How to Say “Are You Serious?” in French

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tu es sérieux ?
The English phrase 'are you serious?' can be translated into French as tu es sérieux ?
This phrase is used to express disbelief or to confirm whether someone is telling the truth. tu es sérieux ? can also be used literally to ask if a person is being sincere rather than joking.

Which one should you use?

While tu es sérieux ? can be used to ask if someone is being sincere, other forms like Tu plaisantes ? (Are you joking?) or Tu rigoles ? (Are you kidding?) specifically focus on the idea of joking. In casual settings, you might also hear C'est sérieux ?, which literally means 'Is it serious?' and serves as shorthand for 'Are you serious?'

Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?

For informal situations, you can use tu es sérieux ?, T'es sérieux/se ? (a shorter, more casual version) or Tu rigoles ? In formal situations, use Êtes-vous sérieux/se ? or Est-ce que vous êtes sérieux/se ? If you want to express disbelief politely in a formal setting, you can say Vous plaisantez, j'espère ? (You're joking, I hope?).

How does it change in a sentence?

The adjective must agree with the gender of the person you are addressing. Use the feminine form tu es sérieuse ? when speaking to a woman. When addressing more than one person, or when using the formal 'you', use vous êtes sérieux ?

Did you know?

  • The word sérieux is a 'learned borrowing' from the Latin word sēriōsus, which meant 'grave' or 'earnest'.
  • Using Vous plaisantez, j'espère ? is a culturally specific way to express disbelief that adds a layer of polite skepticism through the phrase 'I hope'.

Examples in context

  • Tu es sérieux ?
    Are you serious?
  • Attends, tu es sérieux ?
    Wait, are you serious?

Example conversation

Chloe tells Nathan she won the lottery.

  1. Chloé

    J'ai gagné au loto !
    I won the lottery!
  2. Nathan

    Quoi ? Tu es sérieux ?
    What? Are you serious?
  3. Chloé

    Oui, je te jure !
    Yes, I swear!
  4. Nathan

    C'est incroyable !
    That's incredible!

Sources

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Barbara Megan
Barbara MeganHelp make this guide better. Spot a mistake, know another way to say it, or have an example from real life? Share it below.
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