Which one should you use?
While concernant is often used in formal or administrative contexts, à propos de is a very common alternative used in both spoken and written French to mean 'regarding' or 'about'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
If you need a more formal way to say regarding, you can use En ce qui concerne, Au sujet de or quant à. The latter, quant à, is a more formal way to say 'regarding' or 'as for' when introducing a specific subject or person in a sentence. For a more colloquial tone, you can use En parlant de, which translates to "speaking of".
How does it change in a sentence?
concernant is a present participle used as a preposition and does not change its form to agree with the noun it follows.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 3 syllables and is pronounced /kɔ̃.sɛʁ.nɑ̃/.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers sometimes mistakenly use concernant as a direct translation for 'concerning' in a way that sounds overly heavy. In many casual contexts, simply using sur (on) or à propos de (about) is more natural.
Did you know?
- The word concernant comes from the verb concerner, which shares a root with the English word 'concern' but originally meant to circle or surround something.
- In French, the word sujet in au sujet de means both 'subject' and 'citizen' or 'subject of a king', linking the act of regarding a topic to historical political status.
- In legal French, the term concernant is frequently replaced by relativement à or eu égard à to create an even higher level of administrative formality.
Examples in context
- J'aimerais obtenir des informations concernant un certain nombre de questions.I'd like to get information regarding a number of questions.This sentence shows how to use concernant to request information about several questions.Tatoeba #971805 by sacredceltic, translation #971802 by FeuDRenais2
- En ce qui concerne votre demande de remboursement, nous vous prions de remplir le formulaire approprié.Regarding your refund request, we kindly ask you to fill out the appropriate form.
- Nous souhaitons vous informer au sujet de l'avancement de votre projet.We would like to inform you regarding the progress of your project.
- À propos de ta proposition, je pense que nous devrions en discuter plus tard.Regarding your proposal, I think we should discuss it later.
- Hier soir, j'ai vu Marie. En parlant d'elle , as-tu des nouvelles ?Last night, I saw Marie. Speaking of her, do you have any news?
- Avez-vous des questions concernant le nouveau projet ?Do you have any questions regarding the new project?
- Je vous écris concernant votre commande.I am writing to you regarding your order.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Manon are discussing a professional email at a cafe.
- LucasEst-ce que tu as reçu mon mail concernant l'hôtel ?Did you receive my email regarding the hotel?
- ManonOui, je l'ai lu ce matin, Lucas.Yes, I read it this morning, Lucas.
- LucasEst-ce que les détails te conviennent ?Do the details suit you?
- ManonOui, tout semble parfait pour nous.Yes, everything seems perfect for us.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “regarding” translations and entries concernant, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
