To say good morning in French, say bonjour (bohn-ZHOOR). It literally means "good day" and is the normal greeting all morning and afternoon; France has no separate everyday phrase for the morning. When you leave someone in the morning, say bonne journée (have a good day). In Québec you will also hear bon matin.
- Good morning
- bonjour
- Have a good day
- bonne journée
- Have a good morning
- bonne matinée
- Québec
- bon matin
- Level
- A1
Is there a French word for good morning?
Not one that people use every day in France. Bon matin sounds foreign to most French ears, and de bon matin means "early in the morning", not a greeting. French greets the whole day with bonjour, then uses a different set of phrases for parting. The trick is to know which half of the conversation you are in.
| Time of day | Arriving (hello) | Leaving (have a good…) |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | Bonjour | Bonne journée / Bonne matinée |
| Afternoon | Bonjour | Bon après-midi |
| Evening | Bonsoir | Bonne soirée |
| Bedtime | Bonsoir | Bonne nuit |
In the chapters, morning scenes open with bonjour like any other time. On a Saturday morning at the village choir, the winegrower Marcel arrives with his booming voice:
« Bonjour, madame la chef ! »Madame la chef is a half-joking title for Camille, who leads the choir: a choir conductor is a chef de chœur.
What do people say at home first thing in the morning?
At home, bonjour still does the job, often with a pet name, followed by the classic morning question: did you sleep well? Young children may also hear debout !, "up you get!"
Bonjour, mon cœur. Tu as bien dormi ?
Morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?
Bien dormi ?
Sleep well?
The short, everyday version.
Oui, très bien, merci. Et toi ?
Yes, very well, thanks. And you?
Debout, il est sept heures !
Up you get, it's seven o'clock!
Le café est prêt.
The coffee's ready.
When you go out, the same rule applies to the street. In this A1 story, Grandma Odette leaves home in the morning and greets the whole neighbourhood on the way, while her granddaughter follows her in secret:
Elle passe devant la boulangerie, elle dit bonjour à tout le monde.What is the difference between bonjour and bonne journée?
Bonjour opens an encounter; bonne journée closes it. Saying bonne journée as you walk into a shop sounds as odd as saying "have a nice day" instead of hello. As you leave the bakery at 9 am, the usual sequence is Merci, au revoir, bonne journée !, and the reply is Merci, vous aussi ! or À vous aussi !
Jour is the day as a unit of time; journée is the day as something you live through, from morning to evening. That is why the wish uses journée. Bonne matinée (have a good morning) is also correct, and useful early in the day when you will see the person again in the afternoon.
Bonne journée !
Have a good day!
Merci, vous aussi.
Thanks, you too.
Polite (vous).
Merci, toi aussi.
Thanks, you too.
Informal (tu).
Bonne fin de matinée !
Enjoy the rest of your morning!
Said late in the morning.
Do people say bon matin in Québec?
Yes. In Québec, bon matin is a common, friendly morning greeting, alongside bonjour. In France it is not used as a greeting. Contos follows France French, so if you learn with it you will hear bonjour in the mornings, which is understood everywhere French is spoken.
For greetings at other times of day, see how to say hello in French; for the end of the day, how to say good night in French.
Read short A1 French stories and tap any word, from bonjour onwards, to see its meaning.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
How do you pronounce bonne journée?
Say "bun zhoor-NAY". Bonne rhymes roughly with "fun", the j is like the s in "measure", and the final ée is a clear "ay" sound.
Can I say bonjour in the afternoon?
Yes. Bonjour covers the whole day until early evening. Switch to bonsoir from about 6 pm, or when it is dark.
How do you say good morning to a group in French?
Bonjour à tous (hello, everyone) works in any setting. Among friends, salut tout le monde is more relaxed. Teachers often greet a class with just bonjour, and the class answers bonjour back.
How do you say good morning in a French text message?
Bonjour or coucou, often followed by bien dormi ? (sleep well?). Some people abbreviate bonjour to bjr in quick texts.
Is bon matin wrong?
Not wrong in Québec, where it is everyday French. In France it is simply not used, and people would understand it as a Canadian expression.