pas sûr
In French, "not sure" is expressed as pas sûr.
The phrase pas sûr is used to express that a person lacks certainty or confidence about something.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
In casual spoken French, the ne in Je ne suis pas sûr is often dropped, resulting in Je suis pas sûr.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Canadian French, you might say j'sais pas pantoute to convey "I don't know at all".
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective must agree in gender with the person who is unsure. Use sûres if the subject is a group of women.
Did you know?
- In French, the meaning of sûr changes completely if you add a circumflex accent to the 'u' in different contexts, but the accent in sûr specifically distinguishes 'certain' from 'on top of'.
- The word sûr comes from the Latin word sēcūrus, which combined 'without' and 'care'. To be 'sure' was originally to be 'without anxiety'.
- While 'pas' is now a standard part of negation, it used to be part of a category of nouns like 'goutte' or 'mie' used to intensify a denial.
Examples in context
- Je ne suis pas sûr.I am not sure.Tatoeba #6028368 by christian63, translation #1614914 by jose76c
- Je n'en suis pas sûr.I'm not sure about it.Tatoeba #1115001 by sacredceltic, translation #1115004 by CM
- Je n'en suis pas sûre.I'm not sure about that.Tatoeba #4862718 by sacredceltic, translation #2545944 by CK
- 277 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are deciding which movie to see.
- EmmaTu veux voir ce film ?Do you want to see this movie?
- LucasJe ne suis pas sûr, il a l'air long.I am not sure, it looks long.
- EmmaMais les critiques sont bonnes !But the reviews are good!
- LucasPeut-être, mais je n'en suis pas sûr.Maybe, but I am not sure about it.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries pas, sûr, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
