Ways to say it
| French | IPA |
|---|---|
| honnêtement | /ɔ.nɛt.mɑ̃/ |
| pour être honnête | /pu.ʁ‿ɛ.tʁ‿ɔ.nɛt/ |
| franchement | /fʁɑ̃ʃ.mɑ̃/ |
French offers different ways to express honesty depending on whether you are describing the truthfulness of an action or prefacing a blunt opinion. Use honnêtement to describe being truthful or sincere. The phrase pour être honnête is a common way to start a sentence when you are about to share a blunt or potentially unpopular opinion. If you want to emphasize that you are being truthful, you can also use en toute sincérité.
Which one should you use?
Honnêtement focuses on the sincerity or truthfulness of the speaker's intent. In contrast, franchement is often used in colloquial speech as an intensifier to mean 'quite' or 'really', though it can also mean 'frankly'.
How do you pronounce it?
honnêtement is pronounced /ɔ.nɛt.mɑ̃/ and has 3 syllables.
Did you know?
- In classical French literature and etiquette, being honnête referred to the 'honnête homme', an ideal of the 17th-century gentleman who was not just honest, but cultured and socially graceful.
- The word franchement comes from franc, which originally meant 'free'. In ancient times, the 'Franks' were a Germanic people, and the term evolved to describe someone who speaks with the freedom and openness of a free person.
- While honnêtement is used for truthfulness, French speakers often use franchement as a filler word or a sigh of frustration, similar to how an English speaker might say 'honestly' or 'seriously' when annoyed.
Examples in context
- Le crois-tu honnêtement ?Do you honestly believe that?This sentence is useful for asking if someone truly believes something using honnêtement.Tatoeba #3513854 by sacredceltic, translation #3513555 by Hybrid
- Franchement, je m'en fiche.I honestly don't care.This sentence shows how to use franchement to express a blunt opinion.Tatoeba #2401854 by sacredceltic, translation #2477093 by Hybrid
- David a répondu honnêtement.David answered honestly.This sentence demonstrates how to describe an action performed with honnêtement.Tatoeba #11504262 by Amastan, translation #11484082 by Amastan
- Honnêtement, je pense que cette décision n'est pas la meilleure.Honestly, I think this decision is not the best.
- En toute sincérité, je vous assure que je ferai de mon mieux pour vous aider.Honestly, I assure you that I will do my best to help you.
- Pour être franc, je ne suis pas d'accord avec cette proposition.To be honest, I don't agree with this proposal.
- Franchement, ce film était incroyable !Honestly, that movie was incredible!
- Sincèrement, je ne comprends pas pourquoi il a réagi ainsi.Honestly, I don't understand why he reacted like that.
- 33 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Lucas are discussing whether his new job is a good idea.
- LéaTu aimes vraiment ton nouveau travail ?Do you really like your new job?
- LucasHonnêtement, je ne suis pas très heureux.Honestly, I am not very happy.
- LéaPourquoi dis-tu cela ?Why do you say that?
- LucasC'est trop stressant pour moi.It is too stressful for me.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “honestly” translations and entries honnêtement, pour être honnête, franchement, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries franchement, honnête, honnêtement, pour, être, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
