Goodbye in French: au revoir, salut, à bientôt

Goodbye in French is au revoir [1][2]. It is the safe default, and the rest of this page covers the casual bye, the “see you soon” forms and the one farewell that can mean for good. For more everyday phrases, see common French phrases, and for words that differ in Québec, see English to Quebec French.

How do you say goodbye in French?

You say au revoir. The Académie française describes it as a polite formula for taking leave when the separation is not seen as long or final [2]. Its examples are “Au revoir, à demain !” and “Dire au revoir à quelqu’un” (to say goodbye to someone) [2]. Larousse’s English-French entry gives the same: “goodbye !” is “au revoir !” [3].

Au revoir is built from revoir, to see again, so it carries the idea of seeing the person again. The Académie even has a line for it: “Ce n’est qu’un au revoir, pas un adieu” (it is only a goodbye, not a farewell) [2]. In Larousse, adieu lists au revoir as its synonym [4].

Larousse’s examples add a time-of-day wish after the farewell: “Bonne journée/soirée !” is “Have a nice day/evening !” [3]. You can say au revoir first and the wish after, or the wish alone.

How do you say bye in French?

For a casual bye in French, say salut. Larousse labels it informal and translates “Salut !” as “Bye !” [3]. The Office québécois de la langue française describes salut as more familiar than bonjour, and says it is used day or night [5]. Say salut to friends and family. With a shop assistant or a stranger, au revoir is the safer choice. That register advice is a general observation, not a dictionary finding.

The other informal form in Larousse is à la prochaine (see you next time), marked informal [3].

What is the French goodbye for see you soon, later or tomorrow?

French goodbyes often say when you will meet again. Larousse gives à bientôt for “see you soon” and à tout à l’heure for “see you later” [3]. For “goodbye for now” it gives à bientôt and à la prochaine [3]. For tomorrow, the Académie’s own example is “Au revoir, à demain !” [2].

Bonne continuation is Larousse’s translation of “All the best” [3]. Use it to wish someone well when you part.

What does adieu mean, and is it the same as au revoir?

No. The Académie française defines adieu as a polite formula for taking leave for good or for a long time [1]. Its examples include “Je ne vous dis pas adieu, car j’espère vous revoir” (I won’t say farewell to you, because I hope to see you again) and “Adieu, à l’été prochain !” (farewell until next summer) [1]. It adds that, as an extension and in familiar speech, adieu can mean au revoir, as in “Adieu, à demain !” [1].

As a noun, the Académie gives un adieu and les adieux for the act of leaving, and un dernier adieu or un éternel adieu for a farewell at death or a final separation [1]. Larousse notes that “des adieux” in the plural suits a farewell dinner [4].

The safe approach is to use au revoir unless you really mean a farewell. Compare adieu with au revoir and hear the difference.

Common mistakes

• Using adieu for a normal goodbye. The Académie defines adieu as taking leave for good or for a long time, though it also lists a familiar sense that means au revoir [1]. Au revoir is the neutral choice [2].
• Saying salut to everyone. Larousse marks salut as informal [3]. Keep it for people you know.
• Saying bonne nuit as an evening goodbye. Bonne nuit means good night, said at bedtime. For leaving in the evening, Larousse gives bonne soirée [3]. That gloss for bonne nuit is a general observation.
• Treating à bientôt as a promise. It is a polite wish to meet again, so use it when you may well see the person. That is a general observation, not a dictionary finding.
• Relying on a vocabulary page from a blog, including this one. Dictionary entries change between editions. Compare each entry’s edition and date with the date at the top of this page.

See also: hello in French.

See also: how are you in French.

See also: please and sorry in French and good morning and good night in French.

Sources