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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! |
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| – 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"
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