Bonjour !
Feeling the frustration of always reusing the same old words you learned in high school? Don’t worry, it’s normal – everyone from beginners to native speakers can sometimes feel limited by their French vocabulary. You simply need more words!
As you learn different ways to say the same things, you’ll feel more precise and more confident to speak fluently. So, let’s start with synonyms for one of the most useful adjectives in any language: “Good.”
Let’s dive in!
1. French Vocabulary: The Different Uses of “Bien”
Special Warning:
Do not use Bien fait ! -> It doesn’t mean “well done.” It’s actually an ironic insult!
Bien means good.
In several different ways!
As an adjective, it’s often used for general situations:
C’est très bien, ça ! C’est une bonne nouvelle ! That’s very good! That’s good news!
In colloquial speech, we also use c’est trop bien, or literally “that’s too good,” to mean the same thing, “That’s great, that’s high quality.”
“Bien” also means “good” as a noun:
Un bien = a good
“Un bien” often used for un bien immobilier, a real property.
Mon frère est marchand de biens. My brother is a real estate agent.
Le bien = moral good
Nietzsche est l’auteur de Par delà le bien et le mal
Nietzsche wrote Beyond Good and Evil.
Du bien = pleasant, relaxing, good for your well-being
“Ça fait du bien de rentrer chez soi !”
It feels good to be home
Finally, “bien” is also used as an adverb that means “well”:
On a bien mangé !
We ate well!
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2. Bon !
Bon is an adjective that means “good,” in several different ways, that can all expand your French vocabulary.
You can use it to compliment your food:
J’adore ton gâteau, il est très bon!
I love your cake, it’s very good!
You can also use it to mean “pleasurable,” like “ça fait du bien” :
C’est trop bon d’enlever ses chaussures en rentrant chez soi.
It feels so great to come home and take your shoes off.
However, we can also use “c’est bon,” to mean “it’s enough.”
“Tu veux encore du gâteau ?” “Non, c’est bon, merci.”
“Do you want some more cake?””No, I’m good, thanks.”
Or in a less polite example,
Oh, c’est bon, arrête de te plaindre, on est presque arrivés.
“Oh, come on, stop complaining, we’re almost there.”
We can apply “bon” to people as well.
It means “competent” when it’s placed before a profession or an activity:
C’est une bonne joueuse de tennis.
She’s a good tenniswoman.
When “bon” is after the noun, it’s often a moral judgement:
Michel est un homme bon.
Michel is a good, kind man.
Special Warning:
The feminine version “bonne” is a colloquial and derogatory way to say that a woman is “hot” or good-looking. That’s one French word you might want to avoid.
For a more respectful way to say good-looking though, you can use beau (belle).
Yes, beau and bon are two different words with different pronunciations. Don’t worry, I’m sure you can do it!
3. Colloquial Synonyms
“Good” and its synonyms are very common in French slang vocabulary. There are many slang versions, and the trends change fast. There’s always a new “hip” positive adjective going around, but some of them have had a longer shelf life.
For instance, Super is a popular word for general positivity. It’s barely colloquial, it’s just informal.
It can be an adjective like “great,” or an adverb, like “very.”
T’as une super robe !
You have a great dress!
Ta maison est super grande !
Your house is very big!
C’est un super bon gâteau!
This is a very good cake!
Or simply C’est super ! which means “That’s great!” or something like, “Yay!”
In the same vein, we have “Génial,” “wonderful.” It’s barely colloquial. It’s a bit more abstract. You can use it to compliment something creative, or for some overall great news.
Oh, t’as un nouveau boulot ? Mais c’est génial !
Oh, you found a new job! That’s wonderful!
For something ‘good’, but in a more modest way, we can also use sympa.
(It means “friendly” when used about someone. But “nice” when used about things.)
Elles sont sympas, tes chaussures.
Your shoes are nice.
We also import some words from the English language in our everyday language.
For instance, cool is very common, and can apply to anything, just like sympa.
Elle est cool ta veste.
Hey, your jacket is pretty cool.
For a stronger meaning, we also use top or au top but that might sound a bit outdated now.
J’ai entendu une chanson top à la radio !
I’ve heard a great song on the radio.
Instead of “c’est top,” you can also use “C’est extra.” And that is a great song, by French singer/poet Léo Ferré. You can also check out Terez Montcalm’s great cover.
But my favorite colloquial synonym for good is: chouette. It sounds like une chouette, an owl, but it’s actually an adjective. There’s a meaning of simplicity, even innocence, in the word, and it’s great.
J’ai passé une chouette soirée avec les amis.
I had a great night with my friends.
Less common, more colloquial variations from younger people. They can all be used to mean “good” or “great” in many different situations.
“Oh, tu apprends le français ? Super ! C’est…”
“Oh, so you’re learning French? Awesome! That’s…”
Chanmé – “Verlan” for méchant, “bad, evil, angry.”
Stylé – Literally “Stylish.”
Classe – “Classy.”
Fat – from the English “fat.”
We also use verbs and expressions, such as Ça envoie! and its many variations, that you can find in the Bonus blog post for the Most Useful Colloquial Expressions in French.
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Et toi ?
Which other positive French synonyms do you know?
Bonne journée,
Géraldine
Excellent and so conclusive.
I like the lesson
Formidable!
Qu´en est-il d´intéressant? Il pourrait etre utilisé comme un positif, n´est-ce pas?
Oh – c’etait un excellent video! Exactement ce qu je voulais apprendre. Merci merci merci! Je suis tellement mal a l’aise quand j’essaye d’exprimer “good” ou “great” en francais!
I always have problem with saying 《he/she is a good friend》 in french. How to tell so in french.
Merci de répondre
Quand j’étais en Italie, j’ai appris que le mot “terrifico” veut dire horrifiant et pas “bon”. En Anglais “terrific” veut dire bon ou très bien. Je vois que en francais, le mot “terrifiant” existe mais “térrifique”n’est pas un mot. C’est interessant!
Le mot extraordinaire. C´est extraordinaire !
How is “fat” used? This is one word I’ve never heard. Thank you
Je pense que le mot “fat”, il n’est pas écrire comme ça, en Anglais au moins. Donc, “fat” en Anglais, il a toujours un connotation négative c’est comme le mot “grosse” en française. C’est “phat” que tu veux, il est un mot Anglaise de jeunes des années 2000’s, que je reconnais bien :). Car, le mot signifie “cool”. Corrigez-moi si ma française est mauvais.
I have a few questions. Does the adjective ‘sympa’ agree with the noun it describes or is it invariable? I wondered why you placed the adjectives ‘chouette’ and ‘excellent’ before the noun.
Yes, definitely frustrating and even depressing to be limited in your French vocabulary and end up mute because you don’t know other ways to say basic things! Thanks for the video! Just a pointer on your pronunciation of the word ‘adjective.’ I wasn’t sure what you were referring to at the beginning but then I got it. Here is the link to the pronunciation: https://www.google.com/sear…. Thanks again!
Super vidéo Géraldine! Ça m’a donné l’idée d’une vidéo sur des expressions pour dire que quelque chose est bon, genre: Ça déchire, c’est du lourd etc.
Quand j’ai vécu au sud de la France j’ai beaucoup apprécier l’expression “c’est nickel”. Merci pour tout ton travail Géraldine, j’adore comme une française!
Bonjour Géraldine, super épisode! When I was learning French in high school, it was explained to us that when placing an adjective before a noun where normally that adjective would follow a noun, that meant it was extra emphasis on the adjective. For example, “c’est un super vidéo!” Au lieu de “c’est un vidéo super”. Would you agree?
Tu as oublié “formidable”! Mais, une super vidéo néanmoins!
Merci! I appreciate the transcript following your video