Every conversation starts somewhere. In French, a simple greeting is your key to opening doors and connecting with people. The greeting you choose depends on who you're talking to.

If you're with friends, family, or people your own age, you can use a more casual greeting.

Think of Bonjour as a friendly handshake and Salut as a high-five. One is for formal or new situations, and the other is for people you know well.

After saying hello, it's natural to ask how someone is doing. Just like with greetings, French has formal and informal ways to ask this question.

Comment allez-vous? is what you'd ask a teacher, a stranger, or a group of people. Comment vas-tu? is for one person you know well, like a friend. The simplest and most common informal question is just Ça va?

How do you answer? Here are a few options.

Notice the switch between vous (formal/plural 'you') and toi (informal 'you'). This is a key distinction in French politeness.

Now let's cover the basics of introducing yourself. You'll need to share your name, age, and where you're from.

To state your name, you use the phrase Je m'appelle..., which literally means 'I call myself...'

For your age, the structure is J'ai ... ans, meaning 'I have ... years'.

Finally, to share your nationality, you use the verb être (to be). For example, Je suis... (I am...). Nationalities are adjectives in French, so they must agree in gender with the person. Many feminine forms end in an '-e'.

Ending a conversation politely is just as important as starting one. The most common way to say goodbye is Au revoir.

Just like it works as an informal 'hi', Salut also works as an informal 'bye'. For other situations, you might say:

You now have the essential phrases to start and end a simple conversation in French. Let's review them before you try them out.

Time to test your knowledge.

With these basics, you're ready to make a great first impression.