pas
/pa/
In French, the word for "not" is pas.
pas is used to express negation or to deny that something is true. For example, the phrase pas encore is the standard way to say "not yet".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
In spoken or informal French, the ne part of the standard negation is often dropped, leaving only pas to express "not".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebecois French, pas pantoute is used to emphasize negation.
How does it change in a sentence?
In standard French, pas is used as part of a two-part negation structure ne … pas which surrounds the conjugated verb. When negating a noun to mean "not any" or "no", pas is followed by de instead of the usual partitive articles, such as in pas de pain for "not any bread".
How do you pronounce it?
/pa/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use pas alone in formal writing. Remember that the ne is required for grammatically complete negation.
Did you know?
- The word pas originally meant 'a step' in Old French. It was used in phrases like 'not a step' to emphasize that an action was not being performed.
- The transition of pas from a noun meaning 'step' to a grammatical marker is a process called grammaticalization.
Examples in context
- Pas du tout !Not at all!This sentence is useful for expressing "not at all!" using pas.Tatoeba #1156946 by sacredceltic, translation #1349254 by sacredceltic
- Ne pas plier !Do not fold!This sentence is useful for providing a command such as "do not fold!" using pas.Tatoeba #1081281 by sacredceltic, translation #280843 by xtofu80
- Même pas moi !Not even me!This sentence is useful for saying "not even me!" using pas.Tatoeba #1152579 by sacredceltic, translation #1356997 by sacredceltic
- Je ne parle pas français.I do not speak French.
- Il n'a aucun problème.He does not have any problem.
- Elle ne mange jamais de viande.She never eats meat.
- Je n'aime pas du tout les épinards.I don't like spinach at all.
- 14548 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Lucas are talking about a movie.
- LéaTu veux voir ce film ?Do you want to see this movie?
- LucasNon, je n'ai pas envie.No, I don't feel like it.
- LéaC'est pas grave, on fera autre chose.It's not a problem, we'll do something else.
- LucasD'accord, ça me va.Okay, that works for me.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry pas, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries pas, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
