Prochainement or bientôt: announcements, plans and “see you soon”
Compare prochainement and bientôt in announcements, friendly plans and past stories. Practise choosing the tone and separating soon from almost.
In short
Bientôt is the everyday word for “soon”: Je reviens bientôt. Prochainement often presents an upcoming event or announcement: Le programme sera publié prochainement. Both leave the exact date open.
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What is the difference between prochainement and bientôt?
bientôtsoon
Focus: an ordinary plan or expectation
bientôt + verb, or after the verb
Le programme sera bientôt disponible.
The programme will be available soon.
On pourra bientôt réserver.
We’ll soon be able to book.
prochainementsoon; coming soon
Focus: an upcoming development, often in an announcement
verb + prochainement
Le programme sera disponible prochainement.
The programme will be available soon.
Les réservations ouvriront prochainement.
Bookings will open soon.
Both programme sentences work. Bientôt sounds easy and everyday; prochainement suits an announcement to readers. You can also put bientôt in a public notice. The choice concerns tone, while a date such as le 8 juin supplies the actual schedule.
- Annonce
Le programme de juin sera publié prochainement.
The June programme will be published soon.
- Maya
Tu sais quand on pourra réserver ?
Do you know when we’ll be able to book?
- Léa
Bientôt, j’espère. Je te préviens dès que les dates sont annoncées.
Soon, I hope. I’ll let you know as soon as the dates are announced.
- Maya
D’accord. À bientôt !
OK. See you soon!
Three useful uses of bientôt
| French | English | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| Je reviens bientôt. | I’ll be back soon. | A present verb can refer to a planned return. |
| À bientôt ! | See you soon! | A friendly farewell; use this fixed expression. |
| Elle allait bientôt comprendre. | She was soon going to understand. | Soon is measured from that moment in the past. |
For a farewell, choose À bientôt ! A message ending À prochainement ! sounds unusual. For a past story, the tense gives the viewpoint: Elle ne connaissait pas encore la réponse. Elle allait bientôt la découvrir. The discovery comes after that moment in the story.
What is the difference between bientôt and presque?
C’est presque terminé.It’s almost finished.
Focus: how far the work has progressed
Le texte est presque terminé : il manque le titre.
The text is almost finished: the title is missing.
Ce sera bientôt terminé.It will be finished soon.
Focus: when completion is expected
Je viens de commencer, mais ce sera bientôt terminé.
I’ve just started, but it will be finished soon.