Non Expressions

	Share / Tweet / Pin Me!

Negative French Phrases

The French word non means “no,” and is found in many expressions, including of course not, point-blank, and secrets. Learn these and other French expressions featuring non.

bah non	(informal)	well, no
ben non	(informal)	well, non
bien sûr que non		of course not
eh non		I’m afraid not
une fin de non-recevoir		point-blank
Il faut manger pour vivre et non pas vivre pour manger.		You have to eat to live and not live to eat.
je crois que non		I don’t think so
je ne dis pas non		I wouldn’t say no
mais non		of course not
moi non		not me, I don’t
moi non plus		me neither, neither do I
ne dire ni oui ni non		to not answer, to abstain
les non-dits		secrets
non et non !		absolutely not!
non-fumeur	(adjective)	non-smoking
non-initié	(adjective)	lay, uninformed
les non l’emportent	(voting)	the nays have it
non plus		neither, not (that) either
non que + subjunctive		not that …
nul et non avenu	(adjective)	invalid, null and void
… oui ou non ?	(exasperated)	… yes or no?
pleurer pour un oui ou pour un non		to cry over the slightest thing
le point de non-retour		the point of no return
que non !		absolutely not!
répondre par oui ou par non		to answer yes or no

 Related lessons

• Synonyms for non
• Synonyms for oui
• Asking questions
• Answering questions

 Share / Tweet / Pin Me!