bientôt

Bientôt is a French adverb meaning "soon," used to indicate that something will happen in the near future. It is common in both spoken and written French and is typically placed after the verb or at the end of the clause, as in Je reviendrai bientôt or Nous partirons bientôt. It also appears in the common farewell phrase à bientôt, meaning "see you soon."

Etymology and history: the word is a compound derived from bien (well) and tôt (early), and it has long been used in French to express the idea of an event occurring in the near term. In historical texts, forms such as bien tot or bien-sot occasionally appear, reflecting older spellings that have since standardised to aujourd’hui’s bientôt.

Usage notes: b ientôt denotes immediacy rather than a precise time. It is versatile across registers, from everyday conversation to formal writing, though in some contexts speakers may choose more specific expressions such as dans peu de temps or sous peu. The word is invariable and does not change with gender or number.

Pronunciation: in standard French, b ientôt is pronounced roughly as /bjɑ̃.to/, with the nasal vowel in the first syllable and the final syllable pronounced as a light, often nearly silent -t in rapid speech.

Related terms: related expressions convey immediacy or proximity in time, such as bientôt vs. tout de suite (right away) or dans peu de temps (in a short while).

See also: French time expressions; farewell phrases.