In English, when you meet a person for the second time in day you would say, “hi” or “hello”. But in France, you don’t say “Bonjour” every time!
When you come across someone again in the day, you don’t really know what to say.
So you lower your gaze when you pass a college after having already greeted him/her for the day.
You got it partly right, you shouldn’t repeat “Bonjour” several times in a day.
But Warning: it is very impolite to lower your gaze, even if you’re trying to avoid committing a blunder.
What should you do?
When you meet a colleague again after a few hours, look him/her in the eye, smile and give a slight nod. That’s all!
(Magic no?)
If it’s a close friend and colleague, you could say: “Are you okay?” (All good?) or “Have you been okay since this morning?” (How has your morning been so far?)
In a relaxed office setting only, you could also say “Re bonjour” (Hello again)
And sometimes you’ll hear people saying only “re” instead of “rebonjour”
Warning: Don’t repeat hello to the same person on the same day! That person will find it strange if you did so. She would probably think that you forgot that the two of you had met earlier in the day.
My Advice: if you repeat “Hello” and the person looks at you in a weird way, smile and say:
“Oh yes, I’m sorry, we already met each other in the morning! Excuse me, I was lost in thought
.
Gold
“Pardon me, we already met, it’s true. Excuse me. How have you been since the last time I
saw you?
And smile to make up for the blunder.
See you soon!
In English, during the day when you meet someone you’ve seen before, you say “hi” or “hello.” But in France, you don’t say “Bonjour” every time!
It makes you nervous when you meet someone again because you don’t know what to say to them!
You look down when you see a colleague again.
First of all, you’re right, we don’t say “hello” to each other several times a day.
But be careful: it is very inappropriate to look down, even if it is to avoid mistakes.
How to do it?
When you see a colleague again, look them in the eye and smile. Give a small nod, maybe. That’s enough!
(Magic, right?)
If it’s a familiar colleague, you can say, “How are you?” or “How have you been since this morning?”
Still in a relaxed context, at work, you can use “Hello again”.
And sometimes you’ll just hear “re,” for “hello again.”
Caution: Never say hello to the same person twice in the same day! It would be very strange for them. They might think you’ve already forgotten that you’ve seen each other before!
My advice: If you say “hello” again and the person looks at you strangely, smile and say
“Oh yeah, excuse me, we already saw each other this morning! Sorry, I was deep in thought.”
Or
“Sorry, we’ve seen each other before, it’s true. Excuse me. How have you been since a while ago?”
And smile again to cover up your little mistake.
See you soon !
Geraldine