bonne nouvelle
feminine
The English phrase 'good news' is translated into French as bonne nouvelle.
bonne nouvelle is used to describe something positive.
Meaning: something positive (noun)
Which one should you use?
In English, 'news' is an uncountable noun, meaning you cannot say 'a news'. In French, nouvelle is a countable noun, so you can refer to a single instance of good news as une bonne nouvelle.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because bonne nouvelle is a countable noun, you use the indefinite article une to mean 'a piece of good news' (une bonne nouvelle). To express the plural 'good news', use de bonnes nouvelles. The article des changes to de because it precedes a plural adjective.
Did you know?
- In French, a 'nouvelle' is not just a piece of information, but it is also a specific literary genre meaning 'a short story'.
- If you ask for les nouvelles de quelqu'un, you are not asking for their professional news, but rather asking 'how someone is doing'.
- The word nouvelle shares a common ancestor with the English word 'novel', which is why both terms can refer to something new or a story.
Examples in context
- C'est une bonne nouvelle.That's good news.This sentence demonstrates how to use bonne nouvelle to say 'That's good news.'Tatoeba #3880307 by Scorpionvenin14, translation #2251073 by CK
- Était-ce une bonne nouvelle ?Was that good news?This sentence shows how to ask a question using bonne nouvelle.Tatoeba #12634378 by lbdx, translation #12634385 by ddnktr
- Nous avons une bonne nouvelle.We have good news.This sentence illustrates the use of bonne nouvelle when stating 'We have good news.'Tatoeba #334516 by TRANG, translation #66695 by CK
- Je suis ravi(e) de vous annoncer que notre projet a été approuvé.I am pleased to announce to you that our project has been approved.
- Devine quoi ! J'ai gagné le concours de photographie !Guess what! I won the photography contest!
- 35 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Gabriel are talking in a cafe.
- EmmaJ'ai une bonne nouvelle pour toi, Gabriel.I have some good news for you, Gabriel.
- GabrielAh bon ? Quelle est cette bonne nouvelle ?Oh really? What is this good news?
- EmmaTu as enfin obtenu le poste !You finally got the job!
- GabrielMerci Emma, c'est vraiment une bonne nouvelle.Thanks Emma, that is truly good news.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good news” translations and entries bonne nouvelle, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries nouvelle, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
