Which one should you use?
While très bien is a common translation for 'very good', it is important to distinguish it from other forms used to describe quality. For example, when describing the taste of food, you should use the adjective forms such as très bon (masculine singular), très bonne (feminine singular) or très bons (plural) instead of très bien. Other ways to express high quality include excellent, splendide, sensationnel, fabuleux or fabuleuse and épatant or épatante.
How does it change in a sentence?
In many contexts, although it is often translated as 'very good' in English, très bien functions grammatically as an adverb meaning 'very well'.
How do you pronounce it?
/tʁɛ bjɛ̃/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use très bien to describe the taste of food. Use très bon instead to correctly describe flavor.
Did you know?
- While très bien is standard, some French speakers use the word nickel in casual settings to describe something that is 'perfect' or 'spotless'.
- In a formal professional context, saying c'est très bien to a subordinate can sometimes sound patronizing, similar to saying 'very good' to a child.
- The word bien shares an ancestor with the English word 'benefit', as both derive from the Latin bene meaning 'well'.
Examples in context
- Je vais très bien.I feel very good.This sentence shows how to express your well-being using très bien.Tatoeba #459452 by sacredceltic, translation #736696 by Darkmaster
- Ça te va très bien.It looks very good on you.This sentence demonstrates using très bien to describe how something looks on a person.Tatoeba #3346995 by Blabla, translation #71149 by CM
- Ça a été très bien.That was very good.This sentence uses très bien to describe a past event or situation.Tatoeba #3669940 by sacredceltic, translation #1897770 by CK
- Une idée excellenteAn excellent idea
- C'est génialThat's great
- Tu es formidableYou are amazing
- Le dessert est très bonThe dessert is very good
- La tarte est très bonneThe pie is very good
- Les plats sont très bonsThe dishes are very good
- 52 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas is showing Emma a project he finished.
- LucasTu aimes mon dessin ?Do you like my drawing?
- EmmaOui, c'est très bien !Yes, it's very good!
- LucasMerci, Emma.Thank you, Emma.
- EmmaTu as travaillé très bien.You did a very good job.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry très bien, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bien, très, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
