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How to Say ‘It's nothing serious.’ in French

Ce n'est pas grave.

suh n eh pah grahv

[suh n eh pah grahv]

💬 Usage Tip: Grave means "serious", not "grave" in the gloomy sense. In everyday talk ce n'est pas grave is also just "no worries".

Phrase Breakdown

Ce n'est

suh n eh

It is

'Ce n'est' is pronounced 'suh nay' and starts the negative 'ce n'est pas'. In casual speech the 'ne' is often dropped.

Example

Ce n'est pas loin.

It's not far.

Words in this phrase

[suh]

that

Masculine demonstrative determiner; combined with -là after the noun, it points to a specific moment away from now, meaning 'that'.

Example

Ce jour-là, le restaurant était complet.

That day, the restaurant was fully booked.

[n]

not (negation)

Shortened form of 'ne', the first part of a negation; with 'plus' it means 'no longer / no more'.

Example

Nous n'avons plus de place ce soir.

We have no more room tonight.

est

[eh]

Third person singular present of be.

Example

C'est important.

It is important.

pas grave.

pah grahv

not serious.

'Pas grave' is very common and means 'no big deal'. Make the French 'r' in the back of the throat.

Example

Pas grave, on recommence.

No big deal, let's start again.

Words in this phrase

pas

[pah]

not

Used with 'ne' to form a negative.

Example

Je ne comprends pas.

I do not understand.

grave

[grahv]

serious

Adjective meaning serious or severe, often about health.

Example

Ce n'est pas une maladie grave.

It's not a serious illness.

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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