How to Say See You Later in French (À Plus, À Bientôt)

French doesn’t have one “see you later” — it has a little family of them, and each one quietly encodes when you expect to see the person again. Say the wrong one and you’ve promised to meet in five minutes when you meant next month. The three you’ll use most are à plus (casual, open-ended), à tout à l’heure (later today), and à bientôt (soon-ish, no fixed time). Getting the timing right is the whole game.

The main ways to say it

À plus — pronounced ah PLEUSS (the s is pronounced here, unusually).

À tout à l’heure — pronounced ah-too-tah-LEUR.

À bientôt — pronounced ah byan-TOH.

Pronunciation notes worth knowing:

• In à plus, the final s is voiced — ah PLUSS — when it’s a casual goodbye. Confusingly, in à plus tard the s of plus goes silent (ah plew TAHR). French plus is a chameleon like that.
• À bientôt has a nasal -en (byan) and a nasal -on pushed toward “oh.” Keep both airy.
• The written à with the grave accent is just the preposition “to/at” — it starts nearly every French goodbye of this type.

Which one, when

• À tout à l’heure — you’ll see them again the same day. Often shortened in speech to *à tout’ *.
• À plus tard — “see you later,” genuinely later today or soon; neutral and safe.
• À plus — the texting/casual clip of à plus tard. Friends, chats, offhand goodbyes.
• À bientôt — “see you soon,” warm but with no set time. Great for ending a friendly message.
• À demain — “see you tomorrow” (literally). Same pattern: à + [when].
• À la prochaine — “till next time,” casual and friendly.

Notice the logic: à + a time word = a goodbye promising that timeframe. Once you see the pattern, you can build your own: à ce soir (see you tonight), à lundi (see you Monday), à la semaine prochaine (see you next week).

Hear it in context

Leaving the office, back soon (casual):

— Je file déjeuner, à tout à l’heure ! — Ok, à plus. Ramène-moi un café si tu peux. — Ça marche !

I’m off to lunch, see you in a bit! — Ok, see you. Grab me a coffee if you can. — Will do!

Ending a message with a friend (warm, no fixed time):

— C’était super de te voir. On se refait ça vite. — Carrément ! À bientôt, bises. — À bientôt !

It was great seeing you. Let’s do it again soon. — Absolutely! See you soon, kisses. — See you soon!

Common mistakes

• Saying à tout à l’heure when you won’t see them today. It specifically means later today. If there’s no plan to meet again soon, à bientôt or à la prochaine is the honest choice.
• Pronouncing the s in à plus tard. Here it’s silent: ah plew TAHR. But in the standalone à plus, you do say it. Yes, it’s inconsistent.
• Treating à bientôt as a firm plan. It’s the friendly, vague “see you soon” — like “let’s catch up sometime,” not an appointment.
• Overusing au revoir with friends. Au revoir is the neutral “goodbye,” never wrong, but among friends the à + time goodbyes feel warmer and more natural.
• Forgetting salut can also mean bye. Among friends, salut works as both hello and a casual goodbye.

A Parisian note

In Paris, the goodbye is rarely just words — it’s paired with la bise, the cheek kisses (two in Paris, one on each side). Friends part with “Allez, à bientôt !” and a quick brush of cheeks; colleagues might just wave a “Bonne soirée, à demain.” Text-message French leans hard on à plus, often abbreviated to A+ — you’ll see it constantly in messages and comments. And Parisians love stacking the closing ritual: “Bon, allez, je file — à plus, bonne journée, bises !” The pile-up isn’t padding; it’s the warmth.

Related phrases

• How to say good night in French — for the à ce soir goodbyes that turn into bonne nuit.
• How to say nice to meet you in French — the greeting bookend to all these goodbyes.
• See the whole hello-to-goodbye toolkit in our guide to common French phrases.

FAQ

What’s the difference between “à plus” and “à bientôt”? À plus (short for à plus tard) means “see you later,” fairly soon and casual. À bientôt means “see you soon” — warmer but vaguer, with no implied timeframe. Both are friendly; à plus is the more offhand of the two.

Do you pronounce the “s” in “à plus”? In the standalone casual goodbye à plus, yes — say “ah PLUSS.” But in the fuller à plus tard, the s goes silent: “ah plew TAHR.” It’s one of French’s quirky exceptions.

What does “à tout à l’heure” mean exactly? “See you in a little while” — specifically later the same day. Don’t use it if you won’t see the person again today; reach for à bientôt instead.

Is “à plus” too informal for work? With close colleagues it’s fine. In more formal or hierarchical settings, à tout à l’heure, à demain, or a simple au revoir is safer.

How do the French say “see you later” in a text? Usually à plus, often shortened to A+. You’ll also see à toute (clipped à tout à l’heure) and à + with the plus sign.