non
/nɔ̃/
The English word "no" is translated to French as non.
non is used as a particle to express disagreement or to answer a question. It can also function as a noun to refer to a negating expression. Other related forms that mean "not any" include pas de, nul and aucun.
Meaning: used to show disagreement or negation (particle)
Which one should you use?
non is used as a standalone particle to express disagreement or to answer a question, whereas pas is used as a grammatical part of a negation within a sentence.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When used as a noun to refer to the act of saying no, non takes the masculine article le (le non).
How do you pronounce it?
/nɔ̃/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use non to negate a verb, such as saying Je non sais instead of Je ne sais pas. You should only use non as a standalone response or a noun.
Did you know?
- While non means 'no', French speakers often use si to say 'yes' specifically when contradicting a negative question.
- In spoken French, the 'ne' part of a standard negation is often dropped entirely, leaving only 'pas' to do the heavy lifting.
- The word non can be used as a question tag at the end of a sentence, similar to 'right?' or 'isn't it?' in English.
Examples in context
- Oui ou non ?Yes or no?Tatoeba #569861 by sacredceltic, translation #562905 by kebukebu
- Il a dit non.He said no.Tatoeba #3647366 by sacredceltic, translation #2863323 by Amastan
- J'ai dit non !I said no!Tatoeba #7839009 by sacredceltic, translation #4986153 by Airvian
- 768 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Lucas are discussing a movie choice.
- ManonTu veux voir ce film ?Do you want to see this movie?
- LucasNon, je n'aime pas les films d'horreur.No, I don't like horror movies.
- ManonEst-ce que tu dis non à tout ?Are you saying no to everything?
- LucasNon, pas du tout !No, not at all!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “no” translations and entries non, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
