Bonjour,
Tu vas bien ?
In the UK, US, Australia, Canada… when you meet a person for the second time during the day you just say , “hi” or “hello”.
But in France, saying bonjour several times is super rude.
Maybe you didn’t know and you’re thinking « Oh no! What should I do? »…
Should you lower your gaze do they don’t talk to you? Hide in the toilets after 9AM?
Or just NEVER say Bonjour so no chance you’d say it twice?
Let me help. Click to watch “Say hello during the day”:
Et toi alors ?
Have you ever said « Bonjour » twice and the French person looked at you like you were an alien?
Or did you never notice it?
Tell me in the comments if you knew this French cultural rule.
If so, How did you find out? Did somebody tell you?
We can all discuss and share good stories in the comment area below the video.
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A bientôt,
Géraldine
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No, I have never heard of this rule and I have never noticed anyone be upset. It’s odd because I studied French in Paris for 6 months and none of the tutors mentioned it.
Hi Susan,
Try to listen to how other students say hello the first time they see you and then the second time.
Let us know what you hear. It would be a great feedback.
I have heard the ‘re-bonjour’ and had no clue what it meant
Thanks
Carolg
Hi Carol,
Great! Now you know. We also say (and use in emails) “Re” in an informal situation.
I hadn’t heard of it either. This is JUST the kind of useful information I was hoping to get from your site/hints. Thanks!
Hi Mrs C. There’s even more of this kind of insights coming.
Hi, thanks for this tip, I have made this mistake and been looked at oddly, and now I know why. Re-bonjour is a good way round it, thanks.
Hi Donna, ahahah, yes, French people may look at you oddly. But no worries even I forget sometimes that I saw someone during the day (goldfish memory…).
It happens to us all.
Yes this happens to me a lot. I work in a shop and when I return in the afternoon it’s natural for me to say hi again to my colleagues. After the penny dropped, I started to ‘re-bonjour’ but the temptation is still there!
Hi Lisa, thanks for sharing your experience! Where do you work?
Excellent advice – thanks for the video.
(FYI I’m only hearing audio out of one speaker. You should have your video person duplicate the mono track so that we hear audio out of both sides.)
Hi Tim,
Glad you like it.
Thanks for the tips, I’ll have this checked for the next video!
I didn’t knew about this rule. Now I understand why every time I sayed for the second time Bonjour to the same person, they always answered me with a non very kindly : RE BONJOUR!!!!!
Bonjour Sandra,
Tell us how your first “Re-bonjour” goes!
I work at Harley Davidson and the guys and girls come in to the boutique and we always say ALLWAYS “bonjour”. they might leave to go to there bike or buy a bike and we don’t see them for another 3 hr ..and i see them again. often i say bon.. re bonjour… its all about keeping in your head who you already saw. yes very complicated. and they don’t like it when you say it 2 times.
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Yes, the trick is to remember who you’ve already seen that day.
Well done you.
i do have a Q on bonjour and bonsoir… going in to my shop i need that the clients feel like they have time to look around.i say bonjour…i havent had the time to look at the light outside at 6:30 at night in the winter its dark. we always have a war with jour and soir. when is the exact hour to use this term??? In winter?
I start using bonsoir around 6PM. Whether it’s night or day (=winter of summer).
Other French people might say differently, as there’s no written rule.
Thank you very much for this useful advice! Since I have been going to France for a number of years, I have had funny looks but I never knew what it was about, and my very polite French neighbours did not say anything either! Last year I was in a situation where I saw people for the second time in the day. I somehow thought that kissing them again and saying Hello was strange but I did not know what to do! Sayng Re-bonjour is a good solution. I never heard of that before. The other expressions are very good also.
Merci bien Géraldine!
Hi Anke,
Thanks for sharing your story.
Next time, just use Re-Bonjour or slightly nod but don’t do “la bise” again.
A bientôt Anke.
I had no idea! thanks very much!
Hola Fabiola! Como estas?
Related to the ‘bonjour rule’ I’ve noticed that the French only seem to use ‘hallo’ on the telephone, never in person. Is this another greeting rule???
Bonjour Isabelle,
Yes, “Allo” is only for the phone.
Thanks for asking!
OMG I didn’t know and I’ve been living in France for 4 years!
Thank you!
You’re welcome Li. Glad you find this useful.
I made this faux pas last week. Said bonjour to the insurance guy as he left his office and then about 4 hours later said the same thing as I wasn’t sure what the etiquette was. Now I know. Thanks………..
Bonjour Anne, thanks for sharing!
Half the time I don’t even use the “bonjour” part; I just say “beh, re!”
Regarding jour/soir, it doesn’t really matter, if someone looks at you funny, just correct yourself: “en fait, plutôt soir”
Bonjour Geraldine,
Merci! I have heard re-bonjour (and re-bonsoir) before but did not know how rude it was to use bonjour twice. I have also had shop assistants saying “me re-voila!” if they serve you e.g. at the fish and then at the cheese counter – in this situation I have been using “re-bonjour”. Is that correct?
I have a question: I use “allo” for the telephone, and “bonjour” for meeting in person or at the start of an email, but what should I say when the gate buzzer rings and I am responding through the speaker to find out who is at the gate?
Merci encore pour votre travail, c’est super utile!
Bonjour Sue,
“Me revoila” is very French too.
Yes, “Re-bonjour” as an answer is perfect.
For the gate buzzer, you can use “Allo” as well. I use “Oui ?” too.
Merci Sue !
Yes I did know this – but had forgotton! I think my French teacher, who was French, probably mentioned it at school. I usually say ‘salut ca va?’ when re-meeting people throughout the day. Useful tip, thanks.
Hi Alison,
Thanks for your comment.
Géraldine
Hello everyone,
]
I’ve never hear of any etiquette or protocole specifying that saying ‘bonjour’ twice could be ‘super rude.’ I would say that saying ‘bonjour’ twice would simply mean that you’re not paying much attention.
For some established etiquette on salutations, here: http://www.french.hku.hk/dcmScreen/lang2043/etiquette.htm#salut
[Excuse their/my French
heard
I asked a few French colleagues having read this article, and they were all baffled by the suggestion it was rude.