Bonsoir

Bonsoir is a French greeting and farewell used in the evening to say “good evening.” It is commonly employed when meeting someone after about late afternoon and when departing in the evening, in both formal and informal contexts.

Etymology and pronunciation: bon means “good,” and soir means “evening.” The word soir derives from Old French and ultimately from Latin serus, meaning late. The standard spelling is bonsoir, one word. In standard French pronunciation it is /bɔ̃.swaʁ/, with the final r pronounced in most dialects; the first syllable features a nasalized vowel.

Usage: Bonsoir functions as a greeting or a farewell in the evening. For speaking to someone more formally, one might add a title (Bonsoir, monsieur/madame). In many situations, speakers also use bonne soirée to wish someone a pleasant evening after the interaction ends, while bonne nuit is used when parting late at night to say “good night.” In practice, bonjour is used earlier in the day, and bonsoir replaces it in the evening.

Regional and stylistic notes: Bonsoir is widely used across French-speaking regions, including France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada, as well as in Francophone communities elsewhere. While bonsoir is generally appropriate, some contexts may prefer a more formal or more casual variant, and in some bilingual settings English speakers may simply say “good evening.”

See also: Bonjour; Bonne soirée; Bonne nuit.