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Essential French Expression
| Meaning | no problem, it’s OK, it doesn’t matter, don’t worry about it | |
| Literally | it’s not serious | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation | [s(eu) neh pah grahv] | |
| IPA | [sə nɛ pa gʀav] | |
Usage notes: Ce n’est pas grave is a very common French expression used to shrug off something that was said or done. It can acknowledge an apology, minimize a problem, or proclaim one’s wellness after a mishap. Informally, it’s reduced to c’est pas grave (learn more) or even just pas grave.
Par exemple…
| Ce n’est pas grave, on peut attendre qu’ils s’en aillent. | No problem, we can wait for them to move. | |
| – J’ai perdu ton stylo. – Ce n’est pas grave, j’en ai d’autres. | – I lost your pen. – No problem, I have others. | |
| – Oh, pardon, je ne t’avais pas vu ! – C’est pas grave. | – Oh, sorry, I didn’t see you! – It’s OK, no worries. |
Texting abbreviation: CPG
Synonymous expressions
- cela ne fait / présente aucune difficulté – it’s ok
- il n’y a aucun mal – no harm done
- peu importe – it doesn’t really matter
- tout va bien – it’s ok (literally, “everything is going well”)
Informal - à l’aise ! – no prob! (literally, “easily”)
- ça ne fait rien – it doesn’t matter (literally, "that does nothing")
- ça va – it’s ok
- ce n’est pas (c’est pas) grand-chose – it’s not a big deal
- pas de problème – no problem
- pas de souci – no worries
- y a pas de lézard ! – no prob! (literally, “there’s no lizard”)
Formal - qu’à cela ne tienne – that is not a problem (literally, “upon that may it not depend”)
Related lessons
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