bien sûr
/bjɛ̃ syʁ/
The English phrase "sure thing" can be expressed in French as bien sûr.
bien sûr is used to express agreement or to confirm that something is obvious or certain. It is the equivalent of saying "of course" or "certainly."
Meaning: an affirmative reply, yes, certainly (intj)
Which one should you use?
While bien sûr is a common way to express agreement, it is more equivalent to the English "of course" or "certainly" than to the casual English use of "sure thing" to accept a thank you.
How do you pronounce it?
/bjɛ̃ syʁ/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using bien sûr to mean "surely" in the sense of "it is surely happening". In French, bien sûr functions primarily as an adverbial phrase meaning "of course."
Did you know?
- If you say bien sûr with a certain rising intonation and a shrug, it can actually sound sarcastic or dismissive, similar to saying 'obviously' in English.
- The word sûr in bien sûr shares its roots with the English word 'secure', both coming from the Latin 'securus' meaning 'free from care'.
- While bien sûr confirms a fact, French speakers often use je t'en prie or de rien to respond to a thank you, whereas English speakers use 'sure thing' for both.
Example conversation
Chloé asks Lucas if he can lend her a book.
- ChloéLucas, tu peux me prêter ce livre ?Lucas, can you lend me this book?
- LucasBien sûr, Chloé.Sure thing, Chloé.
- ChloéMerci beaucoup !Thank you very much!
- LucasDe rien.You're welcome.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry bien sûr, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bien, sûr, CC BY-SA 4.0.
