Adults say "tu" to children and kiss them on the cheek, even if they have just met for the first time. To greet people, you say "Bonjour". Among young people and students, "Salut" is used more frequently.
The most important French greetings include bonjour (hello), enchanté(e) (nice to meet you), bonsoir (good evening/hello), salut (hi), coucou (hey), Ça fait longtemps, dis donc (long time no see), Âllo (hello), Ça va? (how are you?), tu vas bien? (have you been well?), quoi de neuf? (what's up?), au revoir!
Bien le bonjour — Hello
This is a more traditional and slightly formal way of saying hello in French. It's a polite and respectful greeting used especially when meeting someone for the first time or in more conservative settings. Bien le bonjour is often accompanied by a handshake and a friendly smile.
Men will greet each other by shaking hands. Men who are close friends may hug. Women will often greet each other with a handshake or by kissing once on each cheek. Men who know the woman they are greeting, may exchange a kiss on each cheek.
Make sure you say Bonjour, or else you'll be considered very rude. And when you leave, you should say “goodbye”, as well. You'd typically say “Bonne journée” (“Have a nice day”). “Merci, au revoir” (“Thank you, goodbye”) could also work.
Faire la bise
If you're male, in some places you may just shake hands with other males and “kiss” females on each cheek in greeting, but in many places males also font la bise. Females generally give “kisses” (“bises”) to everyone.
La bise is a French greeting where two people kiss each other's cheeks two, three, and even four times.
The French do not just say 'Salut'. They also shake hands or kiss. At work in the morning, colleagues shake hands, and sometimes it is also customary to shake hands again at the end of the day. Shaking hands is thus a ritual at the beginning and end of each encounter, even if the encounter only lasts five minutes.
What is the proper response to bonjour? It's more than sufficient to simply say bonjour back in response to those who greet you, but if you want to go a step beyond, you can respond with comment allez-vous, which is the French equivalent of asking how it's going.
Bonjour is the go-to greeting in French and means both “hello” and “good morning.” If it's evening or nighttime, you can say Bonsoir (literally, “Good evening”).
Salut (pronounced with a silent t) is commonly used in France, although it is extremely informal: It's the equivalent of saying "hey" in English. Avoid using salut with people you don't know unless you are a teenager. If you are in doubt, stick with bonjour, which—as noted—is always an acceptable form of greeting.
Bonjour is a French word meaning (literally translated) "good day", and is commonly used as a greeting.
Literally meaning “good day”, Bonjour is the most commonly used French greeting.
What is la bise? Although you might not have heard the term before, you'll be familiar with this very French way of saying hello. "La bise" is the greeting where a person gently bumps cheeks against another person, while making a kissing sound (basically, an 'air kiss'). "La bise" literally just means "kiss" in French.
Just like in English, and probably most (if not all) languages, Spanish has more than one way of greeting someone. As you might already know, the most common word is Hola, which can be used at any time of the day, in any situation, either formally or informally, and all over Spain or any Spanish-speaking country.
It's no big deal in France
The French didn't even have a word for the style of kissing until 2014, when the Petit Robert dictionary added a new verb: “Galocher.” It literally means “to kiss with tongues.”
La bise is a traditional, common way to greet family, friends, and even coworkers (depending on your workplace). It's the equivalent of both a handshake and a hug. Basically, faire la bise consists of lightly kissing someone on the cheek or cheeks.
Three kisses in a row is a new type of kiss that a person in love gives to the one they love. These kisses are short ones that come one after the other. If they give you these magical three kisses, one after the other, they want to make sure that you know that they love you.
Only around half of cultures kiss each other intimately. Central America, South America and Africa are particular regions where there is not much of a kissing culture. Only 4 of the 17 cultures researched in South America, 4 of 27 in Africa and 0 of 10 cultures in Central America lock lips romantically.
As the French term indicates, this kind of kiss has a sexual connotation — you wouldn't French kiss a purely platonic friend (though you would French kiss a friend with benefits).
You start by leaning in and placing right cheek to right cheek, before moving to the left side—and back and forth thereafter if additional pecks are required. The primary exception is Italy, which starts il bacio on the left. While some cultures really do apply lips to cheek, you're better off refraining.