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How to Say ‘No, I'm not coughing.’ in French

Non, je ne tousse pas.

noh zhuh nuh toos pah

[noh zhuh nuh toos pah]

Phrase Breakdown

Non, je ne

noh zhuh nuh

No, I do not

'Non' is nasal: 'noh(n)'. Make a tiny pause after it, then say 'je ne'.

Example

Non, je ne veux pas.

No, I don't want to.

Words in this phrase

Non

[noh]

Used to give a negative response.

Example

Non, je ne veux pas.

No, I don't want to.

[zhuh]

Pronoun used by the speaker to identify themselves.

Example

Je suis content.

I am happy.

[nuh]

(negation) not

Negation particle used with another negative word (ne… rien). In speech, it can be dropped, but it’s standard in writing.

Example

Ne me raconte rien sur l’anime, je veux garder la surprise.

Don’t tell me anything about the anime, I want to keep the surprise.

tousse pas.

toos pah

cough.

This finishes the negation with 'pas'.

Example

Elle ne tousse pas.

She doesn't cough.

Words in this phrase

tousse

[toos]

cough

Form of 'tousser' used with 'je'.

Example

Je tousse le matin.

I cough in the morning.

pas

[pah]

not (negation)

Second part of negation in “ne… pas.” Together: “Don’t worry.”

Example

Ne t’inquiète pas, je ne dis rien.

Don’t worry, I’m not saying anything.

Guides for French learners

The Most Common French Verbs: the 20 You'll Actually UseThe 20 most common French verbs, with the present-tense forms you need, real example sentences with native audio, and two shortcuts for past and future.Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.

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