Basic greetings and introductions | Learn French in English

French lesson set in a contemporary Paris everyday setting: A beginner practices six useful English phrases about basic greetings and introductions..

EN → FR / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Basic greetings and introductions to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Bonjour tout le monde.

bohn-ZHOOR too luh MOHND Good morning, everyone.
B

Comment vas-tu ?

koh-MAHN vah-TOO How are you?
A

Je vais bien.

zhuh VEH BYEHN I am fine.
B

Ravi de te rencontrer.

rah-VEE duh tuh rahn-kohn-TRAY Nice to meet you.
A

Bonne journée.

BUN zhoor-NAY Have a nice day.
B

De rien.

duh ree-YEHN You are welcome.

Word by Word

Bonjour “Bonjour” is the greeting “hello” or “good morning” in “Bonjour tout le monde.” It is used at the beginning of an interaction to greet people. A common reuse is “Bonjour” followed by the person or group being greeted.
tout In “tout le monde,” “tout” contributes the idea of “all,” while the complete expression means “everyone.” It appears before “le monde” in this fixed expression. Use “tout le monde” when addressing or referring to a whole group.
le “Le” is the article used before “monde” in “tout le monde.” Together with “tout” and “monde,” it forms the expression meaning “everyone,” so its meaning should be understood within that phrase. Learn it as part of the word sequence “tout le monde” when greeting a group.
monde In “tout le monde,” “monde” refers to people, so the complete expression means “everyone,” not simply “world.” It follows “tout le” in this expression. Use “tout le monde” when speaking to or about all the people in a group.
Comment “Comment” means “how” in the question “Comment vas-tu ?” It introduces a question about someone’s condition or well-being. A common reuse is “Comment” followed by a verb when asking how something is done or how someone is.
vas-tu “Vas-tu” asks about the other person’s condition in “Comment vas-tu ?,” which means “How are you?” The hyphenated form places “tu” after the verb in this question. Use “Comment vas-tu ?” when asking one person how they are.
Je “Je” means “I” and identifies the speaker in “Je vais bien.” It comes before “vais” as the subject of the sentence. A reliable reuse pattern is “Je” followed by a verb when talking about yourself.
vais “Vais” is the form of “aller” used with “Je” in “Je vais bien.” Here, “vais” combines with “bien” to express how the speaker is doing, so the full phrase means “I am fine.” Use the pattern “Je vais” followed by a word describing how things are going when answering about yourself.
bien “Bien” means “well” in “Je vais bien” and contributes to the meaning “I am fine.” It comes after “vais” in this expression. Use “Je vais bien” as a response when someone asks how you are.
Ravi “Ravi” expresses that the speaker is pleased or glad in “Ravi de te rencontrer.” The complete expression means “Nice to meet you.” Use it when meeting or being introduced to someone.
de In “Ravi de te rencontrer,” “de” connects “Ravi” with the action of meeting someone. It introduces the infinitive “rencontrer” in this construction. A reusable pattern is an expression of pleasure followed by “de” and an infinitive describing the action.
te “Te” refers to the person being met in “Ravi de te rencontrer.” It appears before “rencontrer” after “de.” Use this position when the person addressed is the object of the following action in this construction.
rencontrer “Rencontrer” means “to meet” in “Ravi de te rencontrer.” It is the action connected to “Ravi” by “de,” with “te” identifying the person being met. Use “de” followed by “rencontrer” when expressing pleasure about meeting someone.
Bonne “Bonne” means “good” or “nice” in “Bonne journée.” It gives the wish a positive meaning and appears before “journée.” Use it in this expression when wishing someone a pleasant day.
journée “Journée” means “day” in “Bonne journée.” Together, “Bonne journée” is a wish for someone to have a nice day. Use the expression when saying goodbye or ending an interaction.
rien “Rien” means “nothing,” but in the complete expression “De rien” it is used to say “You are welcome.” It follows “De” in this fixed response. Use “De rien” after someone thanks you.

Grammar Points

Comment vas-tu ?

Comment vas-tu ?

koh-MAHN vah-TOO

How are you?

In a question, French can invert the verb and subject pronoun: vas + tu becomes vas-tu.

bonne journée

Bonne journée !

BUN zhoor-NAY

Have a good day!

The adjective bonne agrees with the feminine noun journée; feminine adjectives often end in -e.

French Vocabulary

bien adv
BYEHN well; fine

Je vais bien.

bonjour intj
bohn-ZHOOR good morning; hello

Bonjour tout le monde.

bonne adj
BUN good; nice

Bonne journée.

comment adv
koh-MAHN how

Comment vas-tu ?

je pron
ZHUH I

Je vais bien.

ravi adj
rah-VEE delighted; pleased

Ravi de te rencontrer.

rencontrer verb
rahn-kohn-TRAY to meet

Ravi de te rencontrer.

te pron
TUH you

Ravi de te rencontrer.

tout le monde phrase
too luh MOHND everyone

Bonjour tout le monde.

tu pron
TOO you

Comment vas-tu ?

vais verb
VEH am going; am doing

Je vais bien.

vas verb
vah are you doing; go

Comment vas-tu ?

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Good morning, everyone.

Show AnswerBonjour tout le monde.

How are you?

Show AnswerComment vas-tu ?

I am fine.

Show AnswerJe vais bien.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

good morning; hello

Show Answerbonjour

well; fine

Show Answerbien

delighted; pleased

Show Answerravi

am going; am doing

Show Answervais