French · Greetings & Essentials

"See you soon" in French: à bientôt

à bientôt

Say it: ah byan-TOHphrase/a bjɛ̃.to/

See you soon in French is à bientôt. It is warm and open-ended when you expect to meet again soon. À plus is more casual ; au revoir is the general goodbye.

Leaving a café

Merci pour le café. À bientôt !
Thanks for the coffee. See you soon!
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How to pronounce à bientôt

Say it

ah byan-TOH

/a bjɛ̃.to/

Ah byan-TOH. Bien has a nasal, and tôt sounds like toh. Say it as one smooth phrase.

"See you soon" in French: quick reference

FrenchEnglish
à bientôtsee you soon

Friendly goodbye.

à tout bientôtsee you very soon

Stronger soon.

à plussee you

Very casual.

au revoirgoodbye

Neutral farewell.

How to use à bientôt in real life

  1. 1Leaving a café

    Merci pour le café. À bientôt !

    Thanks for the coffee. See you soon!

    Classic exit line.

  2. 2Ending a call

    Je te rappelle demain. À bientôt.

    I'll call you back tomorrow. See you soon.

    Works on the phone.

  3. 3After class

    Bon cours. À bientôt la semaine prochaine.

    Good class. See you soon next week.

    You can add a time hint.

Mistakes English speakers make with à bientôt

Incorrect: À bientôt hier.

Correct: À bientôt ! / À la prochaine.

À bientôt looks forward, not back to yesterday.

Incorrect: Au bientôt.

Correct: À bientôt.

The set phrase is à bientôt, not au bientôt.

Good to know

French goodbyes stack easily : merci, bonne journée, à bientôt. In shops, staff may say à bientôt even if they may never see you again—it stays polite.

Try it in a ChatPal conversation

Parting after lunch with a friend

  1. ChatPal

    Allez, à bientôt. Grosse bise.

    Okay, see you soon. Big kiss.

  2. You

    À bientôt ! Message-moi ce soir.

    See you soon! Message me tonight.

  3. ChatPal

    Oui. À bientôt devant le cinéma.

    Yes. See you soon in front of the cinema.

  4. You

    Super, j'ai hâte.

    Great, I can't wait.

This is a sample. In ChatPal you have this conversation out loud and get feedback on what you say.

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"See you soon" in other languages

FAQ

Common questions about "See you soon" in French

Is à bientôt formal?

It is friendly and fine with most people. Use au revoir if you want more distance.

What is à plus?

A casual see-you, short for à plus tard.

Can I write a+

Yes in texts for à plus; keep à bientôt written out.

How do you pronounce à bientôt?

Ah byan-TOH.

Learn a word, then use it out loud

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  4. Step 4: Use it in real scenarios

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