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Informal French Expression
| Meaning | It’s not cheap | |
| Literally | It’s not given (away for free) | |
| Register | informal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[say pah duh nay] |
| IPA | [se pa dɔ ne] | |
Usage notes: C’est pas donné* is an understated way of saying that something is expensive.
Par exemple…
| Vivre à Paris, c’est pas donné. | Living in Paris isn’t cheap. | |
| 500 € pour ça ? C’est pas donné ! | €500 for that? Pricy! |
Variation
- ce n’est pas donné*
Synonyms
- cher
- coûteux
- élevé
- raide
Antonyms
- bon marché
- pas cher
Confusingly, c’est pas donné can also mean "it’s not easy." In this case, it’s shortened from the expression Ce n’est pas donné à tout le monde, meaning "Not everyone can do it, It’s not that easy to do." A synonym for this expression is c’est pas gagné.
* It’s very common for the ne in ne … pas to be dropped in informal French.
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