The best way to Say “Good Afternoon” in French

“Good afternoon” in French is bon après-midi, the place bon means “good,” and après-midi means “afternoon”.

However bon après-midi isn’t a greeting phrase, it’s a goodbye phrase, much like the English “have a great afternoon.”

In case you’re greeting somebody within the afternoon, you’ll most probably say bonjour or salut; each imply “howdy.”

As a French learner, you in all probability know that the language varies in France, Switzerland, Canada, and Belgium. As a fluent speaker who has lived in France and Belgium, I can affirm that even the numbers change from nation to nation.

The identical goes with bon après-midi, particularly in French French and Canadian French. On this article, we’ll cowl country-specific methods of claiming “good afternoon,” instance sentences, and formal and casual variations.

Good Afternoon in French

Right here’s the French vocabulary you’ll study on this article, that are the principle methods of claiming “good afternoon” in French:

Bon après-midi vs. Bonne après-midi: What’s the Distinction?

Each bon après-midi and bonne après-midi imply “good afternoon,” and there’s no distinction between them. Bon is the masculine model of the adjective “good,” and bonne is the female model.

In response to Larousse French Dictionary, après-midi is an invariable phrase which can be utilized as masculine and female. This implies each variations of “good afternoon” in French are appropriate. That stated, the masculine model is extra frequent, so that you’ll hear and see bon après-midi extra usually than bonne après-midi.

The best way to Say Good Afternoon as a Greeting in French

If you wish to greet folks within the afternoon, bonjour is the most typical approach to take action. It actually interprets to “good day,” and can be utilized all through the day, from the morning till the night hours.

For instance, in case you cease by a bakery in Paris at 2pm, you’ll greet the employees with bonjour! Equally, in case you meet a good friend for espresso at 4pm, you can even say bonjour! As bonjour is utilized in each formal and casual conditions, you may say it to greet mates, coworkers, service employees, and even strangers you encounter in retailers. If you wish to use the phrase “afternoon” along with your greeting, you may say Bonjour, j’espère que vous passez un bon après-midi, (“Whats up, I hope you’re having a great afternoon”).

The best way to Say Good Afternoon as a Parting in French

The phrase bon après-midi is usually used as a parting phrase in French. It could translate to “have a great afternoon” in English, which signifies that it’s not generally used whereas greeting folks.

In casual conditions, similar to once you’re talking with mates, it’s additionally frequent to say bon aprèm as an alternative of bon après-midi. Let’s check out the dialogue beneath:

Laura: Bonjour, Thomas! Ça va? (“Hello, Thomas! How are you?”)
Thomas: Salut! Ça va, et toi? (“I’m good and also you?”)
Laura: Ça va. Je viens de sortir du travail. (“I’m good. I simply received out of labor.”)
Thomas: Tu as des plans pour le reste de ton après-midi? (“Do you’ve gotten plans for the remainder of your afternoon?”)
Laura: Je vais juste rentrer chez moi et me détendre. Et toi? (“I’ll simply return residence and calm down. And also you?”)
Thomas: Pareil. Bon après-midi, Laura! (“Similar for me. Have a great afternoon, Laura!”)
Laura: Passe un bon aprèm! (“Have a great afternoon!”)

As you may see, the 2 mates greet one another with bonjour and salut, speak about their afternoon plans, and use bon après-midi and bon aprèm as a solution to say goodbye in French.

Formal vs Casual Good Afternoon in French

You should utilize bon après-midi in each formal and casual settings. For a extra formal contact, think about including the individual’s title. For instance, once you’re leaving a restaurant, you may hear the servers say, bon après-midi, Monsieur (“Have a great afternoon, sir) or bon après-midi, Madame (“have a great afternoon, miss”).

Generally, bon après-midi turns into bon aprèm. Aprèm is the quick model of après-midi, usually used between mates as we coated within the dialogue above.

Good Afternoon in Canadian French

In Québec, some French audio system use the phrase bon après-midi to particularly imply “good afternoon” as a greeting, much like English. Additionally they say bon matin, which means “good morning.”
For instance, in case you go to a store in Montreal at 3pm, the shopkeeper may greet you with a “bon après-midi, bienvenue!” (“Good afternoon, welcome!”) Whereas in France, they might say bon après-midi once you’re leaving, as in “have a great afternoon.” That stated, you may nonetheless say bonjour in Quebec, at any time of the day.

Different French Greetings and Partings for the Afternoon

Along with bonjour and bon après-midi, there are a number of different helpful French phrases you should utilize within the afternoon hours.

Instance Phrases with Good Afternoon in French

Final however not least, let’s verify some instance sentences that includes “good afternoon” in French.

You Took One Extra Step in Changing into Fluent in French

“Good afternoon” could also be one of many useful phrases you’ve discovered in your journey to France, or part of your newbie’s course. Both approach, high them up with some different core French phrases, similar to studying easy methods to say how are you or speaking about your loved ones and mates. Greet your French instructor, begin conversations throughout your subsequent journey overseas, or just impress your French mates along with your new vocabulary. Bonne probability et bonne après-midi! (“Good luck and have a great afternoon!”)

Yaren Fadiloglulari

Freelance Content material Author & Journalist

Initially from Cyprus, Yaren is a freelance author for a lot of digital publications, journey and schooling manufacturers, and start-ups.

Speaks: English, Turkish, French, and Spanish

View all posts by Yaren Fadiloglulari