Greetings

There are three different types of greetings in French. You HAVE to use them! Or else you won't make any sense to a French guy.

1 - Bonjour: This magical word means "good day" and should only be used between 9 AM and 5 PM or else you would be considered as an ignorant foreigner which will make your life very, very hard among the French. You have to say this to everyone you see on the elevators, bus drivers, clerks and all other people who said bonjour to you.

A "bonjour" also means a day without any strikes, but this meaning is used rarely.

2 - Bonsoir: This replaces bonjour after 5 PM. It means "good evening" but it doesn't make any difference if you say it at 4 AM in the morning with wine stains all over your shirt.

3- Salut: This replaces the words above if you've met the person before. Use it wisely. You may be exposed to a very boring French conversation if you accidently say it to someone you don't give a shit about.


This concludes the first part of the 10 minute course... Please proceed to the main dialogue.