your lips tightly as if you were going to whistle, then say 'ee'. That tight sound is ü. English 'oo' and Urdu 'و' are both wrong here. |
| Merci | mehr-see | mehr ... see | The French r is not an English r and not an Urdu ر. It is made at the back of the throat, a bit like lightly gargling. The 'ci' is a clean 'see' — French c before i or e is always an s sound. |
| Au revoir | o ruh-vwar | o ... ruh ... vwar | 'Au' is just 'o'. The 'oi' in revoir is the sound 'wa'. So revoir is roughly ruh-VWAR. Both r's are throat r's, soft and light. |
| S'il vous plaît | seel voo pleh | seel ... voo ... pleh | The 'ai' spellings give an open 'eh' sound. The final t of plaît is completely silent. Do not say 'plate' or 'plait'. |
| Monsieur | muh-syuh | muh ... syuh | This is an exception you must simply memorise. It is NOT 'mon-sieur'. The 'on' disappears and the 'eur' becomes 'yuh'. |
Rule of thumb for lesson 1: say every vowel clearly and let the final consonant disappear. If you feel like you are 'eating' the end of a word, you are doing it right.
Grammar
French words are like English words with a silent tail
In French, the LAST letter of a word is usually NOT pronounced. This is the number one rule of French pronunciation. 'Salut' is said 'sa-lü' — the t disappears. 'Bientôt' is 'byan-to' — the t disappears. 'Pardon' is 'par-don' — but here the n is nasal, not a normal n. Keep this rule in mind from day one and your French will instantly sound less English.
SAVE THE EXCEPTIONS — letters that ARE pronounced at the end: C, R, F, L
Some final letters do NOT go silent. Remember the group C, R, F, L. If a word ends in one of these, you usually hear it. That is why 'bonjour' ends with a real r sound and 'avec' ends with a real k sound.
Examples
| French | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Bonjour ! | Hello! | bon-zhoor |
| Bonjour, madame. | Hello, madam. | bon-zhoor, ma-dam |
| Bonsoir, monsieur. | Good evening, sir. | bon-swar, muh-syuh |
| Salut, ça va ? | Hi, how are you? | sa-lü, sa va ↗ |
| Merci beaucoup. | Thank you very much. | mehr-see bo-koo |
| Merci, madame. | Thank you, madam. | mehr-see, ma-dam |
| S'il vous plaît, monsieur. | Please, sir. | seel voo pleh, muh-syuh |
| Excusez-moi, madame. | Excuse me, madam. | ex-kü-zay mwa, ma-dam |
| Oui, merci. | Yes, thank you. | wee, mehr-see |
| Non, merci. | No, thank you. | non, mehr-see |
| Au revoir, à bientôt ! | Goodbye, see you soon! | o ruh-vwar, a byan-to |
| Pardon, monsieur. | Sorry, sir. | par-don, muh-syuh |
| Salut ! À demain ! | Bye! See you tomorrow! | sa-lü, a duh-man |
Dialogue: Meeting your neighbour in the lift
French people say bonjour almost every time they enter a small space with someone. Skipping it is considered rude.
| French | English | Say it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Bonjour, madame ! | Hello, madam! | bon-zhoor, ma-dam |
| B | Bonjour, monsieur. Ça va ? | Hello, sir. How are you? | bon-zhoor, muh-syuh, sa va ↗ |
| A | Ça va bien, merci. Et vous ? | I'm fine, thank you. And you? | sa va byan, mehr-see, ay voo ↗ |
| B | Très bien, merci. | Very well, thank you. | treh byan, mehr-see |
| A | Excusez-moi, c'est mon étage. Au revoir ! | Excuse me, this is my floor. Goodbye! | ex-kü-zay mwa, seh mon ay-tazh, o ruh-vwar |
| B | Au revoir, à bientôt ! | Goodbye, see you soon! | o ruh-vwar, a byan-to |
Say it out loud
- Bonjour. — Hello. Say it 3 times. Keep the 'on' in the nose.
- Bonsoir, monsieur. — Good evening, sir. Remember: monsieur = 'muh-syuh'.
- Bonjour, madame. — Hello, madam. Both words have equal weight.
- Merci beaucoup. — Thank you very much. The p of beaucoup is silent — 'bo-koo', not 'bok-oop'.
- S'il vous plaît — Please. Link the words smoothly: seel-voo-pleh.
- Excusez-moi, madame. — Excuse me, madam. 'moi' is 'mwa' — one syllable.
- Oui, merci. Non, pardon. — Yes, thank you. No, sorry. Keep non nasal — do not add an n at the end.
- Au revoir, à bientôt ! — Goodbye, see you soon! Say it as one flowing phrase.
- Bonjour ! Je m'appelle Ali. Enchanté ! — Hello! My name is Ali. Nice to meet you! A tiny preview of lesson 3 — just try the rhythm now.
Listening practice: At the bakery door
Bonjour, madame ! Bonjour, monsieur. Ça va ? Ça va bien, merci. Et vous ? Très bien. Au revoir, madame ! Au revoir, monsieur. À bientôt !
Hello, madam! Hello, sir. How are you? I'm fine, thank you. And you? Very well. Goodbye, madam! Goodbye, sir. See you soon!
Questions
- How many people speak in this script? One / Two / Three → Two
- What is the first word spoken? Merci / Bonjour / Au revoir → Bonjour
- How is the second person feeling? Tired / Fine / Angry → Fine
- What does the first person ask? Your name / How are you / The time → How are you
- How does the conversation end? With merci / With à bientôt / With pardon → With à bientôt
Remember this
- Bonjour = hello (day). Bonsoir = hello AND goodbye (evening).
- Salut = informal hi/bye, friends only.
- Merci = thank you. Merci beaucoup = thank you very much. De rien = you're welcome.
- S'il vous plaît is polite; S'il te plaît is informal.
- Excusez-moi = excuse me. Pardon = sorry.
- Silent tail rule: the last letter of a word is usually not pronounced.
- Exception group C, R, F, L: these final letters ARE usually pronounced (avec, bonjour, neuf, quel).
- French 'on' is nasal — air passes through the nose and the tongue does not close the n.
- Monsieur = 'muh-syuh' (irregular, memorise it).
- The French r is a soft sound at the back of the throat, not an English r.
Common mistakes
| Instead of | Say | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Bonjour by night in a restaurant | Bonsoir after about 6 p.m. | French ties greetings closely to the clock. Bonjour after dark sounds wrong and can come across as cold. |
| Salut, madame ! | Bonjour, madame ! | You cannot mix informal Salut with a formal title. Either Bonjour madame or just Salut with a friend. |
| mer-SEE bo-KOOP | mehr-see bo-koo | The p at the end of beaucoup is silent, and the stress does not fall on the last syllable in French the way it does in English. |
| mon-sieur | muh-syuh | Monsieur is irregular. Reading it letter by letter gives the wrong sound completely. |
| Oui and wee said with a strong w | A short, light 'wee' | French 'ou' is a small, tight sound. English speakers make it too long and too heavy. |
Practice questions
- Which word do you use at 8 p.m. when you enter a shop? Bonjour / Bonsoir / Salut / À demain — Bonsoir
- Which greeting is ONLY for friends and family? Bonjour / Bonsoir / Salut / Madame — Salut
- How do you say 'please' to a stranger? S'il te plaît / S'il vous plaît / Merci / Pardon — S'il vous plaît
- In 'salut', which letter is NOT pronounced? s / a / l / t — t
- Which group of final consonants IS usually pronounced? T, S, D, X / C, R, F, L / N, M, P, B / E, A, I, O — C, R, F, L
- How is 'monsieur' pronounced? mon-syoor / muh-syuh / mon-see-ur / mon-zee-ur — muh-syuh
- 'Merci' means: Hello / Sorry / Thank you / Goodbye — Thank you
- Which is the correct way to say 'Excuse me'? Excusez-moi / Excuse-moi vous / Pardon merci / S'il vous excuse — Excusez-moi
- You are leaving at 9 p.m. What do you say? Bonjour / Bonne journée / Bonsoir / À bientôt matin — Bonsoir
- What does 'À bientôt' mean? See you soon / Good night / Welcome / Well done — See you soon
Homework (15 minutes)
1) Play every word in this lesson three times: once with Play, once with Slow, then say it yourself. 2) Write 5 short situations in English (arriving at a shop, leaving a friend's house at night, bumping into someone) and write the correct French greeting for each. 3) Record yourself saying Bonjour, Bonsoir, Merci beaucoup and Au revoir, then listen back and check that you do NOT pronounce the final t, p or t sounds.
Lesson 1 of 45 · Part 0 · Absolute Start · See the full A0 → A2 roadmap · Français A0 → A2