How do you say "I wish you a good day." in French?

"I wish you a good day." in French is "Je vous souhaite une bonne journée.". This phrase is commonly used in France.

🌞🙂

How to Say ‘I wish you a good day.’ in French

Q: What does "Je vous souhaite une bonne journée." mean in English?

"Je vous souhaite une bonne journée." means "I wish you a good day." in English. Usage tip: [Je vous souhaite...] is a handy pattern for polite wishes: swap the ending to make new ones, like [Je vous souhaite bon courage] or [Je vous souhaite de bonnes vacances].

Je vous souhaite une bonne journée.

zhuh voo soo-et ewn bun zhoor-nay

[zhuh voo soo-et ewn bun zhoor-nay]

💬 Usage Tip: [Je vous souhaite...] is a handy pattern for polite wishes: swap the ending to make new ones, like [Je vous souhaite bon courage] or [Je vous souhaite de bonnes vacances].

🇫🇷 In France: This is polite and a bit more formal than what most parents say at the school gate. It works well with teachers or staff; with other parents, a simpler [Bonne journée !] is more usual.

Phrase Breakdown

Je vous souhaite

zhuh voo soo-et

I wish you

Polite expression used to wish something to someone.

Example

Je vous souhaite bon courage.

I wish you courage / good luck.

Words in this phrase

[zhuh]

Subject pronoun meaning I. Here it starts a polite well-wishing sentence.

Example

Je vous souhaite une bonne journée avant de partir.

I wish you a good day before leaving.

vous

[voo]

you

Object pronoun meaning you. Here it is the polite or plural form used in a courteous expression.

Example

Je vous souhaite une bonne journée, madame.

I wish you a good day, madam.

souhaite

[soo-et]

wish

From souhaiter, meaning to wish. In this sentence it means I wish you.

Example

Je vous souhaite une bonne journée avec le sourire.

I wish you a good day with a smile.

Une bonne journée

ewn bun zhoor-nay

a good day

Common polite phrase used when parting.

Example

Bonne journée !

Have a nice day!

Words in this phrase

une

[ewn]

Feminine singular indefinite article, meaning a or an.

Example

Je vous souhaite une bonne journée à l'école.

I wish you a good day at school.

bonne

[bun]

good

Feminine form of bon, meaning good. It agrees with journée, which is feminine.

Example

Je vous souhaite une bonne journée malgré la pluie.

I wish you a good day despite the rain.

journée

[zhoor-nay]

day

Journée means day, often focusing on the experience or duration of the day.

Example

Je vous souhaite une bonne journée et bon courage.

I wish you a good day and good luck.

Guides for French learners

“Do You Speak English?” in French, and What to Say When You Don't Speak FrenchHow to say “do you speak English?” in French politely, what you'll hear back, and the phrases for “I don't speak French” and “can you repeat that?”, with audio.The Best App to Learn French: An Honest ComparisonDuolingo, Babbel, Pimsleur, Busuu, italki and PrettyFluent compared for learning French: what each is best at, how you pay, and which fits your goal.

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