 |
|
| Share / Tweet / Pin Me! | |
Informal French Expression
| Meaning | No way, I don’t believe it, You’re kidding | |
| Literally | That’s not true | |
| Register | informal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[say pah vreh] |
| IPA | [se pa vrɛ] | |
Usage notes: The French expression ce n’est pas vrai literally means "it / this / that isn’t true" (and is the grammatically correct way to say it).
Par exemple…
| Céline m’a dit que tu étais déjà parti, mais je vois que ce n’est pas vrai. | Céline told me you’d already left, but I see that’s not true. | |
| Ce n’est pas vrai qu’elle parle japonais. | It’s not true that she speaks Japanese. |
Informally, c’est pas vrai (with typical informal negation) is used as interjection of surprise or disbelief.
| – Nicholas et Marie-Lise vont divorcer. – C’est pas vrai ! |
– Nicholas and Marie-Lise are going to get divorced. – No way! |
|
| – Ah mince, j’ai oublié mon portefeuille. – C’est pas vrai ! |
– Oh darn it, I forgot my wallet. – You’re kidding! |
Somewhat synonymous: Je n’en reviens pas – "I can’t get over it"
Related lessons
Share / Tweet / Pin Me!
This free website is created with love and a great deal of work. If you love it, please consider making a 
The mountain of French verb conjugations you have to learn can be overwhelming – even just in the classroom where you have plenty of time to think about the correct response. Once you start talking to people in the real world, trying to figure out the appropriate verb conjugation can leave you speechless – literally. So what’s the solution? Learn, then practice, practice, practice!
Inverting subjects and verbs is easy enough – vous voyez => voyez-vous, but where do object, adverbial, and reflexive pronouns go? And what about negation? Take a look at this lesson to learn about all the possibilities.
Magnetic poetry is a fun little tool you can use to learn and practice French. 500 magnets with words and parts of words help you to express yourself in a unique and creative way.