What does the French word bien mean?

Bien is an extremely common word in French. It appears in numerous expressions and is very versatile in its use. In most cases it has pretty much the same translation in English, which is good or well . Bien can be used as an adverb, adjective, or noun.

What does Bien mean in English?

Bien (bee-EHN) is an adverb that can describe another adverb, an adjective, or a verb. The direct English translation of bien is 'well' or 'fine .

When to use bien que in French?

Bien que = although/though Elle ne le fait pas, bien qu'elle le puisse. She isn't doing it, although she could. Bien que l'on ne s'entende pas, c'est quand même mon frère ! Although we don't get along, he's still my brother!

What does je suis très bien mean?

Adverb. I'm fine . I am fine. I am very well.

What does bien parler mean?

Translation of "bien parler" in English. Verb. speak well .

Why is Je Suis Bien incorrect?

Incorrect: Je suis bien. Correct: Je vais bien. This is a response to “How are you?” (“Comment vas-tu ?”) which typically gets a response “I am well.” The correct response “Je vais bien” indicates how you feel overall – health, life, etc.

Is it OK to say Merci bien?

You can combine merci with adverbs such as beaucoup, mille fois, infiniment to form expressions such as merci beaucoup (thank you very much), merci bien (thanks a lot ), merci mille fois (thank you a thousand times) and the strongest, merci infiniment translating to “thanks infinitely”.

How do you respond to bien in French?

Responses to “How Are You?” in French Bien, merci ! — Good, thanks! Ça va bien, et toi ? — It's going well, how about you? Oui, je vais bien, et toi/vous ? — Yeah, I'm fine, and you? Pas grand-chose — Not much. Ça va mal — It's not going well. T'inquiète (pas), je vais bien — Don't worry, I'm fine. Oct 25, 2023

What does lo se bien mean?

Translation of "lo sé bien" in English. I know it well . I know well.

What does oui bien mean?

Translation of "Oui. Bien" in English. Of course . Yes, of. Yes.

What is the difference between bien and mucho?

“Estoy bien” (“I'm fine”) is different than “Estoy muy bien” (“I'm very well”). “Mucho” is an adverb, too. It means the unspecified quantity of something, but we know that's a lot!

What is Bien used for?

Emphasize the Adjective in a Sentence You can always add bien before an adjective and you'll make it sound stronger. It translates to “very” or “pretty” in these cases. This use of bien is more common in South America, but you can use it in Spain, too.

Do French people say est-ce que?

1. Using “est-ce que” to form French questions. The most common way to ask a question in French is to use the expression est-ce que . We simply place this phrase before a statement and it becomes a question.

What does "alors que" mean?

alors que (= au moment où) when ⧫ as ; (= pendant que) while ⧫ when; (= tandis que) whereas ⧫ while.

Bien Meaning in French: What Most English-Speakers Get Wrong

June 8, 2021

Download this Lesson as a PDF

Bien and Bon are two very small, but very common French words.

Basically:

Bien = Well
Bon = Good

(The “n” is silent in both cases – excepts with la liaison.)

** Le truc en + **
Both words use French “nasal vowels” in their pronunciation.
Practice your French pronunciation here !
** ** **

How can you use them in your French sentences?
What are the limits of this basic translation?

Let’s learn some French!

Index :

Bien = French adverb
Bon = French adjective
“C’est bien,” or “C’est bon” ?
French expressions with “Bien” and “Bon”
Bon / Bien interchangeably
Bon / Bien : the extra mile

Want all the vocabulary of the lesson ?

Download Lesson as PDF

1. Bien = adverb

Just like the English “Well,” Bien can be used as an adverb before a verb OR an adjective.

Il chante bien. Même très bien. = He sings well. Very well, even.
On a bien mangé. = We ate a lot. / We’ve eaten well.
Tu es bien arrivé ? = Did you arrive well? Safely? Are you actually home?
And that’s how Bienvenue means literally “Welcome.”

Aller bien means “going well.” And it’s used every time in French small talk or conversation!
Ça va bien ? = Tu vas bien ? = Ça va ? = How are you? Fine?
You can answer : Ça va. (= Fine. / I’m fine.)
Or even Tout va bien. = Everything’s fine.

By extension, Bien can mean effectively, without problem:
Oui, l’avion a bien atterri à 16 heures. = Yes, the plane effectively landed at 4.
Je suis bien entrée mais je t’ai pas vue. = I did came in, but I didn’t see you.

And of course, J’aime bien. = I like that. “Aimer” in French: learn more about all the ways to say “I love / I like” !

2. Bon = Adjective

Bon is an adjective, “good.” It’s often placed before the noun – and that’s unusual in French.

Tu connais des bons restaurants à Paris ? = Do you know some good restaurants in Paris?
Bonne idée ! = Good idea !

It especially works for sensory feelings.
Il fait bon ! = The weather is good! / The weather feels great to me.
Ça sent bon. = It smells good.
Ce gâteau est (bien) bon. = This cake is (really) good!

3. C’est bien or C’est bon ?

“C’est bien.” and “C’est bon.” are both correct French sentence.

Because “bien” can also be used as an adjective for “good.”
C’est bien. C’est très bien. = That’s good. That’s really good.

In a full sentence, it can mean “it’s correct, indeed” :
C’est bien ton numéro ? = Is it your correct number?
C’est bien moi, oui. = It’s me indeed, yes.

C’est bon can mean a lot of things as well. For example:

C’est bon, ces gâteaux ! = Thes cakes taste good.
C’est bon, tu peux partir. = Everything’s in order, you can go.
C’est bon, tu as fini ? = Are you good now, are you done?
C’est bon, c’est pas la peine. = It’s OK, don’t bother.
C’est bon pour mardi ! = It’s OK for Tuesday!

It all depends on the context and the intonation.

4. French expressions with Bien and Bon

Practice your French! These expressions are used in everyday French conversation.

Ah bon ? = Oh really?
Bon, d’accord. = Well, OK.
Eh bien… = Well…

(But do NOT use “Bien fait” for “Well done” ! That’s not what it means.)

Sometimes, when speaking fast spoken French, people “eat” letters. So bien can become “ben” or “bah.” Especially as a filler word, or in:
“Ben oui / Bah oui” = “Well, yeah.” Or “Of course.”
“Ben non / Bah non” = “Well, no.” or “Of course, not.”

5. Bon / Bien interchangeably

A funny thing is when you can both use bien or bon as adjectives, with a noun. There’s often a slight difference, but it’s subtle.

For instance,
Un homme bon = a good man, someone who’s kind and does good.
Un homme bien = a honest man, someone who doesn’t lie or cheat.
Des gens bien = good people.
Des gens bons = good people, too. But we don’t use it as much, because it sounds like des jambons = hams.

By the way, you might have noticed that :

Bien never changes. Even with, like, plural feminine :
Elles sont bien, ces leçons. = These lessons are good!
The feminine of Bon is Bonne. Do NOT use it for a woman, though! It can be embarrassing. Because in everyday slang, Une femme bien = good woman… but Une femme bonne = a hot, attractive woman (in a sexist way.)

“Bien” just before (or after) a noun sounds a bit off. For instance, C’est un film bien (= It’s a good movie) is a perfectly correct French sentences – yet we’d rather say “C’est un bon film.” or “Ce film est bien.” (= This film is good.)

6. The extra mile – Just for fun

Let’s dive a bit deeper into the grammar and ambiguity. You can skip this section if you want!

“Better” :
Bon → Meilleur (= better) → Le meilleur (= the best)
Bien → Mieux (= better, with a silent “x”) → Le mieux (= the best thing)

C’est mieux que rien. = It’s better than nothing.
Le mieux, c’est qu’on se rappelle demain. = The best thing is we call each other tomorrow. = Listen, let’s call each other tomorrow, that would be best.
→ “Le mieux, c’est que…” is an idiomatic French expression for conversations!

Ton gâteau est meilleur que le mien ! = Your cake tastes better than mine !
Tu es la meilleure ! = You’re the best!

“Bad / Evil” :
Bon ≠ Mauvais
Bien ≠ Mal

Mauvais / Mal share the same relationship as Bon / Bien.

Tu as pris le bon chemin. J’ai pris le mauvais chemin. = You went the correct way. I went the wrong way.

7. Bon / Bien : in a nutshell, four sentences you need.

That’s a lot to remember! Try to focus on a few basic sentences first.
For example :

Ça va bien ? = How are you ? / Are you OK?
Tout va bien. = Everything’s fine, all is well.
Il est bon, ton gâteau. = Your cake is tasty!
C’est bon, j’ai fini ! = OK, I’m done!

Try using one of them in your next French practice!

Check out other lessons I mentioned today, like:

Practice your French pronunciation: Vowels and Nasal Sounds (En / On / Un..)
“Bien Fait” : doesn’t mean what you think it means
“Love” in French: “J’aime” / “J’aime bien” / “J’adore…”

À tout de suite.
I’ll see you in the next lesson!

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Join the conversation!

What is the purpose (if any) of ‘bien’ in the following: J’ai bien peur que….? If you omit ‘bien’ does J’ai peur que…..’ mean the same thing?

Bonjour Tim.
Ce “bien” marque une addition qui renchérit sur une assertion comme dans “bien plus”.
Belle journée,
Fabien
Comme Une Français Team
Reply
- Peut-être “I did fear that …”
  Reply
It’s the difference between “I’m afraid” and “I’m really afraid”.
Reply

Merci Géraldine pout un autre très utile leçon
Anne

Très bien ~ a really helpful lesson in sorting this
one out, especially the mieux/meilleur connection ~
super bon.
And the prof who says “très bien fait” ~ I wonder
if this teacher is a native French speaker ..?
Merci Géraldine

I’m confused. My prof uses “Tres bien fait” all the time to compliment our work. When I clicked on the link that said why NOT to use it, it took me to the “aimer” link.

I would also like to know : why not “bien fait” or “tres bien fait”?
Reply
- I think it is sarcastic, as in ” You managed to spill the whole bottle of milk, well done ! “
  Reply
  - I’ve been following Géraldine’s episodes for a long time, and she’s mentioned this many times over the years. What I recall her saying is that “bien fait” on it’s own is a negative phrase. It can be like what Yvonne said, or it can be like a retort meaning “You deserved it!” Like if you did something bad and had to face the consequence, well then you deserved what you got because you did a bad thing.
    Reply
    - Oui, c’est tout à fait ça, Cindy.
      In general, and more idiomatically, to complement one’s work or quality of work, you would say: “bon travail.”
      Fabien
      Comme Une Française Team
- It is possible to say bien fait, but it is more of a calque from the English language.
  More idiomatically, you will find “bon travail” or “très bon travail.”
  Fabien
  Comme Une Française Team
  Reply

ADD-jec-tive

Merci…je pense que le mot “bon” est utilisé pour la nourriture?
“Le repas était bon, mon petit dej était bon.” Est-ce correct?

Oui, c’est tout à fait possible Pam.
Par exemple : J’ai pris un bon petit déj’ ou c’était vraiment un bon repas.
Fabien
Comme Une Française Team
Reply

I love those clips from songs and films 🙂 Ils sont toujours bel et bien super d’écouter et regarder.

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Bien Meaning in French: What Most English-Speakers Get Wrong - Comme une Française (2024)