Greetings are very important throughout the world and are an important part of Swiss culture. Switzerland has four official languages (French, German, Italian and Romansh) with four slightly different variations of Swiss culture. Today I’m sharing some typical greetings and farewells from the French speaking areas.
The Swiss are generally a polite nation and if you are greeted with a “Bonjour” (Good day) you may often find that the conversation won’t continue until you reciprocate with exactly the same greeting. They will patiently wait for your “Bonjour” to follow before moving on to the matter at hand, whatever that may be. Greetings aside, I truly believe the Swiss are incapable of parting a conversation without wishing the person a “good” something or other. Sometimes I wonder if the farewell is actually more important than the greeting!
Here are a few examples of greetings and farewells, most of which you could expect to hear on a daily basis in the French speaking areas of Switzerland.
Bon réveil – Enjoy waking up/Good awakening/Good morning
Bonjour – Good day
Bon journée – Goodbye/Have a good day
Bon matin – Good morning
Bon fin de matinée – Have a good morning (end of morning)
Bon après midi – Good afternoon
Bon fin d’après-midi – Have a good afternoon (end of)
Bon fin de journée – Good afternoon/Have a good end of the day
Bon appétit – Enjoy your meal
Bonsoir – Goodbye/Good evening
Bonne soirée – Goodbye/Good evening/Have a good evening
Bonne fin de soirée – Have a good evening
Bonne nuit – Goodnight
Bon weekend – Have a good weekend
Bonne fin de weekend – Enjoy/Have a good end of the weekend
Bonne fin de semaine – Enjoy/Have a good end of the week
Bon samedi – Enjoy your Saturday/Have a good Saturday
Bon dimanche – Enjoy your Sunday/Have a good Sunday
Bonne fête – Enjoy the holiday (public)/Happy holiday/Happy party/Happy birthday)
Bonne vacances – Have a good holiday
And sometimes (it’s one of my favourites) …
Bonne continuation – Continue to enjoy whatever you’re doing now!
Phew! 21 in total and there may be more!
Another very important cardinal code of politeness requires us to add the title of the person we are greeting when addressing someone unknown, particularly an older person or someone to whom we must show respect. This applies not only in formal situations but in many day to day situations such as passing a person in a village street, or while hiking. You are expected to make eye contact and offer a greeting. If it is offered to you first, then you are expected to reciprocate. The “Bonjour” should always be followed by “Monsieur/Madame/Mademoiselle”. Not doing so is considered highly impolite by the locals. So although Switzerland is made up of 26 cantons, and traditions and customs may vary between them, greetings and farewells are extremely important. Oh and just don’t let a Swiss catch you cutting a potato with a knife, be sure to use your fork instead :) but more about that another time!
Julia Esteve
The Etiquette Consultant