How to Use Parting Phrases and Expressions

Learn how to use parting phrases and expressions

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do French by FrenchPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use parting expressions in French.

For example, "Goodnight" is

Bonne nuit.

Constance Collin is talking with her former colleague, Mathilde Martin.

As Constance says goodbye, her children join her in saying goodnight.

Before you hear their conversation, let’s preview some of its key components.

À bientôt.

"see you soon."

À bientôt.

Bonne nuit.

"goodnight"

Bonne nuit.

Repose-toi bien.

"Rest well."

Repose-toi bien.

Focus on the way each person says goodbye.

À bientôt.

Bonne nuit.

Repose-toi bien.

À plus tard.

Once more with the English translation.

À bientôt.

"See you soon."

Bonne nuit.

"Goodnight."

Repose-toi bien.

"Rest well."

À plus tard.

"See you later."

Let's break down each of these expressions.

First, do you remember how Constance says,

"See you soon."

À bientôt.

This starts with the preposition, à, which means something like “until," in this context. À. À.

Next is bientôt, "soon." Bientôt. Bientôt.

All together, À bientôt! means something like, “Until soon,” but translates as, "See you soon!"

À bientôt!

À bientôt! is fairly informal, which indicates a close relationship between Constance and Mathilde Martin , her former homestay mother.

Do you remember how Coralie says,

"Goodnight."

Bonne nuit.

"Goodnight." Bonne nuit.

Bonne nuit literally means "goodnight." Bonne nuit.

Bonne nuit.

You use Bonne nuit, "goodnight," when someone is about to go to bed, and often when you don’t plan on seeing someone again that night.

Do you remember how Corentin says,

"Rest well."

Repose-toi bien!

"Rest well." Repose-toi bien!

First is repose-toi, meaning “rest.” Repose-toi. Repose-toi.

Note, repose-toi is from the verb se reposer, meaning ”to rest.” Se reposer.

Next is bien, "well." Bien. Bien.

Together, Repose-toi bien! means something like, "Rest you well" but translates as "Rest well."

Repose-toi bien!

Note, this is appropriate for informal situations.

Do you remember how Mathilde says,

"See you later."

À plus tard.

"See you later!" À plus tard.

This starts with the preposition, à, which means something like, “until,” in this case. À. À.

After this is plus, "more." Plus. Plus.

Pronunciation note, in most cases, you pronounce the s-sound in plus; however, in this specific expression, you don’t have to.

Tard means "late." Tard. Tard.

All together, it's À plus tard. This means something like "Until later" but translates as "See you later."

À plus tard.

Mathilde uses this to say goodbye to everyone. Even though it is slightly formal, it’s a friendly way to say goodbye.

With friends, French people tend to shorten a plus tard to a plus. In this case, you must pronounce the "s."

À plus. "See you!" À plus. À plus.

Let's look at the parting greetings once more.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speaker.

À bientôt.

"See you soon."

À bientôt.

Bonne nuit.

"Goodnight."

Bonne nuit.

À plus tard.

"See you later."

À plus tard.

Repose-toi bien.

"Rest well."

Repose-toi bien.

À plus.

"See you."

À plus.

Salut.

"Hi."

Salut.

Au revoir.

"See you."

Au revoir.

Did you notice the last two parting expressions?

Salut.

Au revoir.

The first expression was Salut. "Hi." Salut. Salut.

In informal situations, you can use the greeting, Salut.

Salut is a common greeting in French. However, it’s only suitable for informal situations, such as when saying goodbye to friends.

Note, Salut is also a common greeting translating as "Hi" or "Hello." Because of this, you can use salut both as a greeting and a parting expression.

The second parting greeting Au revoir means "See you." Au revoir. Au revoir.

It’s a formal greeting you can use when you're sure you're going to meet the other person again. You can use it to address one or more people.

Au revoir.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say

"See you soon."

À bientôt!

And how to say

"Goodnight."

Bonne nuit.

Do you remember how to say

"Rest well."

Repose-toi bien.

And how to say

"See you later."

À plus tard.

Do you remember how to say

“See you!”

Hint: it's the shortened form of À plus tard.

À plus.

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Christophe Collin , and you’re talking with Mathilde.

Respond by saying, "Goodnight."

Ready?

Bonne nuit.

Listen again and repeat.

Bonne nuit.

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're Coralie Collin , and you’re finishing class.

Respond by saying, "See you soon."

Ready?

À plus.

À bientôt.

Listen again and repeat.

À bientôt.

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Corentin Collin , and you’re finishing coffee with your college friend, Justine.

Respond by saying, "See you!"

Ready?

À plus tard.

À plus.

Listen again and repeat.

À plus.

In this lesson, you learned how to use basic parting greetings in French. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of using basic greetings. Let’s review.

Do you remember the polite way to say “Good morning?”

Bonjour

And how to say, “Good evening?”

Bonsoir

Imagine you're Corentin Collin , and you're meeting your friend Justine Jérôme in the morning, after a short small talk you part ways.

Do you remember how to say "hi?"

salut

Respond to your friend Justine greeting you first.

Salut !

Listen again, and repeat.

Salut !

And do you remember how to say "see you?"

Au revoir.

Respond to Justine Jerome.

À bientôt.

À plus.

Listen again, and repeat.

À plus.

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Use Basic Greetings unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

What's next?

Show us what you can do.

When you're ready, take your assessment.

You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like.

Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results.

Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson!

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