One of the best-known movies ever made is The French Connection, director William Friedkin’s riveting, streetwise thriller that traces New York drug dealers through a frantic police car chase across Manhattan. Featuring real-life city traffic and real city life, the famous sequence is one of cinema’s greatest moments and remains a must-see even for today’s film buffs.
While the movie is well known, many people may not know that there are actually several different ways to say hello in French. The greeting you choose depends on the formality of the situation and who you are speaking to. For example, saying bonjour to a friend or family member is more casual than using it in an interview.
Another way to greet someone is by using coucou. This word literally means cuckoo, but it is used much like hey in English and often in written form or amongst children. It is not a good choice for formal situations though and would sound rather rude.
A more formal greeting is enchante (male) or enchantee (female). This phrase literally translates to “charmed” and is used when you are happy to meet someone and want to express that fact. It is also used when you are introducing yourself to someone for the first time.
For a very casual way to ask how someone is doing, you can use ca va? This is a great option for informal conversations with The french connection tina friends and family. It is similar to the English phrase what’s up and in fact Bugs Bunny says it in the French version of Looney Tunes!
If you want to be more formal and still maintain the politeness of a conversation, then you can use et toi. This is more common in written or text speak and it is also used when speaking to children.
In addition to these, you can also use salut if you are speaking to a group of people. This is a general way to welcome everyone in a group and it is very casual. It is also a good way to end a conversation and say goodbye.
If you need to greet someone again that you spoke with just a moment ago, then it is very common to use rebonjour. This is a way to show that you haven’t forgotten the conversation and that you are very interested in talking with them again. This is also a great way to avoid confusion with other people that might be in the same room. You don’t want to confuse people in the workplace after all!
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