Basic greetings: Greeting your neighbor

💬 Literally "good day." Use it for both hello and good morning in most situations.

🇫🇷 In France, bonjour is the magic word: say it when entering a shop, bakery, or waiting room.

💬 Ça is a super-common everyday word meaning "that" or "it." The cedilla under ç makes it sound like an s.

🇫🇷 You'll hear ça constantly in spoken French: Ça va, comme ça, ça marche… it's everywhere!

💬 Va comes from the verb aller, "to go." In expressions like Ça va, it means "it's going."

🇫🇷 French often uses "going" to talk about how life is: very practical, very French!

💬 Literally "Is it going?" It can mean "How are you?" or "Is everything okay?" depending on context.

🇫🇷 This is one of the most common casual greetings in France, especially with friends, classmates, and coworkers.

💬 Ce means "this" before a masculine singular noun, like ce matin. Before a vowel, it changes to cet.

🇫🇷 French likes agreement and neat little grammar changes—expect these tiny word shifts often.

💬 Matin means "morning." It appears in many useful expressions: ce matin, demain matin, lundi matin.

🇫🇷 Morning greetings matter in France—people often acknowledge the time of day quite naturally.

💬 A handy time phrase: ce + noun often means "this ...," as in ce soir, ce weekend, ce matin.

🇫🇷 Talking about the time of day is very common in small talk, especially with weather and sleep.

💬 This simply adds a time phrase to Ça va ? for a more specific, friendly question.

🇫🇷 A warm phrase for breakfast tables, workplaces, and friendly morning chats in France.

💬 Simple and essential: oui means "yes." Pronounce it like "wee."

🇫🇷 French yes may sound cute to English ears, but it's one of your most useful words from day one!