Bonjour vs bonsoir: when to say each in French

Bonjour is the all-purpose “hello” you use during the day, from the morning until the early evening. Bonsoir is “good evening”, used once evening sets in — roughly from 6 pm. The switch happens around dusk, and there is no exact minute: anywhere from about 5 to 7 pm, either one is fine. Unlike English, French does not split the day into “good morning / good afternoon / good evening” — for most of the day, it is simply bonjour.

The table above is the decision rule. In practice, the safest beginner habit is: use bonjour until the day clearly feels like evening, then use bonsoir.

The word list below gives you the forms to recognize and pronounce. Notice that bonne nuit is useful, but it belongs to leaving for sleep, not arriving.

Bonjour: the daytime default

Bonjour is the greeting you reach for most. Say it the first time you see someone during the day. In France it is also basic politeness to open with it before anything else — when you walk into a shop or approach someone, you greet first, then speak.

Bonjour, je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît.
Hello, I’d like a coffee, please.

Bonsoir: from the early evening

Bonsoir takes over when the evening begins. There is no official cutoff, so use the light and the situation as your guide: once it is getting dark or you would say “good evening” in English, switch to bonsoir. It works both when you arrive and, often, when you leave. If you are clearly wishing someone a good rest of the evening as you leave, bonne soirée is the more natural “have a good evening”.

Bonsoir, vous avez une table pour deux ?
Good evening, do you have a table for two?

Bonne nuit is not a greeting

This is the trap. Bonne nuit means “good night”, and you only use it when you are parting to go to sleep — never to greet someone. If you arrive at an evening event, it is bonsoir, not bonne nuit.

Bonne nuit, à demain !
Good night, see you tomorrow! (leaving to sleep)

What about salut and “bon matin”?

Salut is the casual option: a friendly “hi” or “bye” with people you know, at any time of day. Save it for friends — with strangers or in formal settings, bonjour and bonsoir are safer. And although it feels logical, bon matin (“good morning”) is not standard in France; people just say bonjour in the morning. (You will hear bon matin in Quebec, but not in France.)

Common mistakes

Saying bonne nuit when you mean bonsoir

To greet someone in the evening, use bonsoir. Keep bonne nuit for the moment you actually leave to sleep.

Bonne nuit ! (walking into a dinner party) → Bonsoir !
Good evening!

Using bonjour late at night

Once it is clearly evening, bonjour sounds off. Switch to bonsoir.

Bonjour ! (arriving at 9 pm) → Bonsoir !
Good evening!

Reaching for “bon après-midi” as a hello

Bon après-midi exists, but it means “have a good afternoon” — you say it when leaving, not as a greeting. To say hello in the afternoon, it is still bonjour.

Greetings are also where French politeness and register meet, so it pairs well with knowing when to use tu or vous. In Fluera you practise these phrases by ear, in short everyday scenes — arriving, ordering, leaving — with the pronunciation right there. Pick them up when you practice French and the day-versus-evening choice stops being a guess.

Practice