Ça ne fait rien


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Informal French Expression

Meaning	it doesn’t matter, never mind, that’s ok
Literally	that does nothing
Register	informal
Pronunciation		[sah neu fay ryeh(n)]
IPA		[sa nə fe rjɛ̃]

Usage notes: Ça ne fait rien is an informal expression you can use to dismiss a topic or respond to an apology.

Par exemple…

– Je n’ai pas assez de liquide. – Ça ne fait rien, je t’invite.		– I don’t have enough cash. – It doesn’t matter, my treat.
– Excuse-moi, j’ai oublié de te téléphoner hier. – Ça ne fait rien.		– Sorry, I forgot to call you yesterday. – No problem.
La conclusion est un peu vague, mais ça ne fait rien.		The conclusion is a little vague, but that’s ok.

Ça ne fait rien si asks for confirmation that something is acceptable:

Par exemple…

Ça ne fait rien si on finit cette discussion demain ?

Is it ok if we finish this conversation tomorrow?

Synomyms: see the list at ce n’est pas grave

En anglais

World War I soldiers anglicized ça ne fait rien (not "sans fait rien" which has no meaning in French) to "San fairy Ann," which became a catchphrase they used throughout the war and took back to Britain afterwards. It was part of the common vernacular for several decades, and can still be heard today.

Variations

San fairy Ann / Anne / Anna / Aunt
Sanfairyann
San ferry Ann / Anne / Anna / Aunt
Send for Mary Ann
Sally fair Ann
Aunt Mary Ann
Sandbag Mary Ann

Sylva Norman in Time & Tide Business World, 1933 mentions a "less obvious … connection of ‘Sweet Fanny Adams’ meaning ‘nothing,’ with a woman who was murdered and cut up in 1812" but since that was a century before the war, I’d say there’s no connection at all, other than the shared initials.

There are other expressions that were deformed when imported into English: 6 garbled French expressions.