How to Say Goodbye in French: 16 Farewells for Every Situation

The Short Answer

The most common way to say goodbye in French is Au revoir (oh ruh-VWAHR), which literally means "until we see each other again." It is appropriate in every French-speaking country, at any formality level, and in both professional and personal settings. But just as English speakers rarely say "goodbye" to a close friend, preferring "see ya," "later," or "take care," French speakers draw from a rich set of farewells calibrated to context, timing, and relationship.

French is spoken by approximately 321 million people across 29 countries, according to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). From the formal corridors of Parisian offices to the lively streets of Dakar and the shops of Montréal, each region brings its own farewell customs. The wrong goodbye can sound overly dramatic (Adieu to a colleague), oddly casual (Salut to a client), or culturally misplaced (Bye-bye in metropolitan France).

"In French, a farewell is never merely the end of a conversation. It is a promise, a wish, or sometimes a verdict on the relationship itself.", adapted from Grevisse & Goosse, Le Bon Usage (2016)

This guide covers 16 essential French farewells organized by category: universal, casual, formal, time-specific, and regional. Each includes pronunciation, an example sentence, and cultural context so you know exactly when to use it and when to avoid it.

Quick Reference: French Farewells at a Glance

Universal Farewells

These work across all French-speaking countries and in both formal and informal settings. If you learn just two farewells, make them Au revoir and Bonne journée.

Au revoir

Au revoir combines au (to the) and revoir (seeing again), making it literally "until we see each other again." This built-in optimism distinguishes it from the finality of Adieu. The pronunciation features the French "r," which is produced in the back of the throat, more like a soft gargle than the English "r."

Just as saying Bonjour when arriving is a social requirement in France, saying Au revoir when leaving is equally expected. Walking out of a shop, restaurant, or office without it signals rudeness. Pair it with a title for extra politeness: Au revoir, monsieur or Au revoir, docteur.

Salut

Salut is the Swiss Army knife of casual French: it works equally well as "hi" and "bye." Derived from Latin salus (health, safety), it is the most common farewell among friends and peers. You will hear it at the end of a café hangout, a phone call between friends, or a casual office departure among close colleagues.

Remember: Salut signals familiarity. Using it with a stranger, an elder, or in a formal meeting would feel presumptuous. When in doubt, default to Au revoir.

Time-Specific Farewells

French speakers are remarkably precise about when they expect to see someone again. Each of these expressions carries a different time horizon.

À bientôt

À bientôt is the farewell of choice when you expect to see someone again but have no specific date in mind. It carries warmth and genuine intention. Saying À bientôt rather than Au revoir signals that you look forward to the next meeting.

À demain

The most straightforward time-specific farewell. You will hear it constantly among coworkers leaving the office, students at the end of a school day, and anyone who shares a daily routine with the person they are addressing.

À plus tard

À plus tard is the casual "see you later" of French. In everyday speech, it is almost always shortened to À plus (ah PLEWS). In text messages and online, it gets abbreviated further to A+ or even @+, one of French texting's most iconic shorthand forms.

Pronunciation note: the "s" in plus is pronounced here (PLEWS) because it means "more/later." In the negative construction ne...plus (no more), the "s" is silent. This distinction trips up many learners.

À tout à l'heure

This expression signals a short separation; you will see the person again within hours. It is perfect for stepping out of the office for lunch, leaving a room temporarily, or running a quick errand. In casual speech, it gets shortened to À toute (ah TOOT).

Wish-Based Farewells

These farewells express a wish for the other person's wellbeing. They are often combined with Au revoir. In fact, Au revoir, bonne journée ! is one of the most common farewell sequences in French.

Bonne journée

Bonne journée is perhaps the farewell you will hear most often in daily French life. Every shop transaction, every café visit, every brief professional exchange tends to end with it. The standard reply is Merci, vous aussi ! (Thanks, you too!) or simply Également ! (Likewise!).

Note the distinction: Bonjour is a greeting (used upon arrival), while Bonne journée is a farewell wish (used upon departure). Mixing them up is a common learner mistake.

Bonne soirée

The evening counterpart to Bonne journée. An important distinction: Bonsoir is what you say when arriving in the evening (it is a greeting), while Bonne soirée is what you say when leaving (it is a farewell wish). This parallel structure (greeting versus farewell wish) runs through French time-based expressions.

Bonne nuit

Unlike English "good night," which can function as a general evening farewell, Bonne nuit in French is specifically tied to bedtime. You say it when someone is heading to sleep: to your children at bedtime, to your partner before lights out, or to a host when leaving a very late dinner party. Using it at 8 PM would imply you think the person is about to go to bed.

Bon week-end

The universal Friday farewell. Interestingly, while the Académie française has long advocated for fin de semaine as the French replacement for the English borrowing week-end, metropolitan France overwhelmingly uses week-end. In Québec, however, fin de semaine remains the standard term.

Formal and Emotional Farewells

These carry extra weight, whether ceremonial formality or deep emotional significance.

Adieu

Adieu is French's most loaded farewell. Composed of à (to) and Dieu (God), it originally meant "I commend you to God," the farewell of someone who might not return from war, a journey, or illness. In modern standard French, using Adieu carries the weight of permanence. Saying it to a colleague after a normal workday would provoke confusion or alarm.

You will encounter Adieu in literature, film, and music far more than in daily conversation. It appears in emotionally charged moments: a breakup, a deathbed scene, or the end of a significant chapter.

The southern exception: In the Midi (southern France), particularly in regions influenced by Occitan, Adieu has been completely de-dramatized. Locals in Toulouse, Marseille, and surrounding areas use Adieu casually as both a greeting and a farewell, equivalent to Salut. This regional usage shocks visitors from northern France, who associate the word exclusively with permanent separation.

Prenez soin de vous

A farewell that communicates genuine care. The vous form makes it appropriate for professional acquaintances, elderly relatives you address formally, or anyone you wish to show particular warmth and respect. Doctors and nurses often use it with patients.

Prends soin de toi

The tu version carries intimacy. You say it to a close friend before a long trip, a sibling moving abroad, or a partner heading off to work during a stressful period. It conveys more emotional weight than a simple Salut or À bientôt.

Regional and Borrowed Farewells

Ciao

This Italian import has been thoroughly adopted into casual French. You will hear Ciao as a quick, breezy farewell among friends across France, particularly in urban areas and among younger speakers. It carries a cosmopolitan, slightly playful tone.

Bonne continuité

A farewell that is distinctly Québécois. Bonne continuité roughly means "enjoy the rest of your day/activity" and is commonly heard in customer service calls, on radio, and in professional settings across Québec. It would sound unusual in France, where Bonne journée or Bonne fin de journée fill the same role.

Bye-bye

In Québec, Bye-bye is so entrenched that it crosses formality boundaries. A bank teller might conclude a transaction with Bonne journée, bye !, a hybrid that sounds perfectly natural in Montréal but would raise eyebrows in Paris. This reflects the closer contact between French and English in Canadian daily life.

Workplace Farewells

French work culture places great importance on how you enter and leave the office. According to Grevisse's Le Bon Usage, the farewell ritual in French professional settings serves as a social marker of respect and collegiality.

Leaving for the Day

The French Office Farewell Ritual

In many French workplaces, particularly smaller ones, employees make a round of individual farewells before leaving, saying Bonne soirée or À demain to each colleague. Leaving without acknowledging people is considered antisocial. This ritual, sometimes called faire la tournée des au revoir, can add ten minutes to your departure but is a deeply ingrained social expectation.

How to Respond to French Farewells

Practice With Real French Content

Understanding French farewells in context (hearing the intonation, seeing the body language, catching the moment someone switches from Au revoir to Salut) requires exposure to authentic spoken French. Films are one of the best ways to build this intuition. Watch for the formal farewell scenes in Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain or the rapid-fire casual goodbyes in Intouchables.

Wordy lets you watch French movies and shows with interactive subtitles, so you can tap on any farewell to see its meaning, pronunciation, and formality level in real time. Instead of memorizing phrases from a list, you absorb them from real conversations with authentic intonation.

For more guides on French language and culture, browse our blog or check out the best movies to learn French. You can also visit our French learning page to start practicing today.