Greetings and politeness

This list comes first because it holds the only thing you really need on day one: greeting somebody, thanking them, asking for something and saying you did not understand. French is more formal about it than English. bonjour belongs at the start of every exchange, including with a shop assistant, and leaving it out does not make you quiet, it makes you rude. Near the end of the list is voilà, a word English has borrowed and shrunk. We keep it for a flourish — « and voilà! » when a trick comes off. In French it is an ordinary pointing word used all day long: voilà votre café as the cup is set down, le voilà when somebody appears, voilà pourquoi to introduce a reason. It is vois là, « see there », and it points.