Controversial French Expression
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| Meaning | on the other hand, whereas, but | |
| Literally | by against | |
| Register | normal, informal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[par ko(n)tr] |
| IPA | [paʀ kɔ̃tr] | |
Usage notes: While French experts disagree* on how and when to use the French expression par contre, no one can deny that it’s very common in spoken French.
The generally accepted usage is to contrast two related statements or ideas, the second of which weakens or ruins the first.
Par exemple…
| Chouette, il y a déjà trois réponses à mon article ! Par contre, elles sont négatives. | Yay, there are already three responses to my article! On the other hand, they’re negative. | |
| Les résultats semblent prometteurs. Par contre, l’échantillon n’est pas représentatif. | The results seem promising. On the other hand, the sample is not representative (of the population) | |
| J’aime bien Dominique, par contre Hervé me fatigue. | I like Dominique, whereas Hervé annoys me. | |
| C’est top ce robot, par contre ça coûte cher. | This blender is great, but it’s expensive. |
Par contre is also sometimes used when the second clause is supportive or otherwise adds to the first, compensating for its faults. This is the controversial usage for which en revanche is proposed as the correct alternative.
Par exemple…
| Les résultats semblent prometteurs, |
The results seem promising, but the study isn’t done yet. | |
| C’est top ce robot, |
This blender is great, but Robert’s is less expensive. |
Or even a simple mais:
| Dominique est intelligent, |
Dominique is smart, but Hervé is chattier. | |
| C’est top ce robot, |
This blender is great, but Robert’s is less expensive. |
It’s a bit like the difference between à cause de, which introduces negative and neutral situations, and grâce à, which is reserved for positive outcomes.
* See Le pour et le contre de « par contre »
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