Basic greetings and introductions | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Bonjour tout le monde.

   Good morning, everyone.

   Bonjour

   Good morning

   tout le monde

   everyone

   More detail

   Bonjour is a standard greeting meaning “Good morning” here. It can also be used more broadly as “Hello,” especially during the daytime. A useful contrast is bonsoir, “Good evening.” tout le monde is the fixed French expression for “everyone” or “everybody.” Although monde refers grammatically to a singular group, the expression refers to all the people in the relevant setting. For example: Tout le monde est prêt. — “Everyone is ready.” The verb est is singular because tout le monde is grammatically singular. Together, Bonjour tout le monde. means “Good morning, everyone.” The greeting comes first, followed by the person-group being addressed. This is a natural way to greet a group.

2. Comment vas-tu ?

   How are you?

   Comment

   how

   vas-tu

   are you going

   More detail

   Comment means “how” and asks about the manner or state of something. It is the standard question word for this use; for example, Comment ça va ? means “How is it going?” vas-tu contains the present-tense form vas of aller (“to go”) followed by the subject pronoun tu (“you”). In a question, French can use subject–verb inversion: vas-tu ... ? rather than tu vas ... ?. The verb form vas is used with tu; compare je vais (“I go/am going”) and il va (“he goes/is going”). Here, aller is part of the fixed expression Comment vas-tu ?. Although aller literally relates to going, this expression conventionally asks about someone’s condition, so the whole utterance means “How are you?” A reusable pattern is Comment vas-tu ? for addressing one person informally. The more formal or plural version uses Comment allez-vous ?, with allez from aller and vous as the subject pronoun.

3. Je vais bien.

   I am fine.

   Je

   I

   vais bien

   am fine

   More detail

   Je means “I,” the first-person singular subject pronoun. It identifies the speaker. In French, the subject pronoun is normally stated with a finite verb: je vais means “I go” or “I am going,” depending on context. vais bien combines the first-person singular form vais of aller (“to go”) with the adverb bien (“well”). Here, aller bien is the common expression for being well or feeling fine; vais does not mean physical movement in this sentence. The form chain is aller → je vais, tu vas, il/elle va. The adverb bien contrasts with mal (“badly”): Je vais bien. means “I am fine,” while Je vais mal. means “I am unwell.” Together, Je + vais bien gives Je vais bien., literally structured as “I go well” but naturally meaning “I am fine.” This is a standard, reusable response when someone asks how you are.

4. Ravi de te rencontrer.

   Nice to meet you.

   Ravi de

   glad to

   te rencontrer

   meet you

   More detail

   Ravi de means “glad to” here. ravi is the masculine singular form of the adjective meaning “delighted/glad”; a female speaker would normally use ravie. The pattern ravi(e) de + infinitive expresses that the speaker is glad to do something: Ravi de vous aider. — “Glad to help you.” te rencontrer means “to meet you.” rencontrer is the infinitive “to meet”; te is the unstressed object pronoun “you” for one familiar or informal addressee, placed before the infinitive. With a formal or plural addressee, French uses vous rencontrer instead. Together, Ravi de + te rencontrer produces “Nice to meet you.” It is a conventional polite expression used when meeting someone.

5. Bonne journée.

   Have a nice day.

   Bonne

   nice; good

   journée

   day

   More detail

   Bonne means “nice” or “good” here. It is the feminine singular form of bon, agreeing with the feminine singular noun journée. The masculine singular form is bon; compare une bonne journée and un bon jour. This adjective comes before the noun in this conventional expression. journée means “day,” viewed as a period or as the day’s course. Its base form is journée; the related masculine noun jour is also commonly translated as “day,” but it is a different noun, not the base form of journée. Together, Bonne journée literally combines “good/nice” with “day” and conventionally means “Have a nice day.” French uses this noun phrase as a courteous good wish; the English verb “have” is not expressed as a separate word in the French utterance.

6. De rien.

   You are welcome.

   De rien.

   You're welcome.

   More detail

   De rien. is a fixed, reusable French response to thanks. In this utterance, it means “You’re welcome,” rather than simply describing “nothing.” It is a neutral, polite expression. The expression contains de (“of/from”) and rien (“nothing”), but its established meaning here is idiomatic rather than a word-for-word English translation. It is commonly used after someone says merci (“thank you”). Example: Merci ! — De rien ! = “Thank you! — You’re welcome!” Together, the complete utterance De rien. is a concise way to say “You’re welcome.”