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Imagine you’re sitting at a café in Montmartre and your French friend asks you if you’d like to go for a walk. You don’t really feel like it and would
rather relax, so you say “non”.
You did express what you wanted to express, but it sounds a bit harsh, doesn’t it?
Now imagine what it would be like if you could say “not now”, “so so” or “not really”. You would sound much more natural, wouldn’t you?
That’s why after discovering 21 ways to say yes in French, you’ll now discover 13 ways to say “no” in French.
Contents
1 The traditional “no”
2 That’ll be all
3 No way
4 Never
5 i’m just looking
6 The impossible “no”
7 Not yet
8 The contradictory “no”
9 Not at all
10 Not really
11 Later
12 Unfortunately not
13 The disappointed “no”
14 What’s your favorite way to say “no” in French?
That’ll be all
When you buy something at the bakery or order a meal at a restaurant, the waiter or seller is likely to ask you if you’d like something else.
If you do want something else, you simply need to say what it is you want. But what if you don’t want anything else?
In this case, you can answer “ça sera tout”.
Vous prendrez une boisson avec ça ?
Non merci, ça sera tout.
Will you take a drink with that?
No thanks, that’ll be all.
No way
Sometimes people ask you something so crazy you immediately know the answer is “no”. In this situation you can use:
Pas question (no way)
Hors de question (out of the question)
Absolument pas (absolutely not)
Oublie (forget it)
Est-ce que tu peux me prêter 2000 euros ?
Oublie !
Can you lend me 2,000 euros?
Forget it!
Never
If you want to say you’ll never do or never did something, you can use “jamais”.
T’as déjà été en Autriche ?
Non jamais.
Have you ever been to Austria?
No never.
Not yet
If you’re supposed to do something, but didn’t do it yet or know that a movie your friend wants to watch wasn’t released yet, you can use “pas
encore”.
T’as vu le film dont je t’ai parlé ?
Pas encore.
Did you see the movie I talked to you about?
Not yet.
Not at all
If you don’t like something at all, you can use “pas du tout”.
Est-ce que vous aimez ce type de fleurs ?
Pas du tout !
Do you like this kind of flowers?
Not at all!
Not really
When someones asks you how you are doing in French, you don’t necessarily have to say “yes”. You can also say “pas vraiment” (not really).
You could also use it to say you don’t really feel like doing something.
Salut Antoine ! ça va ?
Pas vraiment.
Hi Antoine! Is everything ok?
Not really.
Later
If I ask you if you want a pizza right after you ate, you’re likely to say “non”. Not because, you hate pizza, but because you’re full and would
rather eat later.
In this situation, you can use “pas maintenant” (not now) or even “plus tard” (later).
ça te tente de manger une pizza ?
Pas maintenant.
Do you feel like eating a pizza?
Not now.
Unfortunately not
This is a way to say “non” companies love. They often use it to politely decline requests while pretending they really wished they could help you.
Est-ce que je peux obtenir un remboursement ?
Malheureusement pas.
Can I get a refund?
Unfortunately not.