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Blameless French Expression
| Meaning | It has nothing to do with me, I’ve got nothing to do with it | |
| Literally | I’m not there for anything | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[zheu nee swee poor rye(n)] |
| IPA | [ʒə ni sɥi pu rjɛ̃] | |
Usage notes: When you’re innocent of a crime or uninvolved in some shady affair, you want people to know it, and you can do so with the French expression je n’y suis pour rien, in the present or imperfect.
Par exemple…
| C’est toi qui as oublié de payer la facture – je n’y suis pour rien ! | You’re the one who forgot to pay the bill – I had nothing to do with it! | |
| Je travaillais au moment du vol, évidemment je n’y étais pour rien. | I was working at the time of the theft, obviously I had nothing to do with it. |
Of course, you can also use this expression with other subjects and their être conjugations:
Par exemple…
- Tu n’y es pour rien ? – You have nothing to do with it?
- Guillaume n’y est pour rien. – Guillaume has nothing to do with it.
- Mes chiens n’y étaient pour rien. – My dogs had nothing to do with it.
etc.
Informally, ne is dropped and this expression is pronounced j’y suis pour rien – learn more.
Synonymous expression: rien à voir
Similar (but not synonymous) expression: je n’y peux rien
Related lessons
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