bien essayé
/bjɛ̃.n‿e.sɛ.je/
In French, "good try" is said as bien essayé.
Bien essayé is used to acknowledge someone's effort when they have failed to achieve a goal. It is commonly used in sports or games to console a player who almost succeeded.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is a literal combination of bien (well) and the past participle essayé (tried).
Which one should you use?
You can use Très bon essai to mean "very good try". Additionally, Pas mal can be used as an informal way to say "good try", though it literally translates to "not bad".
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /bjɛ̃.n‿e.sɛ.je/. It has 4 syllables.
Did you know?
- In French, the word essai can refer to a written school paper, a literary genre, or a 'try' in rugby to score a goal.
- While bien essayé works in sports, using it in a professional or academic setting might sound patronizing, as if you are talking to a child.
- The word essayé comes from the same root as the English 'assay', which refers to the process of testing the purity of precious metals.
Examples in context
- Vous avez certainement travaillé dur. Bien essayé !You certainly worked hard. Good try!
- C'est bien essayé, ne sois pas triste.It was a good try, don't be sad.
- Bien essayé, tu feras mieux la prochaine fois.Good try, you will do better next time.
- C'était bien essayé, mais le score était trop haut.It was a good try, but the score was too high.
Example conversation
Lucas is trying to guess a riddle Emma told him.
- LucasEst-ce que c'est un chat ?Is it a cat?
- EmmaNon, ce n'est pas ça.No, that's not it.
- LucasAh, je me suis trompé.Ah, I was wrong.
- EmmaBien essayé, Lucas !Good try, Lucas!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry bien essayé, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bien, CC BY-SA 4.0.
