Edit Article

Four Parts:Basic YesSlang YesFirm AffirmationsOther Affirmative Answers

The basic way to say “yes” in French is “oui,” but there are multiple affirmative responses you can give when you intend to say “yes.” Read on for a few of the essentials.

Ad

Part 1 of 4: Basic Yes

  1. Say Yes in French Step 1.jpg
    1
    Say “oui.”[1] This translates into a simple “yes.”
    • This statement is the basic way of saying “yes” and can be used in just about any circumstance, regardless of how formal or informal the conversation is.
    • Pronounce this French word as wee.
    • If you want to make this response more polite, you can add the French equivalent of “mister,” “missus,” or “miss” to the end of the term.
      • Monsieur, pronounced muh-see-euh, translates into “mister.” Oui, monsieur.
      • Madame, pronounced mah-dehm, translates into “missus.” Oui, madame.
      • Mademoiselle, pronounced mah-dehm-mwah-zel, translates into “miss.” Oui, mademoiselle.
    Ad
  2. Say Yes in French Step 2.jpg
    2
    Politely offer “oui, merci.” This phrase means “yes, thanks.”
    • Merci means “thanks” or “thank you.”
    • Pronounce this French phrase as WEE, mehr-SEE.
  3. Say Yes in French Step 3.jpg
    3
    Reply with “oui, s'il vous plaît.” This is another polite phrase. It means “yes, please.”
    • As a phrase, s'il vous plaît translates into “please.” More literally, it means, “if you please.”
      • S'il means “if.”
      • Vous means “you.”
      • Plaît” means “please.”
    • This French phrase should be pronounced as WEE, seell voo PLEH.

Part 2 of 4: Slang Yes

  1. Say Yes in French Step 4.jpg
    1
    Casually respond with “ouais.” This is the French equivalent of the English “yeah.”
    • This French slang term should be roughly pronounced as woo-ay.
  2. Say Yes in French Step 5.jpg
    2
    Use “ouaip” instead. This is the French equivalent of the English “yep.”
    • Roughly pronounce this French slang term as woo-ayp.

Part 3 of 4: Firm Affirmations

  1. Say Yes in French Step 6.jpg
    1
    State “évidemment.” This translates into “obviously.”
    • Pronounce this French word as eh-vee-dah-mah.
  2. Say Yes in French Step 7.jpg
    2
    Say “certainement.” In English, this means “definitely” or “surely.”
    • You should pronounce this French term as sehr-tehn-mah.
  3. Say Yes in French Step 8.jpg
    3
    Respond with “carrément.” This word translates into the English word “firmly.”
    • This French word should be pronounced as kah-ray-mah.
  4. Say Yes in French Step 9.jpg
    4
    Reply with “tout à fait.” This phrase means “quite,” “completely,” or “altogether.”
    • Tout means "all" or "whole."
    • The French à means "with," "to," "by," or "in" when translated into English.
    • Fait means "fact," "event" or "occurrence."
    • Pronounce this French phrase as too tah feh.
  5. Say Yes in French Step 10.jpg
    5
    Answer with "en effet." This translates loosely into “indeed” or “in fact.”
    • En means "in."
    • Effet means "effect."
    • Pronounce this French phrase as ahn ay-feh.
  6. Say Yes in French Step 11.jpg
    6
    Exclaim “bien sûr!” This phrase loosely translates into “of course!”
    • Bien means “good” or “well.”
    • Sûr means “sure” or “certain.”
    • This French phrase should be pronounced as byahng soor.

Part 4 of 4: Other Affirmative Answers

  1. Say Yes in French Step 12.jpg
    1
    Offer a polite “très bien.” Use this phrase to say “very well.”
    • Très means “very.”
    • Bien means “well” or “good."
    • Pronounce this French phrase as tray byahng.
  2. Say Yes in French Step 13.jpg
    2
    State “C'est bien.”[2] This phrase means “that's fine” in English.
    • C'est means “it is.”
    • Bien means “well” or “good.”
    • This French phrase should be pronounced as say byahng.
  3. Say Yes in French Step 14.jpg
    3
    Say “Ça va.” Use this phrase to offer a simple “okay.”
    • Ça means “it.”
    • Va is derived from the French verb aller, meaning “to go,” “to do,” or “to be.”
    • When pronouncing this French phrase, pronounce it as sah vah.
  4. Say Yes in French Step 15.jpg
    4
    Reply with “d'accord.” The English equivalent of this French term is “agreed.”
    • This French phrase should be pronounced as dah-korr.
  5. Say Yes in French Step 16.jpg
    5
    Exclaim “volontiers!” This phrase means “willingly!”
    • You should pronounce this French phrase as vuh-loh-tyay.
  6. Say Yes in French Step 17.jpg
    6
    Excitedly answer with “avec plaisir!” In English, this phrase means “with pleasure!”
    • Avec means “with.”
    • Plaisir means “pleasure.”
    • You should pronounce this French phrase as ah-vehk play-seh.
    Ad


We could really use your help!

Can you tell us about
mango salsa?
Yes
No
mango salsa
how to make mango salsa
Can you tell us about
dogs?
Yes
No
dogs
how to hold a Dachshund properly
Can you tell us about
cats?
Yes
No
cats
how to teach cats to like dogs
Can you tell us about
home theaters?
Yes
No
home theaters
how to set up a home theater system
Thanks for helping! Please tell us everything you know about
...
Tell us everything you know here. Remember, more detail is better.
Tips
Provide Details.
Please be as detailed as possible in your explanation. Don't worry about formatting! We'll take care of it. For example:
Don't say: Eat more fats.
Do say: Add fats with some nutritional value to the foods you already eat. Try olive oil, butter, avocado, and mayonnaise.
Submit

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.europa-pages.co.uk/lessons/french-basics.html
  2. ↑ http://www.languagehelpers.com/words/french/basics.html

Article Info

Featured Article

Categories: Featured Articles | French

In other languages:

Español: decir sí en francés, Italiano: Dire Sì in Francese, Português: Dizer Sim em Francês, Deutsch: Ja sagen auf französisch, 中文: 用法语说“是”, Русский: сказать Да по французски

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 63,643 times.

Did this article help you?
Yes No

Become
an Author!

Write an Article