Both are used to greet people but not a the same time of the day. Say "Bonjour" until the end of the afternoon and "bonsoir" once the evening starts. Bonjour is a greeting and only a greeting at the difference of "bonsoir" that can be used to say good bye in the evening and evening ONLY.
"Bonjour"—The Most Common Greeting
Saying bonjour is the most common way to greet someone in French. It's a flexible, all-purpose term: You use it to greet people in the morning, afternoon, or evening. Bonjour is always polite, and it works in any situation.
Once you reach the end of the afternoon around 6 p.m., you stop saying bonjour and you start to say bonsoir, which means “good evening.” Unlike bonjour, you can use bonsoir when saying goodbye where it would translate more to “goodnight” instead of “hello.” If it's so late in the night that whoever you're saying ...
As the end of the day approaches, switch from saying bonjour and start saying Bonsoir. There is no exact time to switch from bonjour to Bonsoir but it is usually between 5 pm and 6 pm that the use of Bonsoir becomes acceptable. One major difference is that Bonsoir can be used to say goodbye, whereas bonjour never is.
bonjour : hello, good morning, good afternoon. bonsoir : good evening.
The interesting thing about bonjour is that it's not just used in the morning for “good morning” in French. It's also used all throughout the day, roughly until evening. There's no common way of saying “good afternoon” in French.
The most important French greetings include bonjour (hello), enchanté(e) (nice to meet you), bonsoir (good evening/hello), salut (hi), coucou (hey), Ça fait longtemps, dis donc (long time no see), Âllo (hello), Ça va? (how are you?), tu vas bien? (have you been well?), quoi de neuf? (what's up?), au revoir!
Most of you know the formal expression “bonjour”, and you should since it's the most common way to greet someone in French. We use it to greet people in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening. “Bonjour” is always polite, and works in any situation.
What is the proper response to bonjour? It's more than sufficient to simply say bonjour back in response to those who greet you, but if you want to go a step beyond, you can respond with comment allez-vous, which is the French equivalent of asking how it's going.
Bonjour is Apple's implementation of zero-configuration networking (zeroconf). It allows devices running both Windows and Apple operating systems (like macOS and iOS) to connect and share resources without any configuration settings.
In France, saying bonjour in French is a sign of respect and a cultural norm. It's not optional to forgo the greeting if you want people to know that you understand French manners.
The law in France is on your side: it states that people should make no noise at all between 10pm and 7am, and nothing above 'ambient noise' for a prolonged period outside of these times, and by now you have extensive evidence to use to show that your neighbour has been breaking this law.
The most common greeting in French is the very useful “bonjour”, and “bonsoir”. The first can be used throughout the day, and the second in the evening. “Salut” is also widely used in a more informal setting.
The greetings change depending on the time of the day. For example, “Good morning” is generally used from 5:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. whereas “Good afternoon” time is from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. “Good evening” is often used after 6 p.m. or when the sun goes down.
La bise is a French greeting where two people kiss each other's cheeks two, three, and even four times. Contrary to what you might think, this kind of greeting kiss is not typically French!
The informal French greeting “Salut!” (pronounced sah-lu) has several meanings including hi, hello, bye, goodbye and cheers. The French strictly use salut with acquaintances and not strangers. In more formal situations the French use both bonjour and au revoir.
Both are used to greet people but not a the same time of the day. Say "Bonjour" until the end of the afternoon and "bonsoir" once the evening starts. Bonjour is a greeting and only a greeting at the difference of "bonsoir" that can be used to say good bye in the evening and evening ONLY.
"Salut" can be used both for "hello" and "goodbye". It is an informal way of greeting someone or bidding them farewell. If someone introduces you to a new person, and it is an informal setting, with people your age, you say "salut".
While it might seem strange to other English-speaking countries, the French say 'bonjour' to each other in every single situation – and that means every situation. So, when you arrive at the bakery, the clothing store, the train station or the doctor's waiting room, it is good manners to say bonjour.
The most common way to say “hello” in French: Bonjour!
Literally meaning “good day”, Bonjour is the most commonly used French greeting.
BONSOIR means GOOD EVENING. BONNE SOIRÉE means HAVE A NICE EVENING. Do you notice the difference? The first one is a way of saying hello.
Namaste ! je m'appelle Shuba.
bon·soir bōⁿ-swär. : good evening.
Au revoir.
(Oh reh-vwah) This is the most common ways of saying goodbye in French, and it's acceptable for the vast majority of situations, formal and informal. It literally means “until we each see each other again.