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Essential French Expression
| Meaning | of course | |
| Literally | very sure | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[byeh(n) sur] |
| IPA | [bjɛ̃ syʀ] | |
Usage notes: When you want to say "of course," the French expression you usually need is bien sûr. It’s most commonly used in response to a question or statement.
Par exemple…
| – Tu aimes ton nouveau petit frère ? – Bien sûr ! |
– Do you love your new baby brother? – Of course! |
|
| – Patientez, s’il vous plaît. – Bien sûr. |
– Please wait. – Of course. |
In addition, bien sûr can be used to join two clauses or ideas:
Par exemple…
| Je cherche un architecte ; il doit bien sûr pouvoir commencer cette semaine. | I’m looking for an architect; of course, he’ll have to be able to start this week. | |
| Viens dîner chez nous ce soir, tu peux bien sûr amener ton copain. | Come have dinner at our house tonight; and of course you can bring your boyfriend. |
Bien sûr can also be used ironically:
Par exemple…
| Je m’étais enfermé dehors, et bien sûr la pile de mon portable était à plat. | I’d locked myself out, and of course my cellphone battery was dead. | |
| Le film commence dans cinq minutes, et Thomas n’est pas encore là, bien sûr. | The movie starts in five minutes, and of course Thomas isn’t even here yet. |
Bien sûr can be emphasized with que oui, or negated with que non.
Par exemple…
| – Tu aimes la vue ? – Bien sûr que oui. |
– Do you like the view? – I certainly do. |
|
| – Ne veux-tu pas sortir ? – Bien sûr que non. |
– Don’t you want to go out? – Of course not. |
Bien sûr can also be used with que in front of a subordinate clause:
Par exemple…
| Bien sûr que tu viens avec nous. | Of course you’re coming with us. | |
| Bien sûr qu’il a réussi à l’examen. | Of course he passed the test. |
Synonyms
- assurément – assuredly, most certainly
- bien entendu – of course, certainly
- certainement – certainly
- certes – certainly, admittedly, of course
- en effet – indeed
- évidemment – obviously
- forcément – necessarily, inevitably
- naturellement – naturally, of course
- sûrement – surely
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