Ways to say it
| French |
|---|
| plus jamais |
| jamais plus |
| plus jamais ça |
The phrase is used to indicate that an action or situation will not occur at any time in the future. One common idiomatic way to use this is in the exclamation Plus jamais ça !, which serves to express that one will never allow a specific situation or behavior to happen again.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase plus jamais literally translates to "more never", where plus functions as the negation of "anymore" in this context.
Which one should you use?
plus jamais is the standard, most natural way to say "never again". In contrast, jamais plus is much rarer and often sounds slightly more poetic or archaic in modern speech. The form plus jamais ça is a specific idiomatic expression used for emphasis.
How does it change in a sentence?
In formal or standard written French, plus jamais is typically used within a ne … plus jamais negation structure.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using jamais plus as your primary way to say "never again", as it is not the natural or frequent choice in everyday French. Instead, use plus jamais.
Did you know?
- In spoken French, people often drop the ne from the ne … plus jamais structure. While textbooks teach the full negation, saying Je veux plus jamais is the standard way to speak in casual settings.
- The word jamais actually comes from a combination of two words meaning 'already' and 'more'. It is a linguistic descendant of the Latin 'iam' and 'magis'.
- When used in a question, jamais can be translated as 'ever', which is a different usage than the 'never' found in plus jamais.
Examples in context
- Plus jamais ça !Never again!This sentence is useful for an exclamation using plus jamais.Tatoeba #8090725 by Micsmithel, translation #3627001 by karloelkebekio
- Jamais plus elle ne voudrait y vivre.Never again would she want to live there.This sentence is useful for showing the use of jamais plus.Tatoeba #828778 by U2FS, translation #31177 by Dejo
- Je ne referai plus jamais cette erreur.Never again will I make that mistake.This sentence is useful for demonstrating the standard use of plus jamais within a negation.Tatoeba #7700291 by Maxence, translation #2264338 by sharptoothed
- Après cette expérience traumatisante, je ne veux plus jamais revivre cela.After this traumatic experience, I never want to go through that again.
- Cette fête était une catastrophe, plus jamais ça, je préfère rester à la maison maintenant !This party was a disaster, never again, I'd rather stay at home now!
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Nathan are discussing a terrible meal at a restaurant.
- ChloéC'était vraiment horrible.It was really horrible.
- NathanJe ne veux plus jamais y retourner.I never want to go back there again.
- ChloéMoi non plus, plus jamais.Me neither, never again.
- NathanOn trouvera mieux ailleurs.We will find something better elsewhere.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “never again” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries jamais, plus, ça, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
