Ironiquement (Essay)

 

Ironiquement, le fait que vous avez de garder le silence après avoir entendu stupide, bon ou mauvais Karma, ne savent pas. Ironiquement, après qu'un accord si mal à L, alors il meurt et selon un "L attentivement la du ciel". Il me dérange pas de dire à Andrea est une graisse putain que seul sait porter malheur aux personnes ayant de mauvaises critiques et puis quelqu'un rejette quelque chose bientôt commence à pleurer.

Quelle ironie plus grande que la plus sincère du monde comme N, la femme est capable de critiquer, mais quand il a répondu à ses critiques couvre ses oreilles, le monde ne est pas aveugle, l'homme ou la femme qui profitent de la mort, de la justice , la foi, la connaissance, le divertissement pour ne en nommer que quelques-uns. Ironiquement, au moins pour moi.

Quelle ironie que ma grand-mère dit: «Je dois donner toutes les faveurs gratuitement à votre sœur juste parce que vous les études de paiement", avec ses sœurs tricher voler du jour où il est né jusqu'à aujourd'hui ce est une vieille femme qui se déplace de cinq étapes et est fatigué de marcher. Si je décide de payer pour un service ou aider quelqu'un sans rien de charge, ce est mon problème, en fait, maintenant que je pense n'a pas été le chargeait seul a été le réprimander parce qu'ils veulent apprendre à être indépendant. Est-ce un péché d'aimer apprendre aux gens à être auto-suffisante?

Parfois, je déteste aimer ma grand-mère, d'abord parce qu'il a plus de 7 enfants et petits-enfants dont 50 je ai grandi de 70%, mais non, il a dû rentrer à la maison à mes parents ont à se soucier de votre partenaire (non mon grand-père), mais plutôt le grand-père de 5% de mes cousins, et ils doivent culot de prétendre, étant que son arrivée seulement apporté misère et perdu, maintenant ce est ironique.

Puis vient ma tante J (qui a volé la maison de ma grand-mère de mettre son nom) et me dit d'être patient, ne peut pas, ne peut pas être un salaud. Elle mensonge, le vol, est la reine de la manipulation (Enseignant Andrea), qui accuse la mort d'Andrea L, ce est si ironique.

Source: YO  

Sydney Bristow - Personal Information

• ID-CLASS: USS-CI-2300844
• Call signs:
  • Bluebird (CIA call sign at SD-6)
  • Freelancer (CIA, while a double agent at SD-6)
  • Mountaineer (CIA)
  • White Rabbit
  • Nightwing
  • Phoenix (APO)
• Aliases: Julia Thorne, Kate Jones  
• Height: 5'8"
• Weight: 120lbs
• Characteristics: L/R Shoulders reverse-jointed, R01 Molar extraction.
• Training/Special Skills: Krav Maga, track and field, Pilates, Linguistics, Theatre Arts, and electromagnetic lock picking.
• Languages: English (various dialects), Czech, French, Taiwanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hebrew, Arabic, Japanese, Italian, Russian, Hungarian, Uzbek, Urdu, German and Swedish.
• Education: Masters in English Literature, graduated in February of 2003.
• Experience: Recruited to SD-6 Fall of her 19th year, started work with the CIA Fall of her 26th year, first generation (possible test subject) of Jack Bristow's Project Christmas Program. 

Link: http://alias.wikia.com/wiki/Sydney_Bristow

Stromae - Papaoutai

 

 

 

[Couplet 1]
Dites-moi d'où il vient
Enfin je saurais où je vais
Maman dit que lorsqu'on cherche bien
On finit toujours par trouver
Elle dit qu'il n'est jamais très loin
Qu'il part très souvent travailler
Maman dit "travailler c'est bien"
Bien mieux qu'être mal accompagné
Pas vrai ?
Où est ton papa ?
Dis-moi où est ton papa ?
Sans même devoir lui parler
Il sait ce qu'il ne va pas
Ah sacré papa
Dis-moi où es-tu caché ?
Ça doit, faire au moins mille fois que j'ai
Compté mes doigts

[Refrain] (x2)
Où t'es, papa où t'es ?
Où t'es, papa où t'es ?
Où t'es, papa où t'es ?
Où, t'es où, t'es où, papa où t'es ?

[Couplet 2]
Quoi, qu'on y croit ou pas
Y aura bien un jour où on y croira plus
Un jour ou l'autre on sera tous papa
Et d'un jour à l'autre on aura disparu
Serons-nous détestables ?
Serons-nous admirables ?
Des géniteurs ou des génies ?
Dites-nous qui donne naissance aux irresponsables ?
Ah dites-nous qui, tient,
Tout le monde sait comment on fait les bébés
Mais personne sait comment on fait des papas
Monsieur Je-sais-tout en aurait hérité, c'est ça
Faut l'sucer d'son pouce ou quoi ?
Dites-nous où c'est caché, ça doit
Faire au moins mille fois qu'on a, bouffé nos doigts

[Refrain]

[Outro] (X2)
Où est ton papa ?
Dis-moi où est ton papa ?
Sans même devoir lui parler
Il sait ce qui ne va pas
Ah sacré papa
Dis-moi où es-tu caché ?
Ça doit, faire au moins mille fois que j'ai
Compté mes doigts

[Refrain]

(Merci à Max F. pour cette paroles)

I Learned to Speak Four Languages in a Few Years: Here's How (lifehacker.com)

Lifehacker reader Gabriel Wyner was tasked with learning four languages in the past few years for his career as an opera singer, and in the process landed on "a pretty damn good method for language learning that you can do in limited amounts of spare time." Here's the four-step method that you can use, too (and you don't have to invest hundreds in a language course like Rosetta Stone).

 

This is the method I've used to learn four languages (Italian, German, French and now Russian); it's the method that got me to C1 fluency in French in about 5 months, and I'm currently using it with Russian (and plan on reaching C1 equivalent fluency by September).

I go in four stages. The stages will take different amounts of time for different languages and depend on how much time you have available per day, naturally. The US Foreign Service Institute makes estimates for language difficulties for native English speakers, and they seem to be spot on in terms of comparative difficulty—Russian seems to be taking twice as long as French did for me, and they estimate languages like Chinese to take twice as long as Russian. That being said, let's say we're talking about a language like French, and you have 30-60 minutes a day to spend on it, I've included estimates for how long each stage might take.

Stage 1: Learn the correct pronunciation of the language.

Time: 1-2 weeks (or longer for languages that have a new alphabet that will take some time to get comfortable with)

Starting with pronunciation first does a few things—because I'm first and foremost learning how to hear that language's sounds, my listening comprehension gets an immediate boost before I even start traditional language learning. Once I start vocabulary training, I retain it better because I'm familiar with how words should sound and how they should be spelled. (Correct spellings in French, for example, are much easier to remember when there's a connection between the spelling and the sound), and once I finally start speaking to native speakers, they don't switch to English for me or dumb down their language, which is awesome sauce.

If you're learning a language with a different alphabet, this is where you learn the phonetic alphabet(s) (Kana, for Japanese or Pinyin for Chinese, for example).

How do you learn pronunciation?

There are a few routes here, and a lot of excellent online and in-print resources (Pronunciation guides with CDs or mp3s are usually very good). Personally, I think it's worth the (short) time to learn the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for the English language first (Wikipedia / some video tutorials I've been producing), and then see what sounds are different in your target language. In the process of learning IPA, you learn the components of each vowel and consonant and you'll really understand what makes a French word sound French, and a Chinese word Chinese.

Stage 2: Vocabulary and grammar acquisition, no English allowed.

Time: About 3 months. This stage involves two different time commitments: building your vocabulary and grammar flashcards and reviewing the deck.

This stage takes advantage of a few valuable tricks:

First, I'm using Anki, a wonderful, free flashcard program that runs on smartphones and every computer platform. Anki is a spaced repetition system, which schedules reviews of flash cards based upon how often you've successfully remembered a card. In the end, it helps you put a huge number of facts in to your long-term memory very rapidly—you can typically learn 20-30 new words a day in about 30 minutes on your smartphone.

Second, I use a modified version of Middlebury College's famous language pledge—No English allowed! I use pictures and whatever limited vocabulary I have to build the rest of my vocabulary. By skipping the English, I'm practicing thinking in the language directly, and not translating every time I try to think of a word. This results in quicker learning and better vocabulary retention over time, and a much faster transition to comfortable fluency in the language.

Third, I'm using frequency lists to guide my vocabulary acquisition. These lists show the most common words in a given language, and learning those words first will be the best use of your time—after 1000 words, you'll know 70% of the words in any average text, and 2,000 words provides you with 80% text coverage. It's not enough for fluency, but it's a pretty phenomenal base!

Since I'm starting out with zero words, I have to go in a few steps:

• To save time, I start with a basic list of 400 words that are common in English and extremely easy to picture - things like man and woman, dog and cat, to run and to cook, etc. I find good (!) translations of these and put them in my Anki deck without any English - just the word and its picture.
• After those, I grab a frequency list and mark off any remaining words I can portray with pictures alone (basic nouns and verbs), and put them in my Anki deck. Once I have some words to play with, I start putting them together. I use Google translate (Exception to no English rule - just be careful there's no English in your Anki deck) and a grammar book to start making sentences, then get everything double-checked at lang-8.com before putting them into my Anki deck. Fill-in-the-blank flashcards let you drill your grammar and connecting words, and you can usually just type these straight into Anki from your grammar book.
• As vocab and grammar grow, I eventually move to monolingual (French - French, for example) dictionaries and writing my own definitions for more abstract words (again doublechecked at lang-8.com). This builds on itself; the more vocab and grammar you get, the more vocab and grammar concepts you can describe in the target language. Eventually you can cover all the words in a 2000 word frequency list as a foundation and add any specific vocab you need for your own interests.
• Most people's eventual goals (by, say, the end of stage 4) will be ~2000-6000 words, plus around 1000 grammar cards, depending on how far you want to go (Here, we're talking about words that are in your Anki deck - you'll pick up a bigger passive vocabulary from reading). As a very rough estimate, if you end up with ~5000 cards, it will take you a bit less than 6 months to learn them with Anki if you're doing 30 minutes a day (half that if you do 60 minutes/day).

Stage 3: Listening, writing and reading work

Time: This stage overlaps quite a bit with stage 2 and 4. Once you're comfortable reading or writing anything, usually a month or two into stage 2, you can start stage 3. Stages 3 and 4, the immersion part, combined took me about 7 fairly insane weeks where I spent any free time reading, watching TV, and writing.

Once I have a decent vocabulary and familiarity with grammar, I start writing essays, watching TV shows and reading books, and talking (at least to myself!) about the stuff I see and do. Every writing correction gets added to the Anki deck, which continues to build my vocab and grammar.

You should read and watch anything that's enjoyable to you—it's more about quantity than anything; I'm a big fan of the Harry Potter series in translation, and dubbed versions of the TV series 24 are insanely addictive and not that difficult to follow after the first few hours—you can literally spend all day in front of the TV, and it's actually productive! As for writing, you can (and should) write whatever you want—journals, opinions, what you did today, your grocery list, anything. The goal is to get something down on a page that you can submit to lang-8.com, get a correction, and put that correction into your Anki deck.

Stage 4: Speech

At the point where I can more or less talk (haltingly, but without too many grammar or vocab holes) and write about most familiar things, I find some place to immerse in the language and speak all the time (literally). No English allowed or else you won't learn the skill you're trying to learn, which is adapting to holes in your grammar or vocabulary by going around them rapidly and automatically without having to think about it). I prefer Middlebury college, but if you don't have 7 solid weeks where you can cut ties to the rest of the world and just speak the language, you'll still get a lot from even a couple of weeks in your target country as long as you stick to your target language and spend as much time as you can talking. There are internet exchanges and Skype videochats that will absolutely help you practice speaking, and if you surround yourself with foreign language TV and movies, read books and videochat with people frequently, you can sort of simulate the immersion experience on your own.

The more intense you can make it, the faster your brain will adapt and learn how to put all the info you learned in stages 1-3 together quickly enough to turn into comfortable, fluent speech.

Link: http://lifehacker.com/5903288/i-learned-to-speak-four-languages-in-a-few-years-heres-how

How Long Does it take to Become Fluent in French?

There are so many factors to consider when thinking about Fluency (hence, the 1,600 word article). First, I will present a "scale" of fluency, then we'll get into the details of how long and how difficult the road ahead would be. To start on the same page, almost everybody has a different idea of what that fluency means. Sadly, what most people consider "fluent", is really the definition of the word literate. Fluency is the ability to communicate (speak, read, write, listen, etc..) in French effortlessly and correctly... without extensive thought towards syntax. While literacy means the ability to communicate and be understood (however, it requires more conscious thought). You can gauge yourself from the fluency scale provided below:

Fluency Scale:
Beginner: (Tourist Class) 

Je n'aurais jamais cru que vous vouliez apprendre le français.

A beginner is limited with vocabulary and grammar. Beginners may know simple greetings and phrases (Hello, how are you? what's your name? how old are you? etc...). They also know numbers, can usually tell time, and talk about the weather. Beginners can ask simple questions about other people (small talk), and express a sense of like and dislike. They may be able to talk to natives with extreme difficulty, and often with aides such as a pocket dictionary or memorization of phrases. Understanding natives is also difficult for beginners in an everyday environment. If spoken to slowly and directly (with conscience effort from a native), a beginner may fair well. Beginners can typically read "everyday signs" such as "no parking", "no smoking", "keep left", etc... However, reading or writing long texts is difficult. An immersion situation would be difficult for a beginner.

Intermediate: (Survivor)
An intermediate language learner can construct phrases and statements. They can utilize phrases that deal with time, weather, location, desires, and dislikes with little to no difficulty. Intermediate speakers can use the present, past, and future tenses, however they still make errors. They can understand native speakers on certain topics, when spoken to directly. Intermediate learners can have simple transactions in shops, can order something to eat, and can use public transportation. They have sufficient vocabulary to deal with day to day topics, and can describe themselves (hobbies, backgrounds, personal experiences). These speakers can read familiar topics and get the gist about what occurs in a television show or film. Intermediate learners can survive in an immersion situation; however, they may still have difficulty understanding natives (and sometimes are hesitant to interact).

Advanced: (Skilled Survivor)
An advanced learner can understand normal forms of media (TV, films, radio, newspapers, music) with little trouble. They can maintain conversation with natives and even be a part of conversations within noisy environments (i.e, more than one speaker or literal background noise). These learners can construct many sentences correctly, and change with a conversation. They have no trouble with the present, past, future, conditional, and imperfect tenses. They may still have some trouble with the subjunctive, but can recognize its use. Advanced learners can use phrases like "that's difficult to answer" to buy time and formulate what to say. They can also keep track of "favorite mistakes" and monitor them from time to time, or correct themselves when a Native doesn't fully understand. Advanced learners can handle reading long, constructed French articles, books, directions, etc. with little difficulty. For example, read this "advanced-level" passage by Flaubert out loud and really test how much you know: Madame Bovary [extrait].

Advanced French learners can create short, clear narratives or compositions, and can debate a topic both on paper or by speech. They have a knack for picking up vocabulary within context, and know some specialized vocabulary for familiar topics. Advanced learners are confident with at least some aspects of their language, and can survive in an immersion situation with little to no difficulty. These speakers are technically "literate" and have the ability to communicate with Natives almost effortlessly.

Fluent: (Literate Individual)
A fluent learner can understand all forms of media, converse with natives, be understood, and figure out context with little to no difficulty. They can talk in vibrant situations and can express themselves with an advanced vocabulary. They understand a good amount of slang terms and idioms, and use them appropriately. They have a good accent (although it may not necessarily be native) and can understand some dialects. They are capable of reading long texts, sometimes having to look up a word or two at most. Fluent learners can express themselves in writing, where their language skills do not hold them back. A fluent speaker could live in an immersion setting, because they essentially have the tools to communicate with those around them on a daily basis.

Native: (Mother Tongue) 
The language is either your first, or you've been speaking it for the majority of your childhood. You understand vocabulary, you can make conversation effortlessly, and you can read and write. You do not have a "foreign" accent, and you can understand dialects. This language is yours.


Fluency depends on several factors. Living in an area where French is predominantly spoken and you can have a good handling of the language within a year or two, this situation is called immersion. If you aren't living in a Francophone area (such as France or Québec for example), then Fluency could take anywhere from 5 to 10 years, (or more!) depending on these other factors:

1. The age when you first started speaking French. The earlier it's introduced, the better.
2. How much effort and time you put into learning French. Practicing everyday versus weekly... taking formal classes, quality of said classes. Think about this, somebody who spends an hour a day should learn more than a person who commits an hour a week. 
3. How capable you are at learning another language. Some people just have a natural talent, or better methods of language learning. There are people out there who can easily speak four, five, or six different languages... then there are those who struggle at their mother tongue. 

Let me add that although age may slow down your language learning abilities or it may not hinder you at all. You are NEVER too young or too old to start a new language. Hell, I just started learning Italian to impress my Italian girlfriend and it's so similar to French. Some people might be starting French as their 2nd or 3rd romance language - they know the rules, the vocabulary is similar... it may be quite easy because they have the experience with understanding other languages.

Regardless, isn't Fluency just a title? I like to say I could speak both French and English... even though, I will gladly admit that I'm not fluent (I am ranked as a C1 French speaker, a.k.a between advanced and fluent, according to the guidelines utilized in Europe). Proficiency is a way for humans to try and quantitatively measure your language skills - certain levels of proficiency may be required or desired for certain employed positions. Otherwise, how do we know if Sophie is a better French Speaker than Jean?

How hard is it to become fluent in French? Well, let me say that it can be quite difficult at first. You literally go from gaining words and phrases (like a baby) to becoming a "French Adult" throughout the whole process. You may get frustrated. You may get impatient. You may get tired. You may quit. However, obviously I'll suggest that you stick with it! Trust me, eventually you'll have enough vocabulary that if you stumble upon a word you don't know then you can figure out the context. But, learning French is difficult... there are many nuances and differences to how the French language is setup as opposed to English. Thinking that the journey ahead is going to be easy would be foolish.

How long to be French fluent? If you're thinking "six months", then you have to wake up and smell the coffee. Practicing everyday is the best way to get better. Without living in a Francophone country and assuming you're taking formal classes, I would estimate that it'll take at least five years (recognize the at least part) to become "fluent". There are tons of n oun genders, verb conjugations, and pronunciation subtlties which need to be learned - let alone sentence construction and vocabulary... the French language isn't something you just breeze through. Now, if you want to be "conversational" or "literate" as discussed at the start of this article, an intermediate level can be obtainable at roughly one or two years of studying well. A beginner level can be obtained from anywhere between 3 to 6 months all the way to two years depending on how effective your learning is.

I would advise that if you don't have the time commitment to learning French, then you need to figure that out now. Let me add that learning isn't something that you just do and then stop; languages are constantly evolving, and there's always so much more to learn! If you're happy with just being able to communicate well, then  it's possible to do so within two years to three years. Being totally serious, I've been learning English all my life and there's still words out there that I don't know... To me, there's no time concern with learning French because I'm a French learner for life and you should be one too. 

If you're going to learn French in a half-ass fashion, then your French will always be substandard, that's just the reality. 

So yes, it is hard work; but I'm here to help. This website provides a  French Language Learning section and Online French Resources to advance in the right direction.

If you have any comments, I'd love to hear them below. 

**THE ESTIMATED TIME OF ACHIEVEMENT is for monolingual English speakers who plan on taking Formal French Classes while using some extra resources. Of course the times are approximate and vary depending on individual language acquisition, quality of the language course instruction, supplemental effort by the individual, amount of practicing etc...

Source:  http://www.frenchcrazy.com/2011/08/how-long-does-it-take-to-become-fluent.html

 Independent Speaker B1 Threshold or intermediate

Essential French - L'Essentiel

Learn basic French vocabulary and phrases.

  Even if you're just going to France for a week, you should know some survival French - a few essential words and phrases that you'll use over and over. This is a somewhat miscellaneous list of the basics, so be sure to follow the links at the end for even more essential French like "hello" and "please."

Je parle (un peu de) français
   I speak (a little) French.

Parlez-vous anglais ?
   Do you speak English?

Comment ?
   What?

Je ne comprends pas.
   I don't understand.

Que veut dire ___ ?
   What does ___ mean?

Répétez, s'il vous plaît.
   Repeat, please.

Plus lentement
   More slowly

Encore une fois
   One more time

Comment dit-on ___ en français ?
   How do you say ___ in French?


Je ne sais pas
   I don't know

J'ai une question
   I have a question

J'ai un problème
   I have a problem


oui     yes
non     no
si     yes (in reponse to a negative question)
d'accord     OK


et     and
ou     or


qui     who
quoi     what*
quand     when
où     where
pourquoi     why
comment     how

*Be careful, there are several ways to say "what" in French

Source:  http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/essentialfrench.htm

COLORS - LES COULEURS

Learn the French words for colors.

	masc sing.	fem sing.	masc plural	fem plural
purple	violet	violette	violets	violettes
blue	bleu	bleue	bleus	bleues
green	vert	verte	verts	vertes
yellow	jaune	jaune	jaunes	jaunes
orange	orange	orange	orange	orange
red	rouge	rouge	rouges	rouges
black	noir	noire	noirs	noires
white	blanc	blanche	blancs	blanches
grey	gris	grise	gris	grises
brown	marron	marron	marron	marron
pink	rose	rose	roses	roses
light blue	bleu clair	bleu clair	bleu clair	bleu clair
dark blue	bleu foncé	bleu foncé	bleu foncé	bleu foncé

The plurals of French colors are pronounced exactly like the singular ones. The sound files include the pronunciation of the masculine singular/plural adjective followed by the feminine singular/plural adjective. If there is only one word pronounced, it is because that color is pronounced exactly the same whether it is masculine or feminine, singular or plural.

Note that using the modifiers light (clair) or dark (foncé) makes the color invariable - it does not change to agree in gender or number: une chemise vert clair - light green shirt

Source:  http://french.about.com/library/begin/bl_colors.htm

French Introductions - Les Présentations

Learn how to introduce yourself and others in French

 When you meet French speakers, you need to know how to introduce yourself and what to say when you are introduced. Here are some useful expressions related to French introductions - click the links to listen to each expression in French.

Introducing yourself

   Je me présente.
   Let me introduce myself.

   Je m'appelle...
   My name is...

   Je suis...
   I am...

   Mon prénom est...
   My (first) name is...


Introducing others

   Je vous présente... (formal and/or plural)
   Je te présente... (informal)
   I'd like to introduce...

   Voici...
   This is...

   Il s'appelle...
   His name is...

   Elle s'appelle...
   Her name is...


Meeting people

   Comment vous appelez-vous ? (formal and/or plural)
   Comment t'appelles-tu ? (informal)
   What is your name?

   Enchanté / Enchantée.
   It's nice to meet you.


Practice!

   Quiz on introductions

   Listening exercise: Greetings and introductions


French words to watch out for

   prénom - first name, given name

   nom - last name, family name, surname

   surnom - nickname

   introduire - to insert. Don't use this French verb when talking about introducing one person to another - it's a false cognate. The correct verb when making introductions in French is présenter.

 Source:  http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/introductions.htm

Politeness - French Phrases

When traveling in France, being polite is absolutely essential - be sure you know how to say "please" and "thank you" at the very least. Click any link to hear that word pronounced.

please
   s'il vous plaît (plural or formal)
   s'il te plaît (singular and familiar)*

please + verb (for example, "please excuse me")
   veuillez + infinitive (veuillez m'excuser)

thank you
   merci

thank you very much
   merci beaucoup
   merci bien

bless you! (thank you so much)
   mille fois merci

More ways to express gratitude


you're welcome
   de rien

it was my pleasure
   je vous en prie (plural or formal)
   je t'en prie (singular and familiar)*

don't mention it
   pas de quoi


pardon me, I beg your pardon
   pardon

excuse me
   excusez-moi

I'm sorry to disturb/bother you
   Excusez-moi de vous déranger

I'm sorry
   je suis désolé(e)


cheers
   à votre santé (plural or formal)
   à ta santé (singular and familiar)*

enjoy your meal
   bon appétit !


bless you (after a sneeze - learn more)
   à vos souhaits (plural or formal)
   à tes souhaits (singular and familiar)*


Sir, Mr.
   Monsieur

Ma'am, Mrs.
   Madame

Miss
   Mademoiselle   (learn more)


*Not sure which one to use? See my lesson on tu vs vous

Source: http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/politeness.htm

French Greetings - Les Salutations

 

French Greetings - Hello in French

 

Lesson | Quiz

Learning to greet people is an essential part of learning a new language. Whether you're planning to continue learning French or just learn a few basics in preparation for a trip, these French greetings can help you on your way. Click the links to hear the word or phrase pronounced in French.

The basic French greeting is bonjour, which can mean hello, good morning, or good afternoon. When greeting someone in the evening (beginning around 6pm), say bonsoir.

To greet someone informally at any time of day, you can say salut, meaning hi.

French greeting tips

You should always greet people by saying one of the above. In some countries, it's acceptable to greet a salesclerk, for example, with just a smile, but not in France - always start out with a polite bonjour. Even when entering a waiting room or boarding a bus, the French will mutter bonjour as a general greeting to everyone within earshot.

In addition, if you know the person or are being introduced, you're also expected to either faire la bise (kiss cheeks) or se serrer la main (shake hands). When arriving at work or school, this means you should go around the room and individually greet each person.

Don't ever greet people by saying "bon matin" or "bon après-midi" - the first is incorrect and the second can only be used as a good-bye -

French Greetings - How are you? in French

 

Lesson | Quiz

Exchanging pleasantries about one's health is typical when greeting someone. There are several ways to ask how someone is, and which one to use depends on whether you want to be formal or informal.*

Formal

Asking
Whether talking to one person or more than one, ask Comment allez-vous ? (How are you?)

Answering
   Je vais bien   (I'm fine)
   Bien, merci   (Fine, thanks)
   Bien, et vous ?   (Fine, and you?)

Informal

Asking
The most common question is Ça va ? (literally, Is it going?), and it has variations:
   Ça va bien ?   (Is it going well?)
   Comment ça va ?   (How's it going?)

If you're just talking to one person, you can also ask Comment vas-tu ?

Answering
   Ça va   (Fine)
   Ça va bien   (I'm doing well)
   Pas mal   (Not bad)
   Bien, et toi ?   (Fine, and you?)
   Je vais bien   (I'm fine)

Learn more about ça va and pas mal

Familiar

Asking
   Quoi de neuf ?   (What's new?)

Answering
   Rien de nouveau   (nothing's new)
   Pas grand-chose   (not much)


*If you don't understand what formal, informal, and familiar mean here, please see my lesson on Tu vs Vous.

French Greetings - Good-bye in French

 

Lesson | Quiz

Parting doesn't have to be sweet sorrow. Learn the different ways to say "good-bye" depending on what exactly you mean.

Au revoir    (Good-bye)
Salut    (Bye)

À bientôt , À tout à l'heure   (See you soon)
À plus , À plus tard   (See you later)
   (pronunciation of plus)
À demain    (See you tomorrow)
À la prochaine    (Until next time)
À la rentrée    (See you in the fall)

Bonne journée    (Have a nice day)
Bon après-midi    (Have a nice afternoon)
Bonne soirée    (Have a nice evening)
Bonne nuit    (Good night)

Adieu    (Farewell)

Source: http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/ss/greetings.htm