How to Say ‘Is wrong / is not going well’ in French
Ne va pas
nuh vah pah
[nuh vah pah]
💬 Usage Tip: Literally 'is not going'. French often uses aller ('to go') to talk about how things are.
🇫🇷 In France: Very common in France: Ça va ? / Ça ne va pas ? Language loves checking whether things 'go' well.
Phrase Breakdown
Ne
[nuh]
not
The first part of French negation, often paired with pas.
Ça ne va pas bien.
It is not going well.
va
[vah]
goes / is going
From the verb aller; in this expression it means goes or is going.
Ça ne va pas aujourd'hui.
Things are not going well today.
pas
[pah]
not
The second part of French negation, used with ne.
Je ne dors pas bien.
I do not sleep well.
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