honnête
/ɔ.nɛt/
The English word 'honest' is translated into French as honnête.
honnête is used to describe someone who is scrupulous with regard to telling the truth. Beyond simple truthfulness, it can also imply that a person is decent or respectable in a social sense.
Meaning: scrupulous with regard to telling the truth (adj)
Which one should you use?
While honnête refers to truthfulness and social decency, you might use franche to describe someone who is honest in the sense of expressing their opinions directly. Additionally, digne de confiance is a way to convey the idea of being honest by meaning 'trustworthy'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective honnête is the same in both its masculine and feminine forms. To make the adjective plural, add an 's' to the end to form honnêtes.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɔ.nɛt/
Did you know?
- In the 17th century, the term honnête homme described a social ideal of a gentleman who was cultured, modest and well-rounded, regardless of his social rank.
- While 'honest' in English often implies simple truthfulness, honnête can also be used to describe a 'fair' or 'decent' price, such as un prix honnête.
- The word honnête shares the same root as the English word 'honor', making them linguistic cousins from the Latin 'honestus'.
Examples in context
- Je te crois honnête.I believe you are honest.This sentence is useful for expressing belief in someone's honesty with honnête.Tatoeba #14792 by Julien_PDC, translation #257042 by CK
- Il est très honnête.He is very honest.This sentence is useful for emphasizing that someone is very honest with honnête.Tatoeba #131260 by nimfeo, translation #292122 by CK
- Sois honnête avec moi.Be honest with me.This sentence is useful for telling someone to be honest with you using honnête.Tatoeba #3787507 by Danquebec, translation #3786114 by AlanF_US
- Elle a une réputation d'honnêteté.She has a reputation for honesty.
- C'est une personne digne de confiance.He/She is a trustworthy person.
- Elle est toujours franche avec moi.She is always honest with me.
- J'apprécie ta franchise.I appreciate your honesty.
- Je te promets d'être sincère.I promise to be honest with you.
- Il est direct, pas de chichi.He is straightforward, no messing around.
- 239 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé asks Hugo for his opinion on her painting.
- ChloéEst-ce que tu es honnête ?Are you being honest?
- HugoOui, je suis toujours honnête avec toi.Yes, I am always honest with you.
- ChloéAlors, tu n'aimes pas les couleurs ?So, you don't like the colors?
- HugoJe pense qu'elles sont un peu trop vives.I think they are a bit too bright.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “honest” translations and entries honnête, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries honnête, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
